fee4 Posted August 6, 2010 Report Share Posted August 6, 2010 i was happily reading Empire (film review mag) as i quite like a gd film-im more a reader but there you go. I read a review for The Human Centipede (in essence mad scientist attaches the mouths of a number of unfortunates to the anus of the person in front-thus forming a centipede...) Now-im pretty broad minded-i like a bit of erotica, i dont object to nudity, and im pretty much against censorship...but am i really alone in finding the current trend in torture porn (saw/hostel etc) as faintly disturbing-and perhaps more importantly that others find it OK to sit on a saturday night with their beloved-popcorn in one hand whilst watching someone else have their eyes drilled out? that rape/humiliation & torture are really entertainment? i have tried-but i really dnt get the "entertainment" -maybe in jaded having worked with violence most of my adult life-and so i dont see anything even vaguely entertaining in t. Is it me? am i being small minded and over exaggerating the relative importance of such films.. any views? fee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura_E Posted August 6, 2010 Report Share Posted August 6, 2010 I am a bit of a film geek and enjoy watching all genres of film, but I do think that some of the stuff that has been released in recent years is like snuff. I am pretty broad minded and it takes quite a lot to shock me, but I found Hostel incredibly uncomfortable to watch and it actually left me feeling numb afterwards. I appreciated the idea (and thought in some ways it was quite viable!) but the scenes were unnecessarily graphic and I felt like it was just violence for violence sakes. Saw was fundamentally a good idea, but the subsequent films were just poorly constructed gore fests. One of my friends recently lent me a film called 'Mum and Dad' and I had to turn it off after 30 minutes. One because it was genuinely awful (poor acting, poor directing, poor script etc) and two because I don't find it entertaining to watch people being tortured. Personally, some of the scariest films I've seen involve very little gore at all. The Shining had hardly any violence in it, but I found it genuinely scary, along with The Omen and Rosemary's Baby. I think a lot of the violence we see today is down to a lack of imagination from the directors and the intended audience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purrpuss Posted August 7, 2010 Report Share Posted August 7, 2010 am i really alone in finding the current trend in torture porn (saw/hostel etc) as faintly disturbing-and perhaps more importantly that others find it OK to sit on a saturday night with their beloved-popcorn in one hand whilst watching someone else have their eyes drilled out? that rape/humiliation & torture are really entertainment? I may never be able to look at one of my work colleages in the same way again. These are her favourite films To be honest, I don't understand films like that at all, or the people who go and watch them for fun. There is so much real life horror and pain that is around us all the time, isn't that enough ? Why then go and see more as entertainment ? I do wonder if films like this could be a small part of what to me at least, is part of the massive social collapse we seem to be going through. So many seem so dissasociated from all that is around them, there seems to be so little empathy for other humans or animals, and films like this are fun ? No, I just don't get it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whizzie Posted August 7, 2010 Report Share Posted August 7, 2010 Oh dear, I think I must need computer glasses. I read the title as "Torture P-0-M"! & had visions of a small dog being terrorised Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merledogs Posted August 7, 2010 Report Share Posted August 7, 2010 Me too Whizzie I tried watching one of the Saw films on telly quite recently and I had to switch off. Even some of the trailers make me cringe. I really don't get how people can get enjoyment out of watching such blood and gore. I far prefer something with a decent storyline and some suspense, I find that far more scary than the actual tearing apart of bodies, which I just find puke-inducing. I suppose it gets harder and harder to shock people, so film makers think they have to make more and more 'extreme' films. It's unimaginative film-making but I suppose it sells to certain people so that's why they do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happylittlegreensquirrel Posted August 9, 2010 Report Share Posted August 9, 2010 not my cuppa tea at all and not something I could or would ever watch equally I don't understand violence and crime in computer games Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murtle Posted August 9, 2010 Report Share Posted August 9, 2010 I prefer psychological thrillers they are far more scary. However, I agree Fee I don't like them. I struggle to see the humour or anything in them. I also think it desentistizes people. I prefer something that makes me think than something that is just *there* Mxxx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
collies r best Posted August 10, 2010 Report Share Posted August 10, 2010 To be honest, I don't understand films like that at all, or the people who go and watch them for fun. There is so much real life horror and pain that is around us all the time, isn't that enough ? Why then go and see more as entertainment ? I do wonder if films like this could be a small part of what to me at least, is part of the massive social collapse we seem to be going through. So many seem so dissasociated from all that is around them, there seems to be so little empathy for other humans or animals, and films like this are fun ? Totally agree Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura_E Posted August 10, 2010 Report Share Posted August 10, 2010 (edited) Ok, I unwittingly ended up watching some of this film today! I have been off work with a migraine so thought I'd lie on the sofa and watch some episodes of the new series of True Blood that my friend downloaded for me a couple of weeks ago. What he failed to tell me is that he had also downloaded two films to the same disc, one of them being the Human Centipede. To start with I thought it was just a really, really bad student film that he had downloaded for a laugh- it looked like it had been made with the budget of a giro cheque! Then about 20 minutes in I realised what it was. I rang him and asked him why he had downloaded it and he said simply because everyone had been talking about it and he wanted to see what all the fuss was about. I think that sums it up really. How many truly awful films have received tons and tons of press and free advertising just because they have a depraved storyline? It doesn't really matter if the film is critically slammed, in some cases it even helps, because as long as it has an air of controversy about it, people want to know more. If this particular film didn't have the concept of sewing somebodies face to another persons bum () it would have just been another budget European horror film that went straight to dvd (distribution of which would have been financed by the director) and sold 100 copies (mainly to friends and relatives of the crew). But people are fascinated by anything with a bit of 'shock' value. A few example of this would be; I spit On Your Grave, The Last House On The Left, Driller Killer etc. etc. They were all poor quality films, but because they were banned they became instant 'cult classics', whereas without the ban they would have ended up in the bargain bin! I think a Clockwork Orange is one of the most over rated films of all times. I know a lot of people would disagree with me, but I don't think it deserved half of the attention that it got, and I personally think that most of that was due to it being banned. I appreciated the book more because of it's originality with it's use of language, but I was quite indifferent with the film. Maybe it's because I'm not a Malcolm McDowell fan! From what I saw of the Human Centipede, it wasn't actually that graphic in it's violence, they probably didn't have the technical skills or budget to make it that way, but it's the vile concept that has earned it all it's publicity. The director will be able to sell the rights to it and retire now, all because he had a warped idea that caught the attention of a few critics. I don't think I would class any of these films as porn though. I am sure there are some people that get off on the violence, but they're not made for that reason. They're just sensationalist. Edited August 10, 2010 by Laura_E Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kittycat Posted August 12, 2010 Report Share Posted August 12, 2010 We get quite a lot of film students at my work and that film was the topic of dicussion over lunch I was rather repulsed and quickly turned on heel and left the staff room. I'm not a fan of torture films at all, I like horror and I didn't mind the remark of Last House on the Left but the original was awful! I really don't see the point of mindless slasher films or films like Hostel they're just disturbing. I get stumped with having to watch a lot of guff at work as films need previewing to make sure projection have put the print together correctly etc and no one seems to be able to come up with anything original it's all violence, sex, gore or nonesense! Or bad 80s remakes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Posted August 17, 2010 Report Share Posted August 17, 2010 I'm not a big cinema goer, don't read the mag. & so (behind the times? ) have never even heard of most of the above films let alone seen them. From the sounds of it I wouldn't watch it if you handed me the disc though, not my idea of either porn or entertainment. Just sounds like utter rubbish to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura_E Posted August 23, 2010 Report Share Posted August 23, 2010 In addition to Empire magazine, I also subscribe to Total Film and read a review today for something called 'A Serbian Film'- and according to the critics, it makes 'The Human Centipede' look like a Disney film! Having read about the content in some of the scenes, I personally think it should have been banned. Obviously I haven't seen it, and although I'm generally not a big fan of censorship, you have to draw the line somewhere- and I think this film (as the reviews would lead me to believe) has set a new bench mark for depravity. I don't want to go into too much detail, as although this is in the controversial section, I think it would still offend most normal people. But a few of the themes include; necrophilia, sodomy, torture and child rape- which is obviously what people would find the most upsetting and the reason I personally don't think it should have been passed for certification. The director has tried to defend the film by saying that it is a metaphor for the Serbian governments molestation of it's citizens. Even the most obscure critics have laughed at his pathetic attempt to validate what is essentially a sick, sick film that no normal person would ever have thought up. I seem to be the only person that keeps dragging this thread back up. Sorry, I am just a film geek! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pingu Posted August 23, 2010 Report Share Posted August 23, 2010 i am guessing that this has little to do with The Very Hungry Caterpillar? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura_E Posted August 23, 2010 Report Share Posted August 23, 2010 i am guessing that this has little to do with The Very Hungry Caterpillar? I'm sure there are some similarities! ....I loved that book, think I'll try and find it on Amazon now..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ranirottie Posted August 24, 2010 Report Share Posted August 24, 2010 "Personally, some of the scariest films I've seen involve very little gore at all. The Shining had hardly any violence in it, but I found it genuinely scary, along with The Omen and Rosemary's Baby." I found these films creepy too and enjoyable. I hate gratuitous violence and never watch anything like the ones you are talking about as I find that they prey on my mind for a long time afterwards. They make me feel very uncomfortable. Perhaps i am just a wuss! x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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