Here is a recent post to a horror movie Web site I visit. The question was how much further can the mainstream torture-porn movies go (ie. Saw, Hostel, Captive and so on).

Great question!

Seems that human feces, erections, on screen sexual penetration, graphic violence towards children, children in obscene onscreen sexual situations and graphic violence presented too realistically are still taboo, but the Motion Picture Association of America is a fickle beast.

For example, in 1999 they slapped the Oscar-winning "Boy's Don't Cry" with an NC-17 because a woman had an onscreen orgasm that was too long. This seems like an odd thing to focus on when the movie also features the graphic rape and then shooting of the main character.

But I digress, most of the above taboos have already been smashed outside of mainstream torture porn productions. As early as the late 1700s, The Marquis De Sade was writing pornographic novels featuring pederasty, coprophagy and the killing of children (if I remember correctly, in"120 Days of Sodom"; a baby is skewered on a pike and then tossed into a fire). Today you can find similar writings on Amazon in the form of Splatterpunk. Eli Roth has nothing on these guys and gals.

Independent unrated horror movies aren't far behind. The first torture porn guru had to be Herschell Gordon Lewis who started torturing topless women in the late 60's. Although, the gore was cheesy the scenes were quite graphic and the camera didn't turn away as knives, pliers and other implements pierced, sawed and gouged human flesh in extended and grotesque detail. He paved the way for other nastiness: coprophagic "Salo"; dismembering "Flowers of Flesh and Blood"; nipple slicing "New York Ripper"; metal pipe erection sex "Nekromatik"; necrophilac "Aftermath", and the rape filled "August Underground." Neither James Wan nor Rob Zombie want to touch what these freaks above have done.

So back to the question, how far will torture porn go? I think mainstream torture porn has almost gone as far as it possibly can. The MPAA seems pretty friendly to the captivity and torture of women but, for better or worse, I don't think they'll let it go much further than they already have. Maybe they'll open up a bit on the torture of men, perhaps a more audibly shocking off-camera genital mutilation or a bit more extreme male on male rape. Again, for better or worse, I can also see them allowing a bit more violence and sexual victimization towards children but not by very much.

The indies however, again for better or worse, will just keep pushing as long as there is an audience for their goods.