They call this genre "violence porn," because it entertains us with bloody spectacles of human beings subjected to bizarre and obscene forms of torture and dismemberment. This time, moviegoers are packing into theaters to watch a group of tourists being butchered by a bloodthirsty maniac.
Marcus Yoars (Plugged In) calls it a "gratuitously depraved Hostel copycat. It may not be as bad as that benchmark-setting psycho-flick in terms of never-ending graphic sex, violence and gore … but that's only because of the never-ending part. Turistas still 'successfully' bores into your mind and soul with a nauseating, lengthy torture scene that spares no details."
David DiCerto (Catholic News Service) says, "Murky and only mildly suspenseful … this empty exercise in exploitative sex and sadism is held together by a formulaic plot skimpier than the bikinis that dominate the Brazilian female wardrobe. … This is one tourist trap definitely worth avoiding."
Michael Brunk (Past the Popcorn) says, "While it seems to try to combine elements of Hostel and The Descent, it fails miserably. The characters are shallow stereotypes, and I frankly wound up caring so little about them that by the end of the movie I didn't mind who died as long as they got it over with so the credits could roll."
Mainstream critics are encouraging viewers to stay home.