Torture Porn: Popular Horror after Saw

244 Pages·2013·2.774 MB·English

by  Steve Jones

Torture Porn

Torture Porn
Popular Horror after Saw
Steve Jones
Northumbria University, UK
© Steve Jones 2013
All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this
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The author has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this work
in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
First published 2013 by
PALGRAVE MACMILLAN
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registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke,
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ISBN: 978–0–230–31941–7 hardback
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Contents
List of Figures vii
Acknowledgements ix
Introduction: ‘Welcome to Your Worst Nightmare’ 1
Part I ‘Torture Porn’ (Category)
1 ‘The Past Catches Up to Everyone’: Lineage a nd Nostalgia 13
2 ‘Bend to Our Objectives’: ‘Torture Porn’ as Press Discourse 27
3 ‘No-one Approves of What You’re Doing’:
Fans and Filmmakers 40
Part II ‘Torture’ (Morality)
Introduction 57
4 ‘Your Story’s Real, and People Feel That’: Contextualising
Torture 63
5 ‘Some are Victims. Some are Predators. Some are Both’:
Torturous Positions 82
6 ‘In the Land of the Pig, the Butcher Is King’: Torture,
Spaces, and Power 101
Part III ‘Porn’ (Extremity)
Introduction 123
7 ‘Ladies First’?: Torture Porn, Sex, and Misogyny 129
8 ‘Why Are You Crying? Aren’t You Having Fun?’:
Extreme Porn 150
9 ‘You Will Not Believe Your Eyes ... or Stomach’:
Hardcore Horror 170
v
vi Contents
Conclusion: ‘Will You Continue?’: Beyond ‘Torture Porn’ 187
Notes 193
Bibliography 202
Filmography 217
Index 223
List of Figures
1.1 Yasmine’s freedom is hard won in F rontier(s) (2007,
France/Switzerland, dir Xavier Gens) 19
1.2 The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence) (2011,
Netherlands/USA/UK, dir Tom Six) 20
1.3 Paying tribute to horror classics: Martin claws at a
car window in T he Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence) (2011,
Netherlands/USA/UK, dir Tom Six), a nod to the first zombie
attack in N ight of the Living Dead (1968, USA, dir
George Romero). 20
3.1 The image of a typical Eli Roth fan? Poppy
in Storm Warning (2007, Australia, dir Jamie Blanks) 42
3.2 Life-affirming? Jean tortures Eddie in w Δ z (2007,
UK, dir Tom Shankland) 44
4.1 Kate breaks the fourth wall in the final shot of C reep
(2004, UK/Germany, dir Christopher Smith) 73
4.2 Becca feels like she is being watched from afar in D ying Breed
(2008, Australia, dir Jody Dwyer) 76
5.1 Playing t he innocent: Tonya in the opening of B reathing Room
(2008, USA, dirs John Suits and Gabriel Cowan) 85
5.2 Jennifer hides behind her FBI badge in the final shot of
Untraceable (2008, USA, dir Gregory Hoblit) 9 8
6.1 and 6.2 Parallel shots, analogous acts: Josh’s throat is slit
by the businessman, and the businessman’s throat is cut
by Paxton in H ostel (2005, USA, dir Eli Roth) 104
6.3 Trapped in the expansive outback: Kristie cannot evade
her killer in W olf Creek (2005, Australia, dir Greg McLean) 105
6.4 Martin is attacked after discovering the CCTV monitors
in Detour (2009, Norway, dir Severin Eskeland) 106
6.5 Chrissie dwells on the threshold of escape in
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (2006,
USA, dir Jonathan Liebesman) 114
7.1 Geeves castrates himself in P enance (2009, USA,
dir Jake Kennedy) 136
7.2 A background figure walks away from the rape in I rreversible
(2002, France, dir Gaspar Noe) 138
vii
viii List of Figures
8.1 Dirty Harry comforts Nikki Hunter during her breakdown
in Meatholes 2 (2005, USA, dir Khan Tusion) 159
8.2 Lexi Belle must spell ‘fellatio’ correctly to survive
her trap in S aw: A Hardcore Parody (2010, USA,
dir Hef Pounder) 162
9.1 One of the archetypal stand-ins for Angela in R eGOREgitated
Sacrifice (2008, Canada/USA, dir Lucifer Valentine) 181
Acknowledgements
Although I do not have the space here to name every individual that I
would like to, I offer my heart-felt gratitude to my family, friends, and
colleagues for their support, and not only in the writing of this book. I
am sure those individuals know who I am referring to: I hope they also
know how much they mean to me.
Project-specific thanks are due to the editorial team at Palgrave
Macmillan for their help and support in constructing this book.
Particular thanks to Felicity Plester, who suggested compiling a mono-
graph on torture porn in the first instance. My appreciation is offered to
Peter Hutchings, John Armitage and the anonymous reader who kindly
offered constructive feedback on the proposal for this book. My thanks
also go to those at Northumbria University who enabled me to take a
sabbatical to draft the monograph.
Above all, I wish to thank my partner, Lydia, whose patience and
support know no bounds. This book is dedicated to you, as am I.
ix