A Bloody Good Time 12.13.07: Horror History Lessons, The Final Chapter (Part 12)
Posted by Joseph Lee on 12.13.2007
We conclude our horror lessons with a look at torture. And yes, there will be blood.
It's another Bloody Good Time headed your way, and we are on the very last of our horror history lessons. After this, who knows what we'll get into. Well, I know. But that's after we get to this week's column.
"Torture porn".
It's a term I hate. Why do I hate it, because it's just stupid and inaccurate. Another equally stupid term is "gorno". These terms are used to describe the recent resurgence of splatter films which rely on gore and torture for their brand of horror. The terms are mainly brought up by critics, who say the genre doesn't need these films and their style of scaring people.
I argue in favor. While they are not traditional horror by any means, they're not nearly the level of the splatter exploitation films that we covered in a previous column. Films such as the Saw series actually do have a plot, and for most fans, it's not the blood and gore that drives them to the movies. It's the inventive traps and plot twists. Maybe not for most fans, but certainly for me and most that I've talked to.
Personal opinions aside, this style of horror films, in addition to remakes, are the two current trends in the genre. So let's see how these movies have had an affect on the horror community.
Takashi Miike: One of the biggest influences on this recent trend would be filmmaker Takashi Miike. Eli Roth even mentioned his influence with a cameo appearance in Hostel. Miike's films usch as Koroshiya Ichi(Ichi the Killer, 2001) and Odishon(Audition, 1999) are two films which use the same elements that would be popular in the American movies.
Audition features not many torture or gore elements until the last twenty minutes of the film. However these scenes are so shocking that the slow build is worth it. Critics actually enjoyed it, however, comparing it to Hitchcock's Veritgo(1958) or Misery(1990) for the fact that it doesn't turn away from the shocking horror at hand. John Landis and Rob Zombie both said they found it "difficult to watch".
Ichi the Killer is a film that I never finished. This isn't because it was difficult for me to watch, but the entire movie is bizarre. That doesn't mean it doesn't feature very graphic forms of torture. There are many graphic scenes of people being destroyed by the maniacal antagonist Kakihara. It's these two films, among others that have influenced the current crop of torture films.
Saw: Saw(2004) is what started the trend here in America. This little film seemingly came out of nowhere and now it's a horror film juggernaut. Every film in the series has been a financial success, but let's start with the first one. Two men are trapped in a room together as a part of a maniacal man's "game". It's a simple plot with the line "he doesn't want us to saw through the chains, he wants us to saw through our feet" that brought movie-goers. What had them talking was the inventive traps such as the head device and the big twist at the end. Critical reviews were mixed, which is actually better than most films of this ilk. Worldwide, Saw has earned $102 million.
Saw II(2005) came by one year later and promised more victims, better traps and more twists. Critical reviews were less favorable than they had been for the original, but it made much more money with $144 million worldwide. Saw II set the record for highest Halloween weekend gross until Saw III(2006) came out a year later and beat it. The critical reviews were as expected, and the gross was even higher. Saw III earned $164 million. Finally, this year Saw IV was released. As of this week it's grossed $115 million worldwide, but it's still in theatrical release in several places so it could accumulate more. Saw V and Saw VI are both on the way.
Hostel: Eli Roth gave his entry in the torture sub-genre with 2006's Hostel. This movie is about three backpackers who end up in a underground business that sells people for the purpose of torture and murder. Unlike Saw these films do not feature elaborate traps or plot twists. Roth goes for the jugular and tries to offer the most disturbing kills he can. The intent of the Hostel films are to shock the viewer.
While it has a 58% at Rotten Tomatoes, the general consensus is that Hostel is guaranteed to shock and entertain audiences. And it did. It made a surprising hit in the box office, in the usually dead month of January. It went on to make about $80 million in box office sales and earned a sequel, Hostel Part II, released this year. Part II was trashed by critics and underperformed opening weekend. It has grossed $35 million, making back it's meager budget but nowhere near the success of it's predecessor.
Rob Zombie: The works of Rob Zombie should probably be thrown in with these movies as well. They also have elements of torture and gore. House of 1000 Corpses(2003) was the first of these two films. It was finished in 2000 but could not find a distributor for three years. Lion's Gate (who also released the previous two franchises) picked it up and released it. The film was in limited release but due to it's success it received wider release. It made $16.8 million, which isn't much but it is more htan double the budget, so it was looked at as a success. Critics did not enjoy Zombie's homage to the exploitation film.
The Devil's Rejects followed in 2005. The plot was basically the Firefly family on the run after their years or murdering caught up with them. The entire cast came back but the satanic elements and Dr. Satan were dropped. The film received much more favorable reviews, including notably one from Roger Ebert who gave it three out of four stars. For the uninitiated, Ebert generally hates film such as these. It had the same amount of success as the original, earning $16 million.
There have been other movies like this, but it's hard to call them notable. Turistas(2006) and Captivity(2007) have been released, but neither have had much impact either with critics or financially.
The torture horror phenomenon actually looks to be on it's last legs after Captivity and Hostel Part II underperformed. Saw continues to shine, but could it be a matter of time before those films lose success as well? Only time will tell. Then it's very likely the horror genre will enter a new period, or possibly a resurgence of an older period. The thing about horror films is that the entire genre is cyclical. We could see the slashers return, or perhaps the Universal monsters will make a comeback.
This was only the briefest(at twelve columns!) series of lessons about the genre. There are many notable films which I never covered, but in future columns, about different topics, I'll be sure to cover those films.
I'm taking a break from serious facts and getting into mostly opinion next week. There may be two more genre efforts coming this year but next week I'm delivering the top 10 horror films of 2007. I may even give you the worst. So I'm wanting your opinion. What horror stood out for you? What are your picks for top horror of 2007? Send me an email at isitanevil@yahoo.com. I'll see you next week.
