Jigsaw is back in theaters this Friday, bringing back memories of the bygone era between 2004 and 2010 (the release years of the first and last Saw movies) when every horror movie released seemed to fall under the guise of ‘torture porn.’ They involved inflicting the most amount of pain in the slowest way possible, where dark fates could lead to death, or something worse: living on, literally broken in body and mind. Relive the pain with 24 best and worst (mostly worst) torture porn movies pieced and sorted by Tomatometer!
Borderland (2007, 100%)
A spicy take from south of the border that sagely keeps its torture pornin’ for the gruesome final act.
Inside (2007, 83%)
A mot juste of French New Extremity, you’ll never look at stabbing a pregnant woman in the stomach with scissors the same way ever again.
Hostel (2006, 61%)
Featuring lots of guts and gore, Hostel is a wildly entertaining corpse-filled journey — assuming one is entertained by corpses, guts, and gore, that is.
Would You Rather (2013, 57%)
Though restrained by most torture porn standards, Would You Rather‘s brilliant premise is ultimately harmed by its tendency towards blood and guts.
Frontier(s) (2007, 55%)
Perhaps slapdash with its aspirations toward message-making, this ultra-gory horror flick nonetheless delivers the bloody goods.
Martyrs (2007, 53%)
A real polarising movie, this Gallic torture-porn is graphic, brutal, nasty and gruesome and not to everyone’s taste.
The Hills Have Eyes (2006, 49%)
Faster paced for today’s audiences, this Hills remake ratchets up the gore for the hardcore horror fans, but will turn away casual audiences.
The Human Centipede (First Sequence) (2010, 49%)
Grotesque, visceral and hard to (ahem) swallow, this surgical horror doesn’t quite earn its stripes because the gross-outs overwhelm and devalue everything else.
Saw (2004, 48%) Saw is more than nasty enough for genre junkies, but far too twisted, gory, and shallow for more discerning horror fans.
A Serbian Film (2011, 45%)
A pointless shocker and societal allegory, a film whose imagery is so gruesome as to leave you scarred for life…or rolling your eyes for 100 minutes.
Hostel Part II 2007(, 44%)
Offering up more of the familiar sadism and gore, Hostel: Part II will surely thrill horror fans.
The Last House on the Left (2009, 41%)
Excessive and gory, this remake lacks the intellectual punch of the 1972 original.
Saw VI (2009, 38%)
It won’t earn the franchise many new fans, but Saw VI is a surprising step up for what has become an intricately grisly annual tradition.
Saw II (2005, 36%) Saw II is likely to please the gore-happy fans of the original, though it may be too gruesome for those not familiar with first film’s premise.
I Spit On Your Grave (2010, 33%)
Well-shot exploitation that has less purpose and utility than in 1978.
The Collector (2009, 30%)
Increasingly tedious displays of gore make this torture porn home-invasion-horror more programmatic than provocative.
The Human Centipede II (Full Sequence) (2011, 30%) The Human Centipede II (Full Sequence) attempts to weave in social commentary but as the movie wears on, it loses its ability to repulse and shock and ends up obnoxious and annoying.
Saw III (2006, 27%) Saw III does little beyond repeating its predecessor’s tropes on a gorier level.
Saw IV (2007, 17%) Saw IV is more disturbing than compelling, with material already seen in the prior installments.
Turistas (2006, 16%)
Beautiful scenery and cinematography can’t save Turistas from its wooden acting and stale and predictable plot.
Saw V (2008, 12%)
If its plot were as interesting as its torture devices, or its violence less painful than its performances, perhaps Saw V might not feel like it was running on fumes.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (2006, 12%) The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning is full of blood and gore, but not enough scares or a coherent story to make for a successful horror film.
Saw 3D (2010, 9%)
Sloppily filmed, poorly acted, and illogically plotted, Saw 3D leaves viewers trapped in the most lackluster installment of the series.
Captivity (2007, 9%)
Lacking scares or psychological insight, Captivity is a distasteful entry in the ‘torture porn’ subgenre.
