Elite Hunting Club or EHC, mostly referred to as Elite Hunting is a dark organization which plays a central role in the Hostel-Franchise. This criminal organization originated in Slovakia but has clients all around the world and even has its own special facility near Las Vegas as shown in Hostel Part III. The organization is owned by a Russian man called Sasha Rassimov. They provide the possibilities to fulfill the darkest fantasies of rich people who pay the organization. This can mean rape or torture but must always end with the death of the victim. The symbol of the organization is a bloodhound, and every member and client of the organization has a tattoo of the symbol, most often on the arm as part of the contract.
Working of the group[]
The victims of those twisted fantasies are kidnapped as they stay in a hostel owned by the organization. The organization itself works with ranks: The leader, Sasha; the receipt; the security of the facility; the butcher who cuts up the corpses of the victims before throwing them in the oven, the makeup artist and the grunts who make the rooms ready or lure the victims to the Hostel.
In Hostel and Hostel: Part II, the organization used a hostel in Slovakia. In this hostel, the victims check in and give their passport to the desk clerk who uploads the images to the EHC website. From the moment the photos are placed, the clients (mostly referred to as members) can start bidding on the victims. This auction doesn't take long and the highest bidder gets the victim. The client or clients have to travel to Slovakia to claim their prize. If they don't come to Slovakia, they lose their right and other members get a second chance to bid. Once arrived, the organization provides the client with the best services in a hotel while they kidnap the victims. Once kidnapped, the clients are informed and can go to the facility. There, they choose the tools they want to use to torture the victim they bought. It's also possible to let the organization choose the torture devices. Then, they are dressed up. Torturers tend to wear orange jumpsuits, leather caps and a leather apron and gloves , but in Hostel Part II, we see a woman who initially wears only a maroon cloak and seconds later, even goes completely naked. They also can choose how their victim is dressed, if they are chained to a chair, lying on a stretcher or chained to a crucifix. The organization has only two rules: no one leaves without killing and everyone leaves with being or becoming a member of the organization. This last rule is only for the rich victims as you need money to become a member. If a victim escapes without becoming a member, they will be hunted and decapitated. His or her head will become a trophy for Sasha.
In Hostel Part III, we find out that the EHC also has a facility in Las Vegas. Again, they use a hostel to attract victims, with most of the victims staying in room 9. The concept of this facility is slightly different. Complete in the style of Vegas, the members can bet on the death of a victim. They look from behind a glass wall to decide how a victim is tortured, and they can participate in this 'game' with the Wheel of Misfortune. They can bet which tool the torturer shall use and which threats or pleads the victims will try to escape the horrible fate. These two bets are connected with a time limit; the torturer has to use the torture tool within 2 minutes after the bet is made, and the same counts for the threats and pleads. The 'games' can vary; it depends on the torturer. Since the last 'performer' has been proven to a client, the torturers are likely to be members who have paid a reduced amount of money to torture and kill their victim with a live audience, yet remains unconfirmed. the artists are , a middler aged doctor who torture your victim using a scalpel to remove his face, another performer is man who speak in hungarian dressed as a butcher and tortures him victim by smothering him with cockroaches. a woman dressed like a weird looking creature, tortured and killed her victim with a crossbow while the audience could bet which shot would be deadly. This facility was destroyed near the end of the movie, but it remains unknown if it is the only one of its kind.
As mentioned by the boss of the Vegas Facility, this branch still has to listen to Sasha and have shown to fear the man.
Methods of Torture[]
The clients are allowed to do anything to their victims as long as it ends with death. Examples shown in the movies are:
- Autopsy
- Beating
- Blood bathing
- Cannibalism (sometimes, with victim alive.)
- Castration
- Surgical Torture (e. Face removal)
- Crucifixion
- Electric Torture
- Rape
- Sport killing (e. Giving the victim an unfair chance to survive)
- Tool Torture (Mutilation with gardening tools).
- Torture with the use of animals (e. insects)
Tools of Torture[]
Several weapons are shown that the members can ask to use:
- Axes
- Surgical material
- Forks
- Gardening Tools (Scythe, Sling Blade, Machete, etc.)
- Knives
- Scalpels/Surgical Tools
- SM-tools
- Tools (Screwdrivers, Vices, Pliers, Chisel, etc.)
- Power Tools (Drills, Chainsaw, Circular Saw, etc.)
- Firearms
- Specially Designed Torture Tools
Trivia[]
- According to Eli Roth, writer and director of Hostel and Hostel: Part II, he got the idea after getting e-mail about an organization which sold people to rich western men and women, to let them shoot at them with real guns. This should occur in Thailand.
- The Slovakian facility has been upgraded between Hostel and Hostel: Part II as it becomes more secure. This could be because of Paxton's escape which led to the death of several members, the butcher and three of the grunts.