The horror industry has painted upon the latter half of this decade a unique and identifiable oeuvre. Its medium of choice is the blood of the innocent and our withering sensibilities, its canvas the silver screen of a foreign nation. I am, of course...
I got a question for you and it has nothing to do with this post. On the main page it says Posted by Mercenary....who is Mercenary? Do you Meh go by the name Mercenary at times lol......just curious is all lol.
the article is by Mercenary Toast a new writer as noted at the bottom of the article. The writers name = who wrote it. If it doesnt say Meh its not my piece.
I find the French New Wave (and not just the horror aspect) very interesting. I think Quandt takes an instant dislike because he writes about the films as failed art. To him putting genre elements - sex, violence, spectacle - means that the films cannot be art. Of course, Quandt is a great big idiot for thinking so.
One thing I do think he's right about is that it's not a 'genre' by any stretch of the imagination. It's a 'trend' if anything, one which I think has plenty of precedent in French cinema to easily identify it as a seperate entity to so-called 'torture porn'. I know several UK critics took a massive dislike to Martyrs, really lumping it in with torture porn at its worst, something I think is a completely unfair judgement.
i absolutely agree. Without question Martyrs is INSANELY violent but it is done within the context of one of the best scripts in a horror movie in some time. The violence was not for the sake of violence like some american directors like Eli Roth.
I have seen Hollywood films and french ones. There is difference in my opinion. Hollywood lately seems to be aiming for the shock horror element without really giving any backbone to potentially good films whereas French directors have the capability to hone, trangress their stories to fine hilt. They put a lot of effort and time into the films they do and they create lucid stories that work around the brutal nature of the film.
As well as that from what I have seen the French horror inputs a lot more vision behind the film. The creative spokes that make a movie work can be seen in so many scenes of their movies, much more of the moment than HW. They care about who their movies appeal to and that there is a thought process behind everything, no matter how brutal the film itself is.
I agree with Mercenary with the said title of this thread. It isn't when it comes to horror because they take the time to establish a plotline and give added weight to the movie, it's more the reason they are streaming ahead as HW stays stuck in a rut. In my opinion as long as French directors keep storylines that work (spare a few) and shocking but plotlines that help propel the movie they will never gain the mainframe title that HW has found itself on the end of. As long as France keep things simple and have a reason behind what they are doing they will continue to do well in my opinion.
That's all. Great article Mecernary!
Last edited by BlackTequilaKiss (2009-06-05 10:03:34)
BTK, you totally hit the nail on the head. Recently, I've been going through my collection, and came to find that I have quite a few different types of what folks call "horror", and some of these offerings have nothing to do with being scary (well maybe when I was 9), it's just that there are so many branches to this gnarled family tree. I've got a bunch of the classic Hammer films, and the equally classic Halloween and Friday the 13th, The Evil Dead trilogy (if I didn't, I would have to resign from this board on general principle ), I've got crappy Italian zombie flicks, a couple of the Guinea Pig movies, Hostel 1 and 2, and of course, the French New Wave stuff, just to skim the surface.
And yet I've found myself watching the French stuff more and more recently, because every time I watch one, I see it from a different angle. This has caused my husband to worry, or so he tells me, he says it's unhealthy that I'm so fascinated with such graphic presentations. He finally saw Inside recently (at my urging), and when it was over, he was in shock. "This is the stuff you're watching alone at night after the family's gone to bed?!" Um...yeah. Well apparently, he's not as hard as he makes out to be, because he was actually somewhat upset after the movie was over.
I realized Just how much more I am involved with this genre than he is, and I need to respect that. At the same time, I won't stand for censorship in my own home. For me to not want my 13 year old son to watch these films is my right as a parent (and I've made that clear, the French stuff is strictly off limits right now), but it's my right as a "grownup" to watch whatever the hell I want, whenever the hell I want. Ok, so he's watching the basketball game, and I'm watching Martyrs. He has questioned the term "torture porn" before, but I think he might have "joined the other side" after seeing Inside. Maybe this movie has that much more of an impact because of the strong female POV, for a man to see this could very possibly fuck with a lot of thoughts, and I see that now. Ok, so his little woman has a rather sick and twisted sense of entertainment, but if he doesn't like it, he doesn't have to watch it. I understand that there is a strong level (putting it mildly) of shock value to these French flicks, but there's a BIG difference between a scene that's just for shock value, and an entire movie that keeps one thinking for days afterward. The gore became secondary. To me, anyway. Still trying to work this one out. Fantastic topic, thanks.
i absolutely agree. Without question Martyrs is INSANELY violent but it is done within the context of one of the best scripts in a horror movie in some time. The violence was not for the sake of violence like some american directors like Eli Roth.
Damn it! I had a copy in my hands yesterday, was going to buy it for 11.99 but I hadn't seen it before so I talked myself out of it. After reading this I'm going back to the place later and hopefully they'll still have it.
As for the new wave of French horror, I tried watching Frontier(s) but it took so long to get going I got bored with it and shut it off. But I loved Haute Tension, thought it was one of the best horror flicks of the early '00s. I'd like to see Inside but haven't found a copy locally yet. Will likely end up having to order it online.
i absolutely agree. Without question Martyrs is INSANELY violent but it is done within the context of one of the best scripts in a horror movie in some time. The violence was not for the sake of violence like some american directors like Eli Roth.
Damn it! I had a copy in my hands yesterday, was going to buy it for 11.99 but I hadn't seen it before so I talked myself out of it. After reading this I'm going back to the place later and hopefully they'll still have it.
As for the new wave of French horror, I tried watching Frontier(s) but it took so long to get going I got bored with it and shut it off. But I loved Haute Tension, thought it was one of the best horror flicks of the early '00s. I'd like to see Inside but haven't found a copy locally yet. Will likely end up having to order it online.
you need to do like me and look up films in the tomb. It shows you its approval rating. Or you can look at the DVD page to see the most popular dvd releases based on reviews.
"Torture porn" is a buzz term like "cut and run", it means nothing to me. I think the reason we don't see many innovative horror movies in North America is because finances are connected to ratings, and if you can't get the whole family out to the theatre than no one is willing to risk the investment. In the horror genre case it's the teens that need to be spoon feed by the regurgitation of the past tried and trues.
Further to that, ratings can demonize a movie whether it's deserving or not, which can influence the movies success. It could help and it could hurt. Our culture has a tendency to point blame for social acts of violence on entertainment, like movies, music and video games. Again demonizing a genre, but it's funny that no one considered "The Sopranos" as glorifying organized crime, but I digress.
But the key to all of this is that for the most part the general public can not fathom a movie like Martyrs. They can't look beyond the horror and disgusting violence to realize the intelligent notion of the script. Without a select group of fans that weigh in on site likes this, these movies would be passed by, whether they're French or American productions.
Last edited by Captainhoodoo (2009-06-05 16:09:41)
Torture porn means squat to me too. I think that term is just to give a bogus boost to get people to check it out when it actually means nothing! I hate it when certain movies are classified as torture porn. That asshole who first brought that term out into the mainstream should be tortured!
Very good article worthy of a posh newspaper, in the films section. Although I love French films, I am not into this new wave of violence, even if the perpetrators do deserve it. Much more a Luc Besson fan and would rather leave this sort of violence alone.
Very good article worthy of a posh newspaper, in the films section. Although I love French films, I am not into this new wave of violence, even if the perpetrators do deserve it. Much more a Luc Besson fan and would rather leave this sort of violence alone.
Interesting that you say, because Luc Besson's EuropaCorp is the production company for both Haute Tension and Frontiere(s)! I wrote earlier that I think that there's a precedent for the new trend in French cinema, and I think the cinema du look, that Besson was a big part of, is one of the trends that has influence the new horror trend. That's not to say I think that just because you like Luc Besson means you should be watching the new French horror films at all, I just think it's an interesting link
I have a question for the guys. I never watched torture porn and i am courious. is there a place that i can watch online without getting all the porn pop ups, trojans and spam . lol
The only French film outta the bunch that holds any interest for me is Inside. Any one that's done research on the Grand Guignol theatre will recognize the 'tools' used in their productions: scissors and knitting needles. That's what it's all about. The Theatre of Blood...
But what truly sets the French apart from the rest of the world is their strong belief that cinema is art and in the U.S. (unfortunately) it is treated mostly (not always) as commerce.
Once again a new fad in horror is being glamorized as the savior of horror.. You know I seem to remember this happening about 7 years ago.. You know what country it was then? Japan. Everyone jumped on that bandwagon including myself.. I was among the first in fact and quickly realized that they soon began to repeat the same feel and quirkiness to all of their films..
I think there is a VAST difference between American films and Hollywood films. Hollywood is very mainstream and it is what you see every weekend at the theater. On the other hand are "low budget" films that are not granted a large theatrical release because no studio is willing to take them. Those films then travel to Fantasia, Cannes, and the AFM to be sold. Most of these types of films are not hunted down by most horror fans because they usually go straight to DVD which is generally a death sentence especially because the American DVD market is over saturated with crap.
Luckily I get to see a lot of these films and I am well aware of them as they being made and I keep track of them. Not all fans are willing to do that. Sometimes it takes years for a film to get some kind of a deal. But when a violent film like Martyrs or Inside is released it is blown up on the global scene because they are not really known for exporting horror films. Not saying they aren't any good but saying that all American filmmakers are inept is simply not true.
The Luc connection is interesting but I did try and watch Frontieres and switched it off, and I did not even get to the violent stuff, just the yelling and intensity put me off. Much prefer something like Crimson Rivers.
Congrats to Mercenary Toast on landing the new writing gig. I feel like the site found my more concise evil twin and had it write on the same exact topic I would have done for my inaugural post. I'd be bitter, but I got into transcendentalism as a coping mechanism long ago, and can instead appreciate the quality of the article and writer you've added to the site.
Great points, agree with all of them so I have nothing more to say than I'm glad to see a post provoking so many thoughtful and on-the-longer-side replies.
I think its not torture porn because its not mainstream enough for critics to watch it and label it as such. Its "New Wave" french horror in horror circles, because critics are the ones who like to toss around the term torture porn
Speaking of French horror, I saw a pretty decent French slasher flick back in the early '00's with a killer who wore a black wolf mask. I remember thinking it was nicely creepy and atmospheric. Normally I knows my horror shit like a mo-fo but I'll be damned if I can remember the name of it. Something "In the Woods" or some such.
Well apparently, he's not as hard as he makes out to be, because he was actually somewhat upset after the movie was over. 
