Torture porn films (and their antecedents)
Does what it says on the tin, films that tend to fall into the 'torture porn' category.
However, what I thought would be interesting is to look back on other films before Hostel and Saw that also delivered over-the-top, unflinching depictions of ultraviolence to see the history of this sub-genre. The films on this list are typified by a relentless, bludgeoning brutality that, if you are lucky, delivers a cathartic experience. What they usually aren't is actual porn (although some are borderline, just don't expect porn with BDSM here) as the "porn" in torture porn is from a different meaning of the word, as nicely outlined by wiktionary:
What putting the mid to late-2000s films in context demonstrates is that there wasn't a sudden step change in such films but they are part of a continuum. The real change is that these are American films with higher budgets and more market penetration. This means that what has bubbled away off the radar of normal civilised folks has come bubbling up into the mainstream. The problem is that these larger budgets means they still have to be accessible, which means they need to include story, plot and character development. So, while being more entertaining, they also can't possible include the unrelenting cruelty that you'd find in the low budget US flicks or the films from Continental Europe and East Asia which I include here (films which do deserve being called 'torture porn'). If you have Saw or Hostel in your "Top Ten Sickest Flicks" list then you really need to watch more of the films below, just make sure you space them out and schedule a few weeks recovery time between viewings.
Oddly while I expected to feel a little shaken by compiling this list, as the memories came flooding back, I was surprised that I also got a little nostalgic. A lot of the early films and documentaries were shared around on worn VHS tapes like samizdat literature and allowed a safe one for people to test their limits and flirt with the grim realities of mortality. Unfortunately, life has a way of showing you that there are things out there that are far worse and horrifying for very different reasons and these films don't hold my interest as they did in the past. I have watched quite a few of the recent offerings to see what the fuss is about but have largely been underwhelmed (on the violence front, they are fairly entertaining) but I doubt I'll be watching A Serbian Film, for example, not because it is depraved and revolting but because... life is too short and there are plenty of other films I do want to watch.
You'll find quite a bit of crossover with my lists: backwoods horror / rural survival films, video nasties and those on my extreme Japanese films list.
See also: The Splat Pack and their films, the creators of many of the key films that would get labelled as 'torture porn,' even if it isn't a term they like. As Eli Roth has explained "I find the whole notion of torture porn insulting. People assume these are movies made by idiots for idiots. They're not. These films are very subversive." And he is right, if you are looking for sick depraved films then, as I say above, look elsewhere as these films have a story and actual subtext. However, it is a catchy label. In addition see the New French Extremity list, which is a group of French films and film-makers who are pushing the envelope of what is acceptable in number of different directions, including violence. Someone else has a list for Roughies, which combine hardcore sex with violence.
Excluded: As mentioned above I am not including porn with violence (it also reduces list visibility) but there exampes worth mentioning as they support some of the above comments, like the Japanese series Eccentric Psycho Cinema: #1: Bottled Vulva: Bank Teller Noriko and #3: Female Body Collection: Stewardess Risa, there are at least eight in the series, but I can only find those.
Further reading: A History of Gore and Splatter in Cinema and The Story Behind Torture Porn.
Comments: As I don't have a Facebook account I cannot interact with the new comments system, so have switched it off. I will start a thread on the message board and link it in here shortly.
However, what I thought would be interesting is to look back on other films before Hostel and Saw that also delivered over-the-top, unflinching depictions of ultraviolence to see the history of this sub-genre. The films on this list are typified by a relentless, bludgeoning brutality that, if you are lucky, delivers a cathartic experience. What they usually aren't is actual porn (although some are borderline, just don't expect porn with BDSM here) as the "porn" in torture porn is from a different meaning of the word, as nicely outlined by wiktionary:
3. (uncountable, slang) a collection of images of something desirable, such as "car porn" or "gun porn".
What putting the mid to late-2000s films in context demonstrates is that there wasn't a sudden step change in such films but they are part of a continuum. The real change is that these are American films with higher budgets and more market penetration. This means that what has bubbled away off the radar of normal civilised folks has come bubbling up into the mainstream. The problem is that these larger budgets means they still have to be accessible, which means they need to include story, plot and character development. So, while being more entertaining, they also can't possible include the unrelenting cruelty that you'd find in the low budget US flicks or the films from Continental Europe and East Asia which I include here (films which do deserve being called 'torture porn'). If you have Saw or Hostel in your "Top Ten Sickest Flicks" list then you really need to watch more of the films below, just make sure you space them out and schedule a few weeks recovery time between viewings.
Oddly while I expected to feel a little shaken by compiling this list, as the memories came flooding back, I was surprised that I also got a little nostalgic. A lot of the early films and documentaries were shared around on worn VHS tapes like samizdat literature and allowed a safe one for people to test their limits and flirt with the grim realities of mortality. Unfortunately, life has a way of showing you that there are things out there that are far worse and horrifying for very different reasons and these films don't hold my interest as they did in the past. I have watched quite a few of the recent offerings to see what the fuss is about but have largely been underwhelmed (on the violence front, they are fairly entertaining) but I doubt I'll be watching A Serbian Film, for example, not because it is depraved and revolting but because... life is too short and there are plenty of other films I do want to watch.
You'll find quite a bit of crossover with my lists: backwoods horror / rural survival films, video nasties and those on my extreme Japanese films list.
See also: The Splat Pack and their films, the creators of many of the key films that would get labelled as 'torture porn,' even if it isn't a term they like. As Eli Roth has explained "I find the whole notion of torture porn insulting. People assume these are movies made by idiots for idiots. They're not. These films are very subversive." And he is right, if you are looking for sick depraved films then, as I say above, look elsewhere as these films have a story and actual subtext. However, it is a catchy label. In addition see the New French Extremity list, which is a group of French films and film-makers who are pushing the envelope of what is acceptable in number of different directions, including violence. Someone else has a list for Roughies, which combine hardcore sex with violence.
Excluded: As mentioned above I am not including porn with violence (it also reduces list visibility) but there exampes worth mentioning as they support some of the above comments, like the Japanese series Eccentric Psycho Cinema: #1: Bottled Vulva: Bank Teller Noriko and #3: Female Body Collection: Stewardess Risa, there are at least eight in the series, but I can only find those.
Further reading: A History of Gore and Splatter in Cinema and The Story Behind Torture Porn.
Comments: As I don't have a Facebook account I cannot interact with the new comments system, so have switched it off. I will start a thread on the message board and link it in here shortly.
List activity
372K views
• 201 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
349 titles