Worst2First: My Top Ten Torture Porn Films

Worst2First: 

My Top Ten Torture Porn Films

Journalist David Edelstein coined the phrase "torture porn" to refer to movies that emphasize violence, gore, nudity, torture, mutilation, and sadism.  These films are not for the faint of heart, as the stories told are visceral and unforgettable, but not in a good way.  Many of these films have stuck with me, and some I will never watch again.  Yet, in a strange sense, that's what makes them great.

So here are my personal top ten torture porn films, worst2first...

**THERE WILL BE NO SPOILERS**

#10

 Hostel

Eli Roth is well-known for using the torture porn subgenre to his advantage, crafting a name for himself in the world of horror cinema.  With films like "Cabin Fever," he managed to equally gross out and freak out audiences everywhere.  Yet it's "Hostel" that's his magnum opus, and it's a film that's inspired by a true story.  The film tells of three men who stay at a hostel in Europe, who fall prey to a community of wealthy people who kidnap, torture, and kill tourists.  The film is filled with unforgettable images and showcases the true depravity of humanity.

#9

 The Human Centipede: First Sequence

Tom Six is a unique individual to put it mildly.  He wrote, directed, and co-produced his "Human Centipede" trilogy, telling a truly haunting tale of a deranged German surgeon who wants to achieve the impossible - unite three people surgically to create a human centipede.  It's grotesque and insane, how such a strange concept could ever be thought of in the first place, but seeing it on the screen is something entirely fascinating in the same way where you can't look away from a crash - you have to see how it all ends.

#8

 House of 1,000 Corpses

Rob Zombie made a name for himself as the founding member of the heavy metal band White Zombie, but then decided to try his hat at directing, giving us some truly outrageous films filled with bloody violence, including his own re-imagining of the classic John Carpenter "Halloween."  "House of 1,000 Corpses" was his directorial debut, and to say the least it's extremely disturbing.  This film centers on a group of people who torture and kill a group of teenagers who are traveling, resulting in some extremely graphic images.  The film started a collaboration between Zombie and actors Sid Haig, Bill Moseley, and Zombie's wife Sheri Moon, who would all go on to appear in several of Zombie's other films.  The film also included a young Chris Hardwick, Walton Goggins, and Rainn Wilson.

#7

 The Human Centipede II: Full Sequence

Tom Six and the Centipede return to the list with the second installment, which was actually better than the first, while the third film was a fall from grace for the director.  Filmed entirely in black and white, the film centers on a fanatic who was obsessed with the movie "The Human Centipede" and set out to find a way to make his own in real life - by combining twelve people into the ultimate centipede.  Laurence Harvey stars as the sadistic man, and his mere appearance is unsettling, not to mention his ultimate plan.  This film was banned in several countries, and contains graphic images definitely not for the faint of spirit. 

#6

 Saw

Known as the father of modern-day torture porn, "Saw" re-vitalized the horror genre and was met with resounding critical and audience success.  The film centered on a man named Jigsaw, who tortured his victims but also provided them a means of escape, in order to teach them a lesson about the value of life, at a cost.  The film was highly cerebral, with lots of twists and turns that audiences have never seen before, and while it got stale with every subsequent sequel, it still maintains a haunting film that mixes the macabre with the maniacal. 

#5

 Martyrs

 French cinema hit a zenith with its New French Extremity movement, focusing on torture porn for French audiences.  "Martyrs" is one of those films, a remarkable tale of two women who are hunted by a secret society who wishes to achieve nirvana by finding a way to permeate the afterlife.  The violence is surprising and unexpected, especially one scene in particular involving a family dinner, and the ending will leave you speechless.  There was an American remake, but it doesn't hold a candle to the original.

#4

Inside

"Inside" is another film of the New French Extremity, and it's every single mother's nightmare.  When her husband dies in a car crash, a young woman is left alone as she's about to give birth, but there's another woman who wants her unborn child, and will stop at nothing to get it.  The violence here is unrelenting and unimaginable, with copious amounts of blood and gore in a way that leaves you unnerved after it ends, and especially for expecting mothers, this isn't a film to see.

#3

 Last House on the Left

 Before giving birth to horror icon Freddy Krueger, director Wes Craven stunned audiences with his 1972 directorial debut film "The Last House on the Left."  The story centers on two young women who are raped and attacked by a gang of killers, and the aftermath of those events that will haunt the characters - and the audience - long after it ends.  The film has been banned in several countries, and audiences who saw it in theaters were met with visuals they never saw before, resulting in many running out of the theater vomiting.  While it's not as graphic as other films today, it's still a haunting, unrelenting tale of the madness some humans have.

#2

 Cannibal Holocaust

 Known as the granddaddy of torture porn, as well as found footage, "Cannibal Holocaust" is still banned in several countries and met with extreme scrutiny.  The film follows a group of filmmakers who travel to the Amazon to film a cannibalistic tribe, and as you can imagine, it doesn't go well for them.  Director Ruggero Deodato came under fire after the film's release, being arrested and charged with obscenity, as the government truly believed he made a snuff film, where people actually died on screen.  Although he was cleared, it was later revealed that the animals who were killed on screen were killed for real, which angered many animals rights organizations.

#1

 A Serbian Film

 Out of the countless movies I've seen in my life, "A Serbian Film" is the only film that I would never recommend to anyone, a film that was so haunting and horrifying that it stuck with me all these years later, a film that I will never, ever see again.  Maybe that's what makes it so great, in the fact that I can't look past the fact that this is just another movie where no one actually got hurt, but I can't get past what I saw on screen.  The film tells the story of a former porn star who's pulled into doing one more film, but it goes so much deeper than that.  It's sick and twisted, depraved and nauseating, the glorifying epitome of torture porn if there ever was one.