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I don't think it's a current trend so much as a continuing escalation of what's been going on in American horror films for the last 20+ years. American horror filmmakers have confused gore with horror, and try to substitute one for the other. Audiences have become more and more jaded to gore as a result of this, so the level of gore shown has increased. This has resulted in the recent revival of 70s style grindhouse horror. DON'T GET ME WRONG!!! I'm not saying that there aren't gory movies that are scary, just that a lot of filmmakers substitute gore for genuine thrills. I think that's why you're seeing a movement toward j-horror in the US. People are looking for suspense and chills, and that tradition has been kept in asian film. The problem is, when they do the US adaptation, their first impulse is "it's not gory enough... can we add more gore?"
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