Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom (1975)

Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom (1975)

[2] During World War II, four fascist leaders round up a group of adolescent boys and girls to torture for one-hundred-twenty days. Just knowing what Salò is about kept me from watching it for decades. But now that I've finally…
Saw IV (2007)

Saw IV (2007)

[3] The fourth Saw film isn't nearly as clever as it tries so desperately to be, and the death traps for which the series is so famous are woefully uninspired. The movie also deflates the mystique of its central character,…
The Human Centipede (2009)

The Human Centipede (2009)

[6] A demented German surgeon connects the gastro-intestinal tracts of two hapless American women and a Japanese man to create a 'human centipede' in this sick little horror flick from Dutch director Tom Six. The film is most horrifying before…
Hard Candy (2006)

Hard Candy (2006)

[8] A 14-year-old goes home with a guy in his 30s. What follows is a nightmarish power struggle. Hard Candy is an intense character-driven thriller that succeeds primarily for the incredible performances of Patrick Wilson (Watchmen) and Ellen Page (Juno).…
Martyrs (2008)

Martyrs (2008)

[8] I was beginning to wonder if torture could ever be depicted in a movie without the movie becoming "torture porn", without any other cinematic merit. This French horror flick answers my question. In Martyrs, torture isn't just a dirty…
Shadow (2009)

Shadow (2009)

[8] Crazed hunters pursue an American mountain cyclist through the misty Austrian wilderness until all parties fall prey to a super-sick and twisted, almost supernatural character referred to as Mortis. Director Federico Zampaglione puts a few fresh spins on this…
The Loved Ones (2009)

The Loved Ones (2009)

[8] Half-way through The Loved Ones, I was hating it all over. The fact that it won me back impresses the shit out of me. It's an Australian horror flick about a hapless teenager struggling with survivor's guilt (Xavier Samuel)…
The Collector (2009)

The Collector (2009)

[3] A man decides to rob the home of a client, unaware that a psycho-killer has already laid claim to the family and has booby-trapped their entire house. If you'd never ever seen a home invasion or torture porn flick,…