I am not for censorship, but I do have the right to speak against something: Ku Klux Klan marches and Hustler magazine for example. But recently I saw a preview for a movie that really made me sick.
Let me start by saying “I HATE HORROR MOVIES.”
I date someone who really enjoys them, so I’ve tried… I saw “The Ring,” “The Grudge,” and “Cabin Fever.” Every time they end, I mentally kick my ass for spending time on such depravity. I also have to sleep with the light on for days… in fact, I can’t remember the last time I slept with the light off. When Cabin Fever ended, I actually cried (just a little) because I was so emotionally exhausted from terror and nausea (caused by gore).
However, I'm not shattered by all thriller movies-- I can enjoy them if they aren't just gore and blood and have suspensful plots etc. I can understand why people like being scared—it’s a thrill, after all- like a haunted house or rollercoaster. What I don’t get is the really sick stuff--- torture for torture’s sake.
There’s a new movie preview that terrorizes me every time I see it on TV. It’s called “Hostel.” You really can’t tell much from the preview, except that the movie will be about torture, the most graphic, violent torture possible. In fact the whole preview is a series of torture shots and ends with a deep, dark voice saying "inspired by true events."
Well I did a little research online, the director Eli Roth (who incidentally was the man behind the sickness of “Cabin Fever”) said the idea came about after finding a Thai website that advertised itself as a "murder vacation," offering visitors the chance to torture and kill someone for the price of $10,000.
Okay—ewwww.
In an online interview, Roth sounds gleeful about the movie. When asked about the writing process he said, “I just sat down and wrote the sickest, most violent thing I could.” He proudly promises that this project will be 'wild', 'ultra violent', 'sick' and 'disturbing.
Wow. Good for you. And how were you scarred as a child?
Seriously. Torture is a concept that makes me sicker than I can express. What type of human has that capability to create pain on another living human—and take pleasure in it? And furthermore, what type of filmmaker would be so gleeful to spend his time writing a script about it and shooting graphic torture scenes all day?
To answer that, it’s not just Roth…, people like Quentin Tarantino, the man who brought us family classics like “Reservoir Dogs,” “Pulp Fiction” and “Kill Bill” (SARCASM for God’s sake don’t bring a family to those movies). Apparently Tarantino also thinks this movie is a gem. When Roth told him the idea, he said, “That's the fucking scariest, fucking sickest idea I've ever heard – you've got to do it!”
What is wrong with people? How is this entertainment?
I think it goes without saying that I won’t be going to this movie. What’s more I’ve decided I am really worried about anyone who would go. What would possess you to want to watch scenes of torture? Are we that desensitized? You know... more and more people seem to be defending our country’s use of torture in Iraq. There have been plenty of cases coming to light—we can’t ignore it anymore. Some dating back years (for example visit this article: (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/07/20/iraq/main564095.shtml)
On a political side note: If we defend our use of torture, my question is-- what separates us from Saddam Hussein?
And if we gain pleasure from watching torture scenes—even if it’s actors, fake blood and fake vomit—what has happened to our humanity?
