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Old 03-27-2007, 04:59 AM
ManchestrMorgue's Avatar
ManchestrMorgue ManchestrMorgue is offline
Synthetic Flesh

 
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Australia
Posts: 2,601
Good thread.

I don't think that depiction of "hardcore gore" is a recent trend. If you look at horror throughout the ages, pushing boundaries is nothing new. For example, consider Freaks (not gore, but caused considerable controversy for years after it was made), and the outrage by critics/censors at some of the early Hammer films (mainly for gore). These seem tame now, but at the time they were controversial in their time.

These films may seem tame now, but in their time they pushed boundaries that had hitherto not been crossed, and in this context were controversial. Once the boundary has been pushed, those that come after it need to push that boundary further or find other boundaries to become controversial.

These physical responses that you mention with Hills Have Eyes and Saw III are similar to those reported with older films such as The Exorcist, and even Dracula (1931). Hard to imagine given the films we are used to seeing now...
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