Episode 101. Death Trap: Saw (2004) and Hostel (2005)

Faculty of Horror

Do you want listen to an episode about Torture Porn? Well, you’re in luck! Andrea and Alex dive into the 2000s to look at the phenomenon of Torture Porn; what preceded it, what it meant, and where we can potentially place it in our collective imagination.

Class of 2021 Merch is here! Original art by Slutfocate

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REQUIRED READING

Saw. Dir. James Wan, 2004.

Hostel. Dir. Eli Roth, 2005.

EXTRA CREDIT

Saw 0.5. James Wan and Leigh Whannell’s short film made as a proof of concept for what would eventually become Saw.

Now Playing at Your Local Multiplex: Torture Porn. David Edelstein’s piece in New York Magazine that coined the term Torture Porn.

Sympathy for the Sequel, Saw: The Final Chapter. Alex’s series on Rue Morgue TV.

HBO’s Succession podcast. S3E2 episode where host Kara Swisher talks to organizational psychologist Adam Grant.

How Masculinity Contests Undermine Organizations, and What to Do About It. From the Harvard Business Review, a look at how toxic masculinity took over corporate culture.

Smash hit horror Hostel causes a stir among citizens of sleepy Slovakia. Roth’s interview with European press about his take on Europe and why he made Hostel.

Ghost Faces: Hollywood and Post-Millennial Masculinity. David Greven’s book which features the chapter “Torture/Porn: Hostel, Homophobia and Gay Male Internet Porn.”

Gaylords of Darkness Episode 124: Lady Police Academy. Stacie and Anthony’s fantastic episode on Roth’s Knock Knock.

Capone and Eli Roth discuss horror movies, gore, Stephen King, the phrase “Torture Porn” and much more! An interview on Hostel 2 wherein Roth reveals his insights on feminism among other things…

Torture: A Sociology of Violence and Human Rights by Lisa Hajjar. How the morality of torture has shifted since 9/11 and the war on terror.

Are horror films immoral? No, they aren’t.

LISTEN

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