In the spirit of Halloween, I have comprised yet another favorites list specific to the controversial genre of torture porn horror. Below you will find four films that push the envelope in the genre and make most of us squirm uncomfortably the whole time watching.

A Serbian Film (2011)

Oh, the spectrum that plots the opinions regarding this movie is polarized, indeed. You have the fans that call it a masterpiece, complete with several layers of sociopolitical awareness regarding the film industry. Fans who covet its hyperrealism and portrayal of victimization. Then, you have the people who are furious a film like this can even exist: the idea that the subject material approached in this film can be marketed and reduced to cheap entertainment. I try to find a middle ground with this film. Will I ever watch it again? No, definitely not. It has beautiful cinematography but of course that’s not worth the psychological torture you experience when watching it. So why does it make it on the list? Because to me, despite the message the director says he was trying to relay, this is the epitome of modern torture porn both literally and figuratively, even though I don’t feel it’s the best movie the sub-genre has to offer. If you’re a horror fan, you should watch it, but cancel any fun plans you have the following few days. You don’t want to be the guy at the party sitting catatonic in the corner of the room. If you’re not a horror fan and you are referencing this list for Halloween purposes only, consult this synopsis and stay far, far away.

Funny Games (1997/2007)

I recommend the 2007 remake (by the same director) simply because it was made to better serve the American public after the original German film did so poorly in the US box office. Nevertheless, Funny Games is my gift to you, faithful viewer, for surviving the optical horrors presented in A Serbian FIlm. There will be no rest for your psyche between the two movies, but Funny Games is smart torture porn. It’s sadistic without having to gouge any eyeballs with sharp objects. It’s psychologically tormenting (although don’t get me wrong, there is still a hearty serving of blood). What makes this film one of the best that the torture porn sub-genre has to offer is the fact that it successfully breaks the wall between the viewer and the actor. Several times throughout the movie, the antagonist speaks directly to us, and he does so as if we are his equal. After all, we are the ones viewing a family be tortured for pleasure. Naomi Watts does an excellent job amplifying this unsettling camaraderie between the antagonist and the viewer. She plays her role as victim so well that in the end, even though we are supposed to be on the side of her demise, we root for her to live. The original movie came on the scene during a time when horror had been reduced to uncreative slasher movies and the remake saved the genre once more from mindless blood splatter and vessel characters. I find it to fit quite nicely between A Serbian FIlm and The Collector on this list. I think it effectively shows that although those movies successfully emulate the genre, sometimes it’s better to push the envelope.

The Collector (2009)

Hopefully in roughly ten years, I will have graduated from collecting invertebrates and claimed the role of The Collector’s apprentice. I feel like I maintain a good resume for the job. I’m familiar with the human psyche, seeing as how I was an experimental psychology / neuroscience graduate student, which means I could be an effective torturer. This also means I have some pretty gnarly equipment that I could put to more depraved uses. I have experience with pinning and preserving and look pretty devious in a ski mask. All I need is to hone my psychopathy. The Collector is an underrated movie that suffered from the initial rumors of being the prequel to the Saw movies. The writers and directors are also the guys behind the last three Saw movies so it suffered from the stigma of that franchise. There is a disconnect between the first and second half of the movie. The first half is a smart character-building exposition, that gets us sympathetic to the protagonist’s plight. It spoils us in that sense, leading us to believe we will see the antagonist reach the same fruition. However, rather than delve deeply into The Collector’s past, the second half focuses on the elaborate traps and gutsy kill scenes. Not that I’m complaining; this is torture porn after all. I imagine this franchise will follow its predecessors and give us the gore we want while gradually lifting the curtain on our serial killer. Both this movie and it’s sequel The Collection are valued additions to the genre. They bring back the killing for killing’s sake vibe of 80s slashers, but replace the unrealisitic virgin protagonist with a tragic-hero you can both root for and relate to.

Would You Rather (2012)

I will openly admit that I walked into this movie expecting the worst. I was fully prepared for plot holes, bad acting, bogus deaths, and a disappointing ending. Could you blame me really? The lead actress is Brittany Snow, whose last horror movie was the pathetic remake of Prom Night (a movie that shouldn’t have even been remade). Second in command we have Sasha Grey in her non pornographic film debut. Maybe what makes me enjoy this film so much is because I was so wrong about it going in. Most of the “traps” are unimaginative and uninspiring, yes. There really isn’t even that much gore to be found here. But Would You Rather is more along the lines of Funny Games, which is why I’m so fond of it. It disturbs you because of the psychological torment inflicted on the characters (who you actually grow to like). This movie boasts one of my favorite endings in the horror genre because it’s just so perfectly traumatic and slaps the audience right in their face. I know the question you’re all dying to ask me. And I’m here to regretfully inform you that Sasha Grey is not nude in this movie at all. But every time she opens her mouth, you see the exponentially steeping decline of her legitimate acting career. How does one do so well at faking orgasms but do so awful at faking death? Also, I can't suspend my disbelief that Sasha Grey can't hold her breath for four minutes, especially with her life depending on it? Maybe if she was submerged in a bucket of a substance other than water, she would have lived. Oops, spoilers. Incidentally, I just created the first trap for the Would You Rather porn parody.