I can't really say much about "torture porn", as I've only seen the first movie in the Saw series, and haven't seen anything else that really fits that description.

Forget the phrase lol.

Goodness knows where it came from but it covers such a wide variety of sub-genres that it's pretty much meaningless anyway.

Media Construct much lik 'Video Nasty'.

Torture Porn is a silly term.

Haha, I'm looking for who actually coined that phrase into popular use.

It's odd that Saw always gets held up as an example of TP, I mean if that series is known for anything it's surely the stories as much as the gore? I never really understand that.

I was actually surprised by the gore (or lack thereof) in the first Saw film. I have seen many movies with significantly more gore than Saw. Not that there is anything wrong with that. I find the first Saw film to be quite brilliant. Easily in my top ten or fifteen best horror movies of the last decade.

I think it descended quickly. Though the twists kept coming thick and fast, I got the impression that from 3 onwards, with brief respite at the end of the series, the films became a vehicle for brutal torture scenes. Though the twists were present, they were often so convoluted and pseudo-shocking that I didn't feel like much effort was being put in. I mean, it doesn't really take much effort to write the story, then go "and then...it was HIM all along" and shove in a 3 minute rapid sequence that "explains" it all.

That being said, I DO think the first two were great contributions to the post-millenial horror scene. Well thought out psychological thrillers with a great concept.

YES. My mind is a bit mushy right now so I'm scrambling for examples of this - What comes to mind for you?

I think Sinister with Ethan Hawke overused music for some scenes. It drained tension by drawing attention to the music instead of the overall scene.

Sinister and Insidious basically is a giant example of everything I hate about modern horror films.

Slick hollow and tacky cheap jump scares with some of the most fucking ridiculous looking villains in the history of horror.

I really don't get why they get so much praise when they are just poorly executed messes.

I think I'd just watched Snuff 102 when I posted that (Argentinian art-housey thing with more of a plot than I expected but pretensions to "asking important questions").

It has some very convincing faux-snuff scenes which they obviously put some time and effort into, yet along with most of them went a soundtrack so loud that you couldn't even hear the screaming. With just the "real world" sound those scenes would have been genuinely disturbing and unsettling - the music just ruined it I thought.

I think I agree about Sinister, not a bad film imo despite lots of plot holes lol. But yes music is over-relied on there.

In contrast I watched 7 Days last night - not strictly horror though a bit gruesome in places - which has no score whatsoever throughout and shows how feelings really don't need to be manipulated by music in a good film.

How can you not like the villian in SInister.

http://gunshyassassin.com/wp-content...allpaper06.jpg

Yeah you'd think I'd be down with a movie with a killer Panda in it right!

A good survey, but I was slightly offended by the question concerning neurosis.

Same here, to be honest.

HA! Yes. My hubby was trying to fall asleep but the music kept him awake... Didn't get in the way of my enjoyment but I can see where the complaints would come from.

Not horror, but I've heard the same complaints of Black Swan and Punch Drunk Love, two examples where I thought that the intoxicating music helped to set the tone, but again I can see someone finding it overpowering.


Hmm - I thought that you actually liked Sinister (with the exception of the super-cheap jump scare at the very end which was SO unnecessary)... I actually thought that it successfully built tension and truly did unnerve me. I thought that I was in the minority, though - Of those two, folks seem to continue to praise Insidious which, honestly, I find the more disappointingly uneven of the two - I thought that the first third of the movie was a successfully creepy film about a haunting... But when the mood shifted, it lost me.

Because I thought that Sinister and [the first third of] Insidious successfully built a mood of disease, I didn't find the scares cheap; I was thoroughly unnerved and thought that the jumps they got from me were earned.

As for the Big Bads in both of those films, I do agree that they were executed poorly, Insidious especially, though I would argue that Sinister did it sparingly enough not for it to be a problem for me.

And now I want to watch both of those again...



Haven't seen those, but I think I've experienced something similar when watching Giallo - YES, before folks jump on me, I realize that's part of the genre, but I'm not a huge fan of the genre, so it's not too surprising that I find the music annoying...

I did, too. I see no connecting tissue between neurosis and horror films, when so casually and thoughtlessly thrown out there as he did.

Hmm, to be honest, a good score is extremely important to me - maybe because I'm very sensitive to "scary music". Music and sounds can trigger my imagination in a way that no image will ever be able to.

What I usually don't like is rock/pop soundtracks - although they do fit in at times. But for the most part, they totally ruin the mood of the movie. Why try to get me in a party mood when I'm supposed to be scared?

I didn't mind it upon my first viewing but watching it again I've started to pick holes in it. I'm just finding the majority of recent horror quite bland or horribly uneven.

DAmn my visual gag didn't work:

http://www.themonolith.com/wp-conten...s/Immortal.jpg

http://wallpaper.metalship.org/images/immortal9.jpg

I do enjoy a good film score ... especially in older movies for some reason. I just think a film should perhaps stand on it's own without the music as well. I'm not entirely sure tbh, gonna have to give this some thought lol.

On the other hand I do enjoy a good rock and roll soundtrack - I think the incongruity of such music with seeing someone hacked up/beaten/killed can be highly effective.

I guess like anything it depends on how it's done exactly and it can be overused like anything else.

I think it's about time to see a horror movie where the main character doesn't run up the fucking stairs. Break a window. Bust a lamp in someone's face. And if you hide under the bed you deserve to die.

Yes, stand your ground needs to be applied to horror films going forward.:cool:

Do horror movie's still utilize those cliches? I thought we wouldve gotten past that by now

Pretty sure this happened in The Purgue correct me if I'm wrong.

No you're right, i think they did all of those in that movie. A good example of why that movie sucked.

Hmm... I kind of see the logic in running upstairs. Ok, so maybe "logic" is the wrong word, but I think I get why someone would do that. I don't think it's an unrealistic reaction from someone who is acting in panic.

I was talking on FB about this the other day. Windows. It's like windows are made of solid stone or something. Bad guys rarely break a window to get inside and good guys rarely break a window to get out. It's weirding me out.

Haha, yes... that one annoys me too!

Another thing I don't get is, why would you stop your car on a dark forest road, leave the car and chase after the "boogeyman" that you just saw? I get why someone would try to defend their own home by going after "the monster"... but if you're in a car in the middle of nowhere?!

Well considering, it would be nice to see someone really think on their feet. Like run in the basement or pretend to and trip the killer down the stairs then run the hell out the back door. Also if someone is outside or even inside I think we all know by now it's better to leave your house unlocked. Why lock the door when it may be your only exit? I mean yeah it makes people feel safe but, let's get real.

I agree with the window thing. Let's not forget recently somehow every last person has no cell phone service. And cops never believe anyone until shit hits the fan.

What about all the brain-dead morons in horror? The ones who see the killer, just stand there screaming until the killer's just about in their face before they think "Oh shit, he's gonna kill me! Maybe I should try and run?"

inane dialogue.

without decent dialogue (writing) you can't invest in the characters.
If you cant invest in the characters you don't care if they live or die.
If you don't care if they live or die there is no suspense - no horror.



The problem with horror since the 70's is this: most available horror films are made by indie guys.
Most indie guys are dullard metalheads that watch nothing but horror films.
They have no idea how to create anything, they just regurgitate the same old shit they've seen a thousand times over and over again.

They write the same way they speak so everything is an attempt to sound bad-ass .. through excessive swearing and name calling - like 'douche-bag' , etc
(Just like on the forums and social media)

They cast their metalhead friends in the films .. so you see cops with tattoos on their frigging heads with a 5 word vocabulary..

They're all self proclaimed Satanists so everything is anti church - every other film .. trying to be soooooo subversive and hard core. boring as hell.


I guess that's a long winded way of saying - i'm sick of seeing horror films made by people who don't understand anything about film and just want to keep remaking the same tired crap over and over again because it's all they know.


as far as commercial films go ..

I'm sick of seeing jump outs .. red herrings, false alarms as a cheap way to build tension.

I've never once seen a cat locked in a closet on the top shelf.
And if it was - it would carefully jump down once it was able to measure it's distance to the floor.

Unless you're making a movie that's mocking bad horror films .. if you have a cat jump out of a closet - you should have your camera taken away from you and made to go back to work at McDonalds on the deep fryer.

:shocked:

I'm sick of horror for the sake of horror. What about a plot and a story line? Blood smearing must be very easy. I'm always on the hunt for something above the norm in horror. It's rare.

I'm tired of seeing torture porn: I'd rather see a horror movie with a good plot and great character development. Torture porn has never went well with me, I always tend to stay away from those kind of horror movies.

"creepy" little Kids
CGI in B movies
Snappily dressed vampires

Every victim says the same thing, "Why are you doing this?!?!?!"
and "What do you want from me?!?!"

I guess it's a legit line if you were in a bad situation, but I'm just sick of hearing it.
When I make my horror movie I'm gonna have my victim say "This is gonna be the most painful thing I've ever felt, wont it?"

Also pounding on doors with open palms. Using a closed fist would be much more effective.

But I love Horror and I can deal with all of it.

I hate it when the killer(s)/monster(s) kill a couple having sex, or some female taking a shower, and they don't show any nudity.
Especially when the movie's quite bloody and gory.
It's rated R anyway, so how about showing a nice pair of Babylons.

I am tired of people who call themselves horror fans use the term 'Torture Porn'..

The trend that seems popular nowadays is P.O.V/camera footage. The Blair Witch and Paranormal Activity was enough for me. Then there are all these copycats which totally turn me off to movies. But then again, it's only my preference.