The director of the last two Saw films, Darren Lynn Bousman, has written a rebuttal to Bill O’Reilly’s screed against the latest trend in horror films. Unfortunately, it reads like the work of an adolescent ranting against the system on the back of his math homework. If Bill O’Reilly’s program was truly “the single most ignorant rant I have ever heard” and “the most ridiculously statement I have thus far heard” then someone has to take a break from rushing out Saw sequels and get out more.

Next - on your ‘report’ you mention that you have NEVER seen one of these ‘gorno’ films… Nor - in that matter had anyone on your panel. So - don’t you think it’s a bit hasty to be judging something you have not seen. Tell you what - I will send you a copy of the SAW series - once you have watched the three films - and educated yourself with Jigsaw and all his ‘wacky’ victims - then we can talk about the merit of them.

While I agree with the sentiment, I have my doubts that of all the so-called “torture porn” movies out there, the most shallow and inconsistent of them all will sway the pundits in a positive manner. I have to give credit where credit is due, though, and thank Bousman for introducing me to the wonders of the term “gorno”.

For future reference, if anyone else is planning on taking on the mantle of the defender of horror, please take more than five minutes to put down your thoughts. This was by far the worst argument I have ever read. For real.

Recent years have seen horror films which were scorned upon their initial release dragged out of the vaults, dusted off, and given a well-deserved polish. Unfortunately, the same resepct hasn’t been afforded their counterparts in comics. First there was the unnecessary retooling of the EC Comics, and now Marvel Comics is bortching their own material by censoring their Bronze Age horror reprints. The Groovy Age of Horror has posted just a few side-by-side examples showing the difference between the original Tomb of Dracula published over a quater-century ago and the reprints from the most recent Essential volume. Essentially abhorrent, maybe.

I hate when companies hire hacks to go in and retool someone’s hard work, especially when they make no effort to warn the public that they’re receiving damaged goods. And does anyone else find it the least bit disturbing that we’re growing more close-minded and puritanical as the years progress? How is it that the Marvel of 30 years ago was more daring than the supposedly edgy Marvel of today? What does everyone else think?

In honour of the release of This Film Not Rated, Yahoo! Movies has gone back through its interviews with both actors and directors and plucked out all the dirt on the cinema rating game. While the majority of the article deals with sex, there are a few instances of close calls concerning violence and gore, from Jason X to Scream 2 to Slither.

“Director Eli Roth is a good friend and very talented guy and he gave them Hostel just before we gave him this movie, so we didn’t have a problem with the MPAA,” adds Gunn. “We are eternally grateful. If you watch the actual amount of gore, we actually have a lot more gore, but because we’re surreal, we actually get away with a lot more, I think because of our timing.”

The entire thing is a great collection of snippets and well worth the read.