Why are torture movies popular?

Question

With the third installment of the Saw series out as well as movies like Rob Zombie's Hostel- I have to ask: Why are people so interested in this newly developing torture subgenre of horror? I work in a video store and I have little old ladies and teenage girls wanting to rent Saw III and frankly I'm baffled. From all the people I've talked to that watched it- it's just a glorified snuff film. What gives?

Answer 1

Rob Zombie didn't do Hostel

Answer 2

Well, I think it's now a popular sub-genre of horror because of the Saw series. In my opinion it's similar to what Resident Evil did which caused a comeback of zombie movies. Although I don't think Saw is technically a "snuff film" which means a film supposedly showing real deaths and is only to make money. Some movies would be nothing without the death scenes but Saw has more to it. I think he would be an interesting character even if they didn't show anything extreme. Jigsaw makes a way for people to escape using their intelligence and wants them to make it out. Torture may be involved but is not the end purpose. I know it's arguable that the other elements about the movie are there as an excuse, but that's based on perception and each person will have their opinion. Anyway, these kinds of movies are popular for the same reason why people go see any horror movie. "monster" is always going to be the key to the horror film. It's a way of representing the unseen thing we are all scared of. Even when we're kids, everything gets interpreted as a monster, from the sound in the night to the creaking of the closet door. That never leaves you. Some people learn to embrace it, others reject it completely. The embracers are the ones who hit the thetares on opening night. The ones who never learn to like that thrill are the ones you couldn't drag into a screening of "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" for a thousand dollars. Why do people want to be scared? Because being scared in a movie theatre ends in two hours. Why were the classic Universal monsters so popular during the Depression? Because people could forget their own problems and watch a German village be terrorized by Frankenstein's monster. Or see London besieged by Dracula. Or watch the moors be prowled by the Wolf Man. And, when the show was over, they could go home to relative safety. The willing suspension of disbelief is a powerful thing... it can let the suffering of everyday life disappear for a while, as you watch someone else's suffering. During times of great crisis in this century, two genres always flourish in times of conflict - horror and comedy. You can laugh your fears away, or you can fall deeper into the macabre. Whatever current movies seems to do this most effectively is what becomes popular and the companies see something makes money so they roll out more, losing in the mix any good films from the genre. But it's not new it's just becoming more mainstream and commercial.

Answer 3

For me, as a long-time horror fan, it's part of a cycle. Gore movies tend to be popular at some times, then ghost/creepy stories. There was a trend in the late 90s/ early 2000s to make PG-13 movies like Sixth Sense and The Ring - creepy but bloodless.

Directors like Rob Zombie and Eli Roth were fans of the '80s gore movies and the extremism of '70s movies like Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Last House On The Left, so they decided to reverse this trend with some hardcore gore movies. Most ideas in the gore effects have already been done, but torture was something that hadn't been seen on screen for a while, so they went down that route.

It'll probably go on like this, then one of the Saw / Hostel sequels will flop and the studios will try to push the PG-13 stuff again. Probably.

Answer 4

EVERYONE HAS A DARK SIDE.....


And many people like to take a good long look at it - the problems start when too many people fall into it, and can't get back out again. We all have a dark side, but we have to learn to find a BALANCE between the good and the evil - there is no such thing as pure good and pure evil. Look at what the ancient Romans did in the colluseums - and what happened to their empire...

Good by nature is Order - and good, by definition, cannot exist without Evil (or Chaos). Order must have chaos to give it life, to change and evolve as time passes. Order without chaos is stagnant, and cannot live. Chaos must have some order, to give it form and function, so that it is able to oppose the forces of good (or Order). So one cannot exist without the other - THAT is the balance of Nature.

Answer 5

nicely that's only my opinion,yet those form of action pictures at the on the spot are not horror video clips. that's only as you categorized them torture video clips.I easily were watching horror video clips for a lengthy time period an no longer a squeamish variety human being.yet i visit't stand watching video clips like this which includes hostel a million and 2.possibly that's only human beings opt to be bowled over more desirable in video clips because actual lifestyles has develop into what it really is..

Answer 6

That's a real good question. I can't imagine why anyone would want to watch this kind of stuff. My husband was watching Hostle and I walked in on a horrible part and had nightmares for weeks. For some reason todays culture is addicted to those kind of horror movies.

Answer 7

It's every humans sick morbid curiosity and the need to see horrible acts of violence from a safe distance. We are so fascinated by the dark side of humanity that any window into that world is irresistible. Why else would we be uncontrollably drawn to visions of carnage on the news? Why else would it be so difficult to pass a horrible accident without looking for a body?

Answer 8

I prefer the real snuff film as opposed to the fluffy studio produced glorified form!
Get that fake stuff (or snuff) outta here!

Answer 9

I really don't know, but I can't help being a little weary of anyone who enjoys this type of films. To me, they are horrible and thought of them giving ideas to any sick individual in the audience makes me really angry.

Answer 10

Simply because its new.. Its becoming a trend in movies nowadays.. its like a treat on exploring new aspects, themes in movie making.. because people haven't seen anything like it and people's curiosity strikes..