Torture Porn in the Wake of 9/11: Horror, Exploitation, and the Cinema of Sensation

War Culture

by Aaron Michael Kerner

Saw , Hostel , The Devil’s Rejects : this wave of horror movies has been classed under the disparaging label “torture porn.” Since David Edelstein coined the term for a New York magazine article a few years after 9/11, many critics have speculated that these movies simply reflect iconic images, anxieties, and sadistic fantasies that have emerged from the War on Terror. In this timely new study, Aaron Kerner challenges that interpretation, arguing that “torture porn” must be understood in a much broader context, as part of a phenomenon that spans multiple media genres and is rooted in a long tradition of American violence. 
 

Torture Porn in the Wake of 9/11 tackles a series of tough philosophical, historical, and aesthetic What does it mean to call a film “sadistic,” and how has this term been used to shut down critical debate? In what sense does torture porn respond to current events, and in what ways does it draw from much older tropes? How has torture porn been influenced by earlier horror film cycles, from slasher movies to J-horror? And in what ways has the torture porn aesthetic gone mainstream, popping up in everything from the television thriller Dexter to the reality show Hell’s Kitchen ? 
 

Reflecting a deep knowledge and appreciation for the genre, Torture Porn in the Wake of 9/11 is sure to resonate with horror fans. Yet Kerner’s arguments should also strike a chord in anyone with an interest in the history of American violence and its current and future ramifications for the War on Terror. 
 

 

 

Genres: Film, Nonfiction, Horror

268 pages, Hardcover

First published April 24, 2015

Reviews

[Ash Higgins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Horror movies have always been reflective of the current culture.

This book makes the convincing argument that not only did 9/11 create a new sub-genre of horror, but permanently changed the genre of horror in terms of what is expected and acceptable.

It goes a little further into a fascinating point that R-rate horror is the "hardcore" torture porn, but network television, from 24 to Hell's Kitchen is "the softcore," while not exactly entertaining seeing people suffer humiliations from a master chef all the way to seeing someone's body mutilated in an aggressively realistic way gives us a specific feeling: we're glad it's not us.

[melancholinary · Rating 1 out of 5]

Interesting genre theorised in an uninteresting manner. I expected to find an interesting exploration of the cinema of spectacles and how it relates to the ever-increasing dependency to affective imagery, alas, I find it tautologically boring. However, I'm looking forward to read the author's other book.

[Jacob Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kerner ain't enough for me. We only getting started.

[Kirsty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of Kerner's points are a little far-fetched, but overall this was a readable and interesting take on the genre.