Should Hollywood allow unrated bloodbaths?
Samuel Van Eerden
March 29, 2007
In recent interviews with MTV and horror-movies.ca, Eli Roth talked extensively about his upcoming films Hostel 2 and Cell (the Stephen King novel-to-movie adaptation). With just two major film releases under his belt (Cabin Fever and Hostel), Eli Roth is already shaking things up big-time in tinseltown. Along with Rob Zombie (House of 1000 corpses), James Wan (Saw trilogy), Alex Aja (The Hills Have Eyes), Neil Marshall (The Descent), and others, they have been dubbed the "Splat Pack" for their intensely sadistic movies. However, it takes more than blood and guts to get into the exclusive gang; it takes big bucks. The Splat Pack's revitalized genre ofgorno (gore + porno) has scored time and again at the box office, with hits like Saw and Hostel making roughly 50 times their production costs at the box office alone! DVD sales have chipped in millions more.
Eli Roth said in a Fox News interview that he owes his success in the horror genre to the current political administration. "Thanks to George Bush, Dick Cheney, and DonaldRumsfeld ," remarked Roth, "we have a whole new wave of horror films. Because of what's going on in the [Iraq war] people have a need to scream . . . and seeing [horror] on screen and screaming about it . . . helps you deal with the terror of things you can't control."
But apparently releases like Saw, Hostel, and The Descent aren't enough. In Wednesday's interview with MTV, Eli Roth said the following:
MTV: What kind of trajectory would you like to see horror take in the future?
Roth: We're in a really violent wave and I hope it never ends. Hopefully we'll get to a point where there are absolutely no restrictions on any kind of violence in movies. . . . I'd love to see us get to a point where you can make a movie and not worry about the limits of the violence.
His rationale for such brazen statements? He speculates the movies would "get so violent that people would get bored of [them]." He also expects that movie viewers are able to astutely realize that it's not real, and that all the torture, blood, and gore is "fake." Currently he and his blood buddies are under the restrictions of theMPAA , but they are constantly toeing that boundary line where R becomes NC-17. Because of the theatrical limitations on NC-17 movies (no-one under age 17 can view them), it has rarely been a prudent choice to release a movie with such a rating. Thus films like Hostel were edited down to exclude the smallest possible amount of 'gorno' and still get the much more box office-friendly "R" label, which--like a Parental Guidance sticker on a music album--is all but ignored by a lot of moviegoers looking for entertainment.
And sadly, a lot of people are turning more and more towards the eye-popping (literally; aka: the infamous Hostel scene) visuals of rabid horror movies where too much is still never enough. In the double-feature movie Grindhouse (coming out April 6), Robert Rodriguez (Sin City) and Quentin Tarantino (Kill Bill) are putting together two full-length features, and Eli Roth directed a trailer to a faux movie Thanksgiving to show between the pictures. The movie was expected to need major editing to avoid an NC-17 rating, but Aint It Cool News reported that only a couple cuts were actually made. Roth's trailer of the fictional Thanksgiving is, itself, the total realization of a gorno sexploitation picture. Of the trailer, Eli said "It's one money shot after another. Killing, nudity. . . . This is pure, unadulterated, gratuitous sex and violence." He beams like this is the best thing to ever show on the big screen.
In the exclusive first look at the new Hostel 2 teaser trailer, Eli Roth introduces it from his seat on the set of a blood-soaked cement floor, with a meat cleaver in his hand. Before the trailer begins, he yells "Action. More blood!" and then the trailer proceeds to do just that: pour on the mental images with teasing sound effects and curdling screams. It's the epitome of the genre, but the sign of a new demented era in Hollywood where people are being entertained and aroused by graphic portrayals of the worst kinds of human suffering an imagination can conjure up.
It's sickening. And with these new statements about wanting to let any level of violence into the theater and onto your DVD, Eli Roth is trying to go even farther with his sick perversions. Yes, he wants "more blood," but the question is, what is all this gornotainment doing to the minds of people watching?
Eli Roth claims that they know better. It's the old argument that people can easily separate reality from fantasy. But in the same interview with MTV, he revealed that the scene from Hostel that intrigued audiences most was the one where an American businessmen is pondering "Whats it like to kill someone?" Roth said the fans told him "I want to see a movie about that guy."
And this doesn't disturb us? Are we that bloodthirsty and sick that our idea of entertainment is watching some guy go from wondering what it's like to kill someone to actually carrying out the deed...in the most horrible ways he can think of?
Eli Roth said that when audiences finish watching Hostel 2, they'll be "want[ing] [their] lunch back."
After seeing the two posters for Hostel 2 (both featuring decapitated heads, and one against a fleshy membranous backdrop) I'm already wanting it back.
Eli Roth said in a Fox News interview that he owes his success in the horror genre to the current political administration. "Thanks to George Bush, Dick Cheney, and DonaldRumsfeld ," remarked Roth, "we have a whole new wave of horror films. Because of what's going on in the [Iraq war] people have a need to scream . . . and seeing [horror] on screen and screaming about it . . . helps you deal with the terror of things you can't control."
But apparently releases like Saw, Hostel, and The Descent aren't enough. In Wednesday's interview with MTV, Eli Roth said the following:
MTV: What kind of trajectory would you like to see horror take in the future?
Roth: We're in a really violent wave and I hope it never ends. Hopefully we'll get to a point where there are absolutely no restrictions on any kind of violence in movies. . . . I'd love to see us get to a point where you can make a movie and not worry about the limits of the violence.
His rationale for such brazen statements? He speculates the movies would "get so violent that people would get bored of [them]." He also expects that movie viewers are able to astutely realize that it's not real, and that all the torture, blood, and gore is "fake." Currently he and his blood buddies are under the restrictions of theMPAA , but they are constantly toeing that boundary line where R becomes NC-17. Because of the theatrical limitations on NC-17 movies (no-one under age 17 can view them), it has rarely been a prudent choice to release a movie with such a rating. Thus films like Hostel were edited down to exclude the smallest possible amount of 'gorno' and still get the much more box office-friendly "R" label, which--like a Parental Guidance sticker on a music album--is all but ignored by a lot of moviegoers looking for entertainment.
And sadly, a lot of people are turning more and more towards the eye-popping (literally; aka: the infamous Hostel scene) visuals of rabid horror movies where too much is still never enough. In the double-feature movie Grindhouse (coming out April 6), Robert Rodriguez (Sin City) and Quentin Tarantino (Kill Bill) are putting together two full-length features, and Eli Roth directed a trailer to a faux movie Thanksgiving to show between the pictures. The movie was expected to need major editing to avoid an NC-17 rating, but Aint It Cool News reported that only a couple cuts were actually made. Roth's trailer of the fictional Thanksgiving is, itself, the total realization of a gorno sexploitation picture. Of the trailer, Eli said "It's one money shot after another. Killing, nudity. . . . This is pure, unadulterated, gratuitous sex and violence." He beams like this is the best thing to ever show on the big screen.
In the exclusive first look at the new Hostel 2 teaser trailer, Eli Roth introduces it from his seat on the set of a blood-soaked cement floor, with a meat cleaver in his hand. Before the trailer begins, he yells "Action. More blood!" and then the trailer proceeds to do just that: pour on the mental images with teasing sound effects and curdling screams. It's the epitome of the genre, but the sign of a new demented era in Hollywood where people are being entertained and aroused by graphic portrayals of the worst kinds of human suffering an imagination can conjure up.
It's sickening. And with these new statements about wanting to let any level of violence into the theater and onto your DVD, Eli Roth is trying to go even farther with his sick perversions. Yes, he wants "more blood," but the question is, what is all this gornotainment doing to the minds of people watching?
Eli Roth claims that they know better. It's the old argument that people can easily separate reality from fantasy. But in the same interview with MTV, he revealed that the scene from Hostel that intrigued audiences most was the one where an American businessmen is pondering "Whats it like to kill someone?" Roth said the fans told him "I want to see a movie about that guy."
And this doesn't disturb us? Are we that bloodthirsty and sick that our idea of entertainment is watching some guy go from wondering what it's like to kill someone to actually carrying out the deed...in the most horrible ways he can think of?
Eli Roth said that when audiences finish watching Hostel 2, they'll be "want[ing] [their] lunch back."
After seeing the two posters for Hostel 2 (both featuring decapitated heads, and one against a fleshy membranous backdrop) I'm already wanting it back.
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