'Saw' was probably the first torture porn flick. It was followed by 'Hostel', simply a variation on a theme. After that came a series of imitations and sequels, each one doing progressively worse business. Well, let's face it. These flicks were getting a bit on-the-nose. Been there, done that. Hollywood took the hint and created a new type of movie -- the thinking man's torture porn, gussied up with top-drawer production value and (what I'm sure is) sharp writing that hits every turning point with snap to spare.
This is the first trailer I've seen for 'Untraceable', a glossy looking psych-thriller with Diane Lane directed by Gregory Hoblit. Movie is about a killer who imprisons people to be elaborately killed on a website which is...untraceable. Lane is the head of a team which tracks cyber-criminals, who becomes a target herself.
In the above still a man is restrained in the middle of multiple banks of heat lamps. He is being televised live on the internet. The more people that hit the site the more heat lamps are turned on. The text at the bottom of the screen reads '...the more that watch, the faster he cooks'.
That's right. This man is, apparently, depicted as being cooked alive while thousands of people watch online. Told you torture porn was here to stay. (Some observers breathed a sigh of relief when 'Captivity' did so badly, claiming the gorn fad had run its course). Sorry...I don't mean to gloat, but this fad ain't going away.
I don't know if I necessarily think it's a bad thing. The public craves increasingly more violent movies to numb them to an increasingly violent world. Who is to blame for all the sick headlines? Well, us, I guess. Society feeds on it. Every generation becomes more inured to violence, even as it evolves into stranger and more graphic expressions, whether it be on the nightly news or at the local movie theater matinee. An inescapable cycle.
I recently wondered how Hollywood would manage infuse fresh blood into the genre. Things were looking grim indeed for the torture set. Even hardcore fans were taking a pass, leaving movies like 'Captivity' high and dry. Have to give them credit. Rather than creating another watered-down copy of a copy, the torture-fest of 'Untraceable' is pretty original -- it's made public, brought to you, and me, and anyone else with the ubiquitous internet connection. We even have the opportunity to actively participate. Now, don't judge. While hitting the site increases the level of torture inflicted on the victim, doing so would appeal to both the sadist and the compassionate. The cruelest of us would hit the site to inflict pain, while the most angelic would do so to put the poor slob out of his misery. You got to admit that's got built-in cool factor.
Makes me wonder what could possibly be next. What twisted version of this bizarre escapist fantasy could follow suit? In case Hollywood is running out of cool new cutting-edge storylines, here's an idea for the folks in Tinsel Town (feel free to use this): A game show where contestants allow themselves to be tortured with increasing severity in order to win prizes. Sort of like Fear Factor, except it would be called 'Torture Factor'.
How about this: A national lottery where the winner gets hundreds of millions but only if s/he agrees to be tortured in some gruesome manner. (Of course, they would be guaranteed to survive -- I mean, who would agree to be tortured to death. That would be stupid).
Let's see. How about: In a world where violence and crime is out of control, criminals are sentenced to torture instead of imprisonment or death. (I like this one. It has a ring to it).
Um...wait. Give me a minute. How about: A genetically engineered virus escapes from a lab. The infected torture themselves to death. (Okay, maybe we're not ready for that yet. A 'Torture-Comedy'...the Tor-Com. Give it ten years).
I guess we'll just have to wait and see. Whatever form or structure is next in the torture porn evolution I'm sure it will be wicked. Granted, there will be those inevitable gore-fests for the brutish and literal-minded amongst us who simply want to see people tortured in a basement, abandoned warehouse, or other such run of the mill torture chamber. Let's hope up and coming screenwriters will find ways of making torture inventive and entertaining.
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