Ask John: Could the Popularity of “Torture Porn” Lead to New American Animation?

Question:
Why hasn’t the movies Hostel & Saw provided leverage for the more extreme manga to be animated by an American studio, like the stuff by Kago Shintaro & Uziga Waita? Wouldn’t it seems that there’s a demand for things that go beyond the current politically correct norms of what can & can’t be shown?

Answer:
While I do think that the linear train of your logic is intriguing, there are numerous other circumstances that come into play and affect this particular theory. “Torture porn,” as it’s come to be called, has established itself as a horror film subgenre in recent years in the form of American films like the Hostel and Saw franchises, Live Feed, Touristas, and Captivity, as well as international films like The Torturer (Italy), Wolf Creek (Australia), and The Butcher (Korea). However, the “success” of these films is a relative condition. And while “torture porn” movies may push the envelope of conventional cinematic standards, they are still live action features, and they’re not like the highly unconventional manga of authors like Kago Shintaro & Uziga Waita.

Films in the torture porn genre, like most horror movies, are able to “succeed” because horror is a relatively inexpensive cinematic genre to produce. Horror films frequently work best with unknown actors that don’t draw gigantic paychecks, and low budget, practical sets and special effects. So even a moderately successful horror film can be considered “successful” if it turns a profit on its small production budget. In effect, torture porn movies may be “successful” enough to justify their existence and the creation of sequels and redundant films, but not necessarily successful enough to justify financing other styles of movies with passing similarity. Furthermore, since these films don’t have to earn a tremendous profit to be considered “successful,” it’s easy to forget that these films have a relatively small audience.

The fact that film studios and distributors are willing to support the production of torture porn movies, and a small cult of horror fans are willing to watch them doesn’t mean that America is equally prepared to support animated adaptations of underground or grotesque Japanese manga. While Americans are prepared to accept the idea of live action film pushing the boundaries of convention and decorum, America remains less agreeable to similar adult oriented animation.

It’s also necessary to recognize that there’s a stylistic difference between the content of typical “torture porn” movies and the work of transgressive manga artists. Kago Shintaro’s work tends toward phantasmagorical and shocking, unlike the grim realism of torture porn movies. Uziga Waita’s stereotypical work may be superficially similar to live action cinematic torture porn, but Uziga’s work is typically tremendously more misogynistic, grotesque, and extreme than even the most gruesome live action torture porn movies. Furthermore, consider that animator Hiroshi Harada’s 1992 anime feature “Midori,” based on ero-guro mangaka Suehiro Maruo’s “Shoujo Tsubaki” remains virtually unknown because it’s simply unappealing and inaccessible to the majority of horror movie fans, and even hardcore anime fans.

In effect, I agree with the assertion that the popularization of the torture porn horror film genre demonstrates an audience demand for horror movies that break the mold of conventional horror genres, and offer a new sensationalism. However, I don’t see evidence to suggest that the popularity of live action torture porn movies means that American viewers are also eager to watch animated adaptations of sickeningly graphic sadism or bizarre, fantastical horror from Japanese authors.