If you’re looking for a movie that will make you think twice about traveling and really make you appreciate your organs, “Turistas” is the perfect selection for you.
While accompanying his sister, Bea (Olivia Wilde), and her best friend, Amy (Beau Garrett), around Brazil, Alex (Josh Duhamel) and his new friends, Pru (Melissa George) and Kiko (Agles Steib), seem to be having a great time until a bus accident leaves them stranded in a country of mostly Portuguese speakers.
In an effort to make the most of the situation, the travelers spend a night partying at a cabana bar, which leads to drunkenness, dancing and sex. Things take a turn for the worse, however, as the visitors wake up to realize they’ve been drugged and robbed. Looking for a place to catch a bus, they entrust Kiko to lead them safely out of harm’s way. After being betrayed by Kiko, the friends are now in for the fight of their lives to avoid being the victims of a surgeon looking to acquire their organs.
For the most part, the movie doesn’t bring forth any plot point that wasn’t addressed in the 2005 horror movie “Hostel.” Both movies feature na’ve travelers who are looking for fun but instead encounter blood and gore.
The characters in “Turistas” commit many typical common sense violations. Here’s the advice they should have followed:
1. Don’t get so plowed that you have no sense of what is going on. Although it’s important to have fun while you’re traveling, pay attention to situations in which people might be secretly drugging you.
2. When you think something doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t. Don’t ignore your instincts.
3. My friends know I love them, but if it’s probable both of us will die if I try to save them, it’s best if one of us tries to live. If you can save someone, then do it, but if you can’t, don’t kill yourself trying.
4. Don’t, in any circumstance, go to investigate strange noises. It’s probably better if we just don’t know what’s going to happen to us next.
Overall, “Turistas” has enough of a plot to keep viewers interested, but don’t expect any academy awards coming to this film. However, if you’d like to see people act ridiculous and witness a skewer through an eyeball, “Turistas” is the movie for you.