Popcorn Frights 2026 Coverage
Hollow Girls review
A found footage crime/horror movie that might stick with you for a while.
Festival reviews will not contain spoilers.
Hollow Girls
Directed by Greg Swinson and Ryan Thiessen
Written by Greg Swinson
Starring AJ Foster, Raina Silver, Cate Whitlatch, Callie Bacon, Nicole Grey, Natalie Terrazzino, Margaret Pugh and Evan Dovgalyuk
Hollow Girls Review
One of the more interesting movies streaming at this year’s Popcorn Frights was Hollow Girls. I was never quite sure how to place it genre wise. It’s a crime/horror movie for sure…and the found footage aesthetic is strongly in play. But it’s also funny in an extremely dark way. I haven’t seen it listed as a comedy in many places…so maybe there’s just something wrong with me. There certainly is something wrong with the group of girls Hollow Girls follows for the night.
The characters in Hollow Girls are truly deplorable. The movie doesn’t hide that it’s the story of a horrible murder. It’s pretty much the advertising. What they don’t tell you is how bad the group is at actually committing the murder…or disposing of the body. That’s where some of the dark comedy starts to sneak in…but the total bleakness of some of these girls can’t help but be amusing as well. We’re talking about some of the most truly awful characters you’re going to see on film.
The ringleader of the group is Brandi (AJ Foster). She’s psychotically awful. It isn’t even her issue that drives the group to committing the act in the first place. That falls to Krystal (Raina Silver) who heard a rumor that her (later revealed to be ex) boyfriend cheated on her with a classmate. With little to go on facts wise…Brandi leads the girls on a long night of violence, murder and absurdity. Filming things for posterity the whole way.
Hollow Girls positions itself as the footage from this true crime…that’s why we can openly talk about the plot without worrying about spoilers. The entire premise hinges on you knowing that they’re going to accomplish this awful deed. Enjoyment (if you can call it that) of the movie largely hinges on it as well. The best part of Hollow Girls is genuinely seeing how low these people will go. The pettiness…the passive aggressiveness…the sheer psychotic nature…that’s what the “found footage” of the crime reveals. It’s a spot in the passenger seat of a baseless murder with terrible people.
And yet…it’s undeniably interesting. Watching the group bicker over inconsequential things while screwing up the big ones is entertaining. Seeing how much control Brandi is able to exert over the others is too. No one spares much of a thought about how heinous the crime they’ve committed is. Even as they’re riding with a body shoved into a little bin. But those slight digs and passive aggressive moments? Those mean the world.
Hollow Girls is a movie that will turn off a lot of people. It’s fair to say that the plot completely amounts to watching horrible people do a horrible thing. This is the footage of a crime that was already committed. There isn’t a savior coming or some happy ending waiting at the end of the bleak night of terror perpetrated by people you aren’t meant to enjoy spending time with. I’m sure that doesn’t sound like the best sell in the world for Hollow Girls…but of the movies I watched at this year’s Popcorn Frights Film Festival…it’s the one that stuck with me the most. Memorably terrible people are still memorable first and foremost.
The reason it works…aside from embracing its dark and irredeemable premise…is because the cast feels totally bought in. These are terrible people…but they seem like real ones. Petty, horrible, awful people you wouldn’t want to know in real life…but that makes spending a night with them at their worst a somewhat fascinating endeavor. Hollow Girls is disturbing…which is a mission accomplished check on its mission statement. It uses the found footage concept well…it truly feels like you’re on the ride with these people. And the cast more than holds up their end…delivering horrific moments that are uncomfortable enough to be entertaining. You know…if there’s something wrong with you too.
Scare Value
I’m not sure who exactly I’d recommend Hollow Girls to…but I’m glad I watched it. The entire film revels in the awfulness of the people we are riding shotgun with…and it’s that total commitment that makes the movie stand out. As I was watching it…I kept wondering who it was for. Who would enjoy sitting with these girls for any length of time. Who would enjoy watching them commit horrible acts and be generally awful in all situations. But it turned out the answer was…me. I enjoyed it. And I’ve thought about it since watching it in increasingly glowing terms. You’re supposed to walk away from it judging these characters by how awful they are…and I did. But you’ll also feel like an accomplice if/when it sucks you in for the crazy ride it offers. You can judge yourself however you want after that.
