This morning NPR had a story on the release of Hostel 2 and the other so-called ‘torture porn’ movies that have been popping up regularly at the multiplexes for the past several years now. That is, since 9/11. Now Eli Roth was interviewed and of course he tried to spin things his way, saying that the Hostel movies are just inspired by what we see in the papers and on the news everyday, blah blah blah. Bullshit. It’s exploitation, pure and simple. It’s a million miles away from the horror films of Cronenberg and Romero, which are equally “graphic” (at least in spots) but have a much more nuanced, complex message. A more intelligent relationship between what the images SHOW US and what they MEAN.

This subject is fruitful enough to yield a whole book (and I’m sure someone is working on it already).

The other thing that I’ve noticed is that films like this are all pushing their R-rating about as far as it can go. In fact, I’d argue they push it far beyond the limits of what ought to be rated R. How can this stuff get an R while films like Mysterious Skin and  A Dirty Shame are nearly awarded NC-17s? Poltics, pure and simple: graphic violence is one thing, satirical (or realistic) sex is another.

If Pasolini had released Salo today instead of in the 70’s, it would have been seen completely differently. It might have even been a box office hit.