The description of Hostel’s upcoming TV show proves that one of the most divisive horror sub-genres of the 2000s could finally be over. Hostel was more than a little controversial when the 2005 horror movie originally released. The story followed three unlikable American tourists who got more than they bargained for when seeking a hedonistic trip to Eastern Europe. The film was met with complaints from residents of Slovakia and the Czech Republic, feeling their countries were demonized by Hostel since the story revealed that the titular inn allowed rich patrons to torture unfortunate victims for money.

However, Hostel’s negative portrayal of Slovakia wasn’t the only controversial thing about director Eli Roth’s movie. Hostel was heavily cut by censors in numerous countries and written off by many critics as “torture porn,” a divisive term used to define a certain brand of mid-’00s horror movies. Hostel and its ilk were accused of providing viewers with intense gore and shock value but little in the way of artistic merit. Roth’s inspiration for Hostel involved critiques of sex tourism and capitalism, but detractors felt that any message was drowned out by the movie’s excessive, gratuitous violence.

Hostel’s TV Show Is Distancing The Franchise From Torture Porn

The ‘00s Horror Franchise Reboot Will Be An “Elevated Thriller”

Now, 19 years after Roth’s movie proved a box office success, a Hostel TV show is in development. Roth is working on the series, which is set to feature Paul Giamatti in an undisclosed role. However, viewers who enjoyed the original movies despite their critical failure should not get their hopes up. Reportedly, Hostel’s TV show will be a “reinvention” of the franchise, a “modern adaptation” that is described as an “elevated thriller.” This terminology makes it abundantly obvious that the creators hope to steer clear of one infamous phrase associated with Hostel.

The fact that even a TV spinoff of Hostel, the archetypical “torture porn” franchise, is being branded as an “elevated thriller” implies that the maligned sub-genre can never come back. Even though Hostel isn’t Roth’s best horror movie, it was a big box office success upon release. The controversies surrounding the movie may have even contributed to its astronomical box office, with Hostel earning nearly $82 million on a budget of only $4.8 million (via Box Office Mojo). This spawned a slew of copycats and a short-lived sub-genre that replicated both Hostel’s grimy aesthetic and its boundary-pushing depictions of graphic violence.

“Torture Porn” Was The Most Hated Horror Trend of The ‘00s

Hostel Was Part Of An Infamously Controversial Sub-Genre

Considering how critically maligned most ‘00s horror was, the unique critical distaste for this sub-genre was pretty notable. The deluge of classic horror remakes, the popularity of anodyne, critically abhorred PG-13 horror, and the preponderance of unimaginative Japanese horror remakes never earned as much ire as Turistas, Captivity, and even Hostel’s own sequels. By the time Hostel: Part II arrived in 2007, the controversial trend was already nearing its early end. Hostel: Part II earned only $35 million at the box office, proving that Hostel should have been a standalone horror and that its reviled sub-genre was no longer profitable.

Still, the sub-genere’s influence on horror lasted a little longer. 2009’s Horsemen, the same year’s The Collector, and 2008’s WΔZ retained elements of the controversial sub-genre’s formula, while 2009’s The Human Centipede was similarly indebted to the style Roth originated. The Saw series continued to perform impressively at the box office, but its focus on police procedural elements meant that the gory serial killer thrillers usually avoided the dreaded label. Meanwhile, television benefited from the loosening of censorship norms as the medium began experimenting with more intense onscreen violence and provocative content than ever before.

Why The “Torture Porn” Genre Of Horror Was So Divisive

Censors and Critics Alike Questioned The Sub-genres Worth

The sub-genre was controversial throughout its brief life, although few critics have defended Hostel or its imitators in the years since its release. A handful of academics suggested that the sub-genre was a satirical response to the horrors of 9/11 and the Iraq invasion, with a specific focus on the horrors of Abu Ghraib, “enhanced interrogation,” and Guantanamo Bay. For most reviewers, the sub-genre that Hostel spawned was gratuitously gross, often misogynistic, and, crucially, not all that scary. That said, as divisive as it was, its eventual influence on the broader media landscape is hard to deny.

The boundary-pushing gore seen in The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, American Horror Story, and even The Boys proves the sub-genre did change censorship norms. Hostel opened the door for gorier movies and shows, pushing the envelope regarding what could be seen onscreen. Before Roth, Tarantino had brought a new level of realism to screen violence. Before Tarantino, directors like Sam Peckinpah and movies like Bonnie and Clyde upped the ante for onscreen gore, pushing censors to allow more explicit violence onscreen. Despite this impact, Hostel’s critical standing never improved in the years after its sub-genre died down.

How The Hostel TV Can Redeem The Franchise’s Reputation

The Show Can Finally Distance Itself

The “elevated thriller” description proves that, from its inception, Hostel’s TV show wants to move on from the gruesome, gore-forward tone of the original movies. If Hostel, the franchise most closely associated with the sub-genre, has abandoned the style of Roth’s infamous original movie, then its sub-genre has little hope of ever returning. Even still, Hostel’s TV show has a tough task ahead of it since the sub-genre never really redeemed its reputation. Hostel bringing back the franchise while downplaying its controversial elements could be difficult since the movies were mostly known for their gory excesses.

The success of Saw X proved that the franchise transcended the “torture porn” label, but the rest of its notable directors gave up on the sub-genre. Roth, Alexandre Aja, and Rob Zombie moved on to more palatable horror projects, while the sub-genre itself never received many retrospective reviews that redeemed its reputation. It is now mostly viewed as a reactionary fad, and Hostel’s TV show distancing itself from the movies proves this won’t change anytime soon. Instead, Hostel looks likely to reshape its entire aesthetic, severing any ties to the franchise’s grim origins in favor of a more mainstream, acceptable brand of psychological horror.

Source: Box Office Mojo