Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

"Hoboken Hollow" might seem to be very typical stuff, yet another sample from the enduring popular combination of hicks and horror, yet does carry some weight for being based on actual horrific Texas crimes. This makes the onslaught of sadism, gore, and unpleasantness even more potent than it would usually be. The story does feature a kind of standard issue clan of backwoods boors, but what these people did is exploit the forgotten members of society - any sort of drifters or transients - and turned them into slaves, by promising them food and shelter. One of their latest acquisitions is Trevor (Jason Connery, son of Sean C. and Diane Cilento), a traumatized Iraq War vet taken to wandering. With "Hoboken Hollow"'s various sub plots and myriad of colourful characters, it does indeed come off as a little confusing at first, but strengthens soon enough. The sleazy, depressing ambiance is just overwhelming at times; some viewers may wonder why the victims would endure such barbaric treatment for so long but it just goes to show how much crap human beings may be willing to tolerate if they get some sort of benefit from doing so - and, as the movie so devastatingly shows, if they have nowhere else that they can go. Hardcore horror fans will delight in the frequent scenes of torture and gore and the convincing backwoods atmosphere; director Glen Stephens and company filmed in the community of Menard in Texas. It's definitely uncomfortable at various points, especially a sequence at the half way point. An amazing assemblage of familiar faces turns up, although some of them get very little to do, in particular Dennis Hopper as the local sheriff. Also appearing are C. Thomas Howell, Mark Holton (who is sure to make folks forget this is the same guy from "Teen Wolf" and "Pee-Wee's Big Adventure"), Lin Shaye, Randy Spelling, Michael Madsen, Robert Carradine, Greg Evigan, and Dedee Pfeiffer. Disturbing but compelling stuff, that's worth sticking with, "Hoboken Hollow" is a true crime / horror story that could stand to be better known. Eight out of 10.

The first thing you'll immediately notice about "Hoboken Hollow" (or at least I did) is the very, very extended cast list. The opening credits just don't stop introducing new names - among them a couple of very familiar ones like Dennis Hopper and Michael Madsen - and you promptly realize what this movie will lack are one or two actual leading characters. "Hoboken Hollow" is based on true events that probably did involve a lot of people, but perhaps writer/director Glen Stephens should have just focused on the kidnapping and torturing of hitch-hikers and homeless people instead of also wanting to narrate a dozen of redundant sub plots. The tale of the so-called "Texas Slave Ranch" basically revolved on a family of deranged hicks forcing random travelers to labor on their ranch, but the screenplay finds it absolutely necessary to throw in story lines about real-estate issues, soldiers with post-Iraq traumas and demented family relations. It also never feels as if the movie is inspired by true events. It's your average modern "torture-porn" flick with a lot of disgusting scenery and villains with terrible dental hygiene, but there never is any atmosphere of suspense or genuine morbidity to detect. And, now that we're being completely blunt and honest, this film will probably not even satisfy the real gorehounds and sick puppies among us. There's a fair share of carnage and repulsiveness on display, but the sickness-factor never approaches that of other "Torture Porn" flicks like, say, "Hostel", "Saw" or "Wolf Creek". The rape sequence is quite unpleasant to behold (as rape sequences always are), but the actual torture footage is limited to shots of the victims getting poked with an electric shock device and getting dragged behind a car. Glen Stephens may perhaps be a little over-ambitious, but – especially during a handful of isolated moments - his directing skills definitely show a lot of potential and he most certainly has a talented eye for appropriate casting. The aforementioned "bigger" stars Dennis Hopper and Michael Madsen only appear in small roles, but some of the other villains are aptly cast like C. Thomas Howell as the nastily grinning Clayton and Mark Holton (who played the titular role in "Gacy") as the slightly mentally unstable Weldon. Other remarkable B-movie names in the cast include Lin Shaye ("2000 Maniacs"), Robert Carradine, Dedee Pfeiffer and Randy Spelling. "Hoboken Hollow" is an overall weak and unsatisfying movie, but it's not entirely without interest for tolerant horror fanatics.

I don't want to say too much about this film so I don't ruin it for others but it is unlike most other horror films in the fact that it has an in-depth story line and it is shot as a sort of docu-drama. What I have noticed about many comments on many sites is that a lot of people are not following the story well. I think this is because most people go to see a horror film and do not expect it to make much sense so they do not pay attention to the details. If you miss some of the story line in this one it can really affect the outcome for you. It is not your typical no brainer, but there are some goods scenes that will make you jump or just plain disturb you. Also has a couple of good twists, I recommend this movie to anyone who likes to think or loves a little bit of gore. Also this movie is "based" on actual events, which makes it that much more unnerving.

As a European who has now seen umpteen horror movies set in Texas I have to ask: what is it about Texas? There are always people going along the road, a clear blue cloudless sky (clear blue is the new thunder, and lightning, and sunlight is the new Gothic)and they always meet and very foolishly take the mickey out of people with squints, slow gaits and terrible teeth, who are all in cahoots with each other: the lady in the shop is in on it. The sheriff is in on it. The cleaner is in on it. So are the cats, dogs, pigs, goats, octogenarians and five-year-olds. All evil killers. There can't be a single honest homestead in the whole of Texas, or at least homes where the inhabitants are not cannibalistic are in the minority.This film was a disappointment, being identical, in almost every way, to other films about homicidal Texan families that I have seen, but featuring poorer acting and less atmosphere.