Aaron Michael Kerner

Saw, Hostel, The Devil's Rejects: this wave of horror movies have been classed as "torture porn". Critics have speculated that these movies reflect iconic images, anxieties, and sadistic fantasies that have emerged from the War on Terror. Aaron Kerner challenges that interpretation, arguing that "torture porn" must be understood in a much broader context, as part of a phenomenon that spans multiple media genres and is rooted in a long tradition of American violence.