Clayton George Wickham - final thesis

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(2009; dir. Zombie), and the prequel The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
(2006; dir. Liebesman).
A final generic trend significant to the slasher sub-genre, particularly as it
runs concurrently with the recent cycle of slasher remakes, is the advent and
subsequent decline of another sub-genre generally dubbed “torture porn”. The term
“torture porn” apparently references the simultaneous explicit portrayal of body
mutilation and the resulting pain of the sufferer. This supposition is confirmed by
David Edelstein who is credited with coining the term. He writes:
Explicit scenes of torture and mutilation were once confined to the old
42nd Street, the Deuce, in gutbucket Italian cannibal pictures like Make
Them Die Slowly [UK title Cannibal Ferox (1981; dir. Lenzi)], whereas
now they have terrific production values and a place of honor in your
local multiplex. As a horror maven who long ago made peace, for better
and worse, with the genre’s inherent sadism, I’m baffled by how far this
new stuff goes—and by why America seems so nuts these days about
torture. (2006; http://nymag.com/movies/features/15622/) [brackets
mine]
The term is used derisively, and appears to make and reinforce the assumption
that “porn” is a term with negative connotations. The “torture” part of the term
appears to be descriptive of the narrative elements, while “porn” becomes indicative
of the aesthetic. In an interview, Hostel (2005) director Eli Roth stated, “What that
does though is it immediately discredits the film. You know, when you watch
pornography, you watch it, you get off, and that's it. I think it's more reflective of the