So much has been written in such a variety of publications about this film and the current onslaught of �torture porn� that it has become difficult to watch Hostel 2 without a preconceived opinion on its misogynistic violence. 

Most will immediately dislike the film, many have criticised it without even seeing it and Eli Roth, all geek ego and relentless self-publicising, just adds to the issue.  Going in, there is a sense of dread fighting with those voyeuristic needs every horror fan has to see exactly what has been cooked up this time round.

Indeed, if violence is why you came for Hostel, it certainly delivers some gruesome scenes of almost pornographic viciousness.  The climactic scene in which a certain male organ is relieved of its connection to the body is particularly grisly and winceful.  Yet, for all the hype, this is a far from disturbing film. 

Roth, for all the discussion of the extremities on show, has delivered a work that lacks any truly unsettling moments.  Yes, the relentless flow of blood keeps the �ewww� factor high but the moments of violence are peppered with moments of knowing comedic touches, taking away the basic component of a horror film, fear.

Not once do you truly fear anything, so overblown is the violence, so predictable is the plot.  Every moment the protagonists are to be in danger is so well signposted and eased in to that the suspense wanes and you simply sit in wait of the next torture scene. 

Rather than comparisons to mid-Seventies exploitation horror, this plays more like a frat-house horror, closer to the rank silliness of Roger Corman than say Wes Craven or George Romero�s early work.

The acting is all serviceable enough but he retains stock characters, The Level-Headed one, The Ballsy Sexy one, The Nerdy One.  For any seasoned horror fans or even fans of the recent slew of revivalist exploitation films (Saw, Captivity etc.), there is nothing new or inventive here.  You have your stock characters, lo-fi violence scenes and quite ridiculous gratuitous nudity.  Never does this rise above mere pastiche, never hitting the gears Roth so dearly hopes he can.

This isn�t as bad as expected, both in terms of quality and content but unfortunately that still leaves almost nothing to recommend it.  Cruelly for Roth, he�s made a truly inoffensive work of pointless, standardised body horror, as throwaway as anything in this troubling new genre.