Released early in 2006, Hostel didn’t set the box-office alight but it made significant noise in the film community.  It was touted as one of the most gruesome films ever made and on that count, it delivered.

If you didn’t see it, it was the story of a group of backpackers who end up a Slovakian hostel.  It turned out that the hostel was a front for a crazy enterprise in which wealthy business paid large sums of money to kill people.  The backpackers were drugged, tied up and then killed in horrific fashion.  I think the picture of the chainsaw on the poster said enough.

Hostel: Part 2 is more of the same.  It’s a textbook sequel – offering nothing new with a storyline very similar to the original.  This time around, the victims are three girls – Beth (Graham), Whitney (Phillips) and Lorna (Matarazzo).  They were originally travelling to the Czech Republic but have gone to Slovakia on the advice of a female model.  The fact that the model has been stalking them should be enough to rouse anyone’s suspicious but it appears that Beth, Whitney and Lorna are none the wiser.

If you’re seeing this film for its horror, you’ve got a while to wait.  It’s not until the 45 minute mark where we get to see inside the abandoned buildings and its maze of torture chambers.  The first half is spent entirely on filler and unnecessary introductions.  It offers nothing and has only been included so that the film can be stretched into 93 minutes.

Once the “action” begins, you’ll need to brace yourself for some shocking images.  The Motion Picture Association of America said it described the film as containing “sadistic scenes of torture and bloody violence”.  I’ve become desensitised to movie violence but a couple of scenes in Hostel: Part 2 did leave a lump in my throat.  As was the case with the Saw series, the envelope keeps getting pushed further.

I’d recommend the film for horror buffs if not for a pathetically weak ending.  It feels rushed and provides so suspense.  It’s as if they needed to remove the entire first half of the film and expand the second half.  I also didn’t believe the events that unfolded in the finale and found that way too many questions were left unanswered.

With clichéd ridden dialogue delivered by actors who have no sense of spontaneity, Hostel: Part 2 is a waste.