Research Catalog

Title

Torture porn : popular horror after Saw / Steve Jones, Northumbria University, UK.

Author

Jones, Steve, 1979-

Publication

Houndmills, Basingstoke : Palgrave Macmillan, 2013.

Supplementary Content

Cover image

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Description

ix, 232 pages; 23 cm

Summary

"Lambasted by critics as a sign of censorial failure and even social decline, the horror subgenre known as 'torture porn' has generated a great deal of controversy during the last decade. Although torture porn films such as Saw, Hostel and The Human Centipede were highly successful and have become cultural touchstones, the term 'torture porn' remains synonymous with misogyny, obscenity and morally depravity. Arguing primarily in defense of these popular torture-themed horror films, this is the first book to offer a detailed critical examination of the 'torture porn' phenomenon, outlining the subgenre's lineage, scrutinizing responses to the sub-genre, and offering narrative analyses of the sub-genre's central box-office hits as well as the multitude of independent direct-to-DVD films that have followed in their footsteps. In doing so, this book seeks to unpick the relationships between 'porn', 'horror', 'immorality', and 'extremity'. "--

Subject

• Splatter films > History and criticism
• Horror films > History and criticism
• Torture in motion pictures

Bibliography (note)

• Includes filmography.
• Includes bibliographical references and index.

Contents

Machine generated contents note: -- Contents -- Introduction: 'Welcome To Your Worst Nightmare' -- PART I: 'TORTURE PORN' (CATEGORY) -- 1. 'The Past Catches Up to Everyone' -- Lineage and Nostalgia -- 2. 'Bend to our objectives' -- 'Torture Porn' as Press Discourse -- 3. 'No-one approves of what you're doing' -- Fans and Filmmakers -- PART II: 'TORTURE' (MORALITY) -- Introduction -- 4. 'Your story's real, and people feel that' -- Contextualising Torture -- 5. 'Some are Victims. Some are Predators. Some are Both' -- Torturous Positions -- 6. 'In the land of the pig, the butcher is king' -- Torture, Spaces, and Power -- PART III: 'PORN' (EXTREMITY) -- Introduction -- 7. 'Ladies first'? -- Torture Porn, Sex, and Misogyny -- 8. 'Why are you crying? Aren't you having fun?' -- Extreme Porn -- 9. 'You Will Not Believe Your Eyes...or Stomach' -- Hardcore Horror -- Conclusion: 'Will You Continue?' -- Beyond 'Torture Porn' -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Filmography -- Index.

Call Number

MFL 13-5932

ISBN

• 9780230319417 (hardback)
• 0230319416 (hardback)

LCCN

• 2013021273
• 40022616949

OCLC

834978360

Author

Jones, Steve, 1979-

Title

Torture porn : popular horror after Saw / Steve Jones, Northumbria University, UK.

Publisher

Houndmills, Basingstoke : Palgrave Macmillan, 2013.

Type of Content

text

Type of Medium

unmediated

Type of Carrier

volume

Bibliography

Includes filmography.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Connect to:

Cover image

Other Standard Identifier

40022616949

Research Call Number

MFL 13-5932