"Torture porn" - is that it?

[butchersapron]

But in terms of being more "repulsive and sadistic" than today?

 

[Orang Utan]

But in terms of being more "repulsive and sadistic" than today?

No, not at all. It's only cos the of the video nasty fuss that they have that reputation - a few of the films on the original list of nasties have since been reclassified as 15s.

 

[Cid]

Those are the less extreme ones though, the 1980s Italian exploitation films (which Suspiria doesn't really fall into) can be pretty grim.

 

[butchersapron]

But, IMO, not that grim comparatively - and most def not in terms of being 'repulsive and sadistic'. They're laughable on the whole.

 

[Sabu]

How about Salo? (reminded by the other thread). That's pretty much torture porn and fucking grim as well.

Lenzi's cannibal and zombie flicks have a fun trashy quality to them IMO despite their nastiness. Cannibal Holocaust is a bit different though, definitely harder going for me and it has an excellent soundtrack as well.

 

[panpete]

Torture porn sounds like it would be tough as peoples empathy would make them feel freaked out by the victims suffering.
As for those who get off on it, have you ever felt the need to introspect on your past experiences? Getting off on torture porn is pathological.
Empathy is supposed only to be absent in sociopaths and psychopaths.

 

[Cid]

Love the CH intro... Beautiful green expanse filmed from helicopter, chilled but melancholy music, cut straight to city, music ends, view is from a building right out over the skyscrapers of NYC...

CH is pretty brutal, forced removal of a foetus, rape, castration etc... You have to remember that a lot of the stuff we find funny now is simply down to the fact that these are fairly low budget '80s films, they simply don't have access to modern special effects.

What also annoys me about these new films is they often don't say very much; to me Saw was by-the-numbers horror with the interesting twist of the killer's games. I didn't find the character's engaging, I was irritated by the usual plot devices (2 cops with no backup go to check out killer's house ). Usual grimy environment etc... I watched the first half of Wolf Creek a while a go and liked that a bit more, it did build the characters up and there wasn't really any sense of the guy they met being anything other than the kind of generous country type. Still, standard horror when you get down to it.

There's also very little art to what I've seen of this new breed of films; they roll out the stock line of 'grim basement' set or 'horrible looking bathroom' set; look at Suspiria's art noveau interiors, lit by this sort of warm, feminine light that gradually seems more like the lurid red hues of blood; intimating violence and passion. Also the way this contrasts with the scenes where Suzy meets the professor; particularly in the use of camera angles. I think violence is being done a lot better in the far east with films like Oldboy, Secretary etc.

Meh, could go on for ages... Basically don't think they're doing anything new; just nasties with slick editing and high budgets.

 

[Cid]

Torture porn sounds like it would be tough as peoples empathy would make them feel freaked out by the victims suffering.
As for those who get off on it, have you ever felt the need to introspect on your past experiences? Getting off on torture porn is pathological.
Empathy is supposed only to be absent in sociopaths and psychopaths.

If you drove past a car accident would try to get a glimpse of what was going on or completely ignore it?

 

[panpete]

If you drove past a car accident would try to get a glimpse of what was going on or completely ignore it?

I can't drive.
The lower bit on this page asks viewers of torture porn, what are their motives for viewing perpetration of devastating abuse on a weaker person.