Abstract
The subgenre of films known as ‘torture porn’ has been a controversial presence in contemporary horror. Categorised by their plots that center around graphic depictions of violence, torture porn films have been accused of catering to immoral interests and have often been subjected to censorship. This chapter explores the issue of categorization of torture porn films and, aligning with previous scholarship on the subgenre, identifies inconsistencies within that categorisation that reveal the subgenre to be much more complex than its early critics believed. The chapter further identifies and challenges popular criticisms of the subgenre.
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Filmography
A Nightmare on Elm Street, dir. Wes Craven (1984).
A Serbian Film, dir. Srđan Spasojević (2010).
Audition, dir. Takashi Miike (1999).
Baise-moi, dirs. Virginie Despentes and Coralie Trinh Thi.
Cannibal Holocaust, dir. Ruggero Deodato (1980).
Captivity, dir. Roland Joffé (2009).
Deadgirl, dirs. Marcel Sarmientio and Gadi Harel (2008).
Frontière(s), dir. Xavier Gens (2008).
Funny Games, dir. Michael Haneke (1997).
Funny Games, dir. Michael Haneke (2008).
Grotesque, dir. Kōji Shiraishi (2009).
Halloween, dir. John Carpenter (1978).
Hostel, dir. Eli Roth (2005).
Hostel: Part II, dir. Eli Roth (2007).
House of 1000 Corpses, dir. Rob Zombie (2003).
I Spit on Your Grave, dir. Meir Zarchi (1978).
I Spit on Your Grave, dir. Steven R. Monroe (2010).
Ichi the Killer, dir. Takashi Miike.
Inside, dir. Julien Maury (2007).
Irréversible, dir. Gaspar Noé (2002).
Les 7 jours de talion, dir. Daniel Grou (2010).
Martyrs, dir. Pascal Laugier (2008).
Neighbor, dir. Robert Angelo Masciantonio (2009).
Oldboy, dir. Park Chan-wook (2003).
Saw, dir. James Wan (2004).
Saw IV, dir. Darren Lynn Bousman (2007).
Saw VI, dir. Kevin Greutert (2009).
The Boy, dir. William Brent Bell (2016).
The Bunny Game, dir. Adam Rehmeier (2010).
The Collection, dir. Marcus Dunstan (2012).
The Collector, dir. Marcus Dunstan (2009).
The Devil’s Rejects, dir. Rob Zombie (2005).
The Green Inferno, dir. Eli Roth (2013).
The Hills Have Eyes, dir. Wes Craven (1977).
The Human Centipede: First Sequence, dir. Tom Six (2009).
The Human Centipede 2: Full Sequence, dir. Tom Six (2011).
The Human Centipede 3: Final Sequence, dir. Tom Six (2015).
The Last House on the Left, dir. Wes Craven (1972).
The Last House on the Left, dir. Dennis Iliadis (2009).
The Loved Ones, dir. Sean Byrne (2009).
The Passion of the Christ, dir. Mel Gibson (2004).
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, dir. Tobe Hooper (1974).
The Tortured, dir. Robert Lieberman (2010).
The Woman, dir. Lucky McKee (2011).
Turistas, dir. John Stockwell (2006).
Wolf Creek, dir. Greg MacLean (2005).
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Taylor, T.R. (2020). Torture Porn. In: Bloom, C. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Contemporary Gothic. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-33136-8_25
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-33136-8_25
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