Horror movies no longer scary, just revolting

Ed: Surely with the soul as with the computer, garbage in, garbage out (contra Philippians 4:8).

It's hard, right now, to be a fan of the ever-reviled horror genre without wanting to poke your own eyes out, or perhaps go at them with a blowtorch, as they do in Hostel.

It's not that the new wave of films are morally reprehensible or have the very fabric of society in their sights; they're just unspeakably nasty.

As someone who would put The Shining, Psycho, Alien and Don't Look Now way up on the list of the greatest films ever made, I do wish this weren't the case.

Those are all movies that have given a lot of us sleepless nights over the years, stuffed with powerfully graphic imagery, taking no prisoners in terms of who is victimised, and made with an absolute determination to torment and disturb their viewers.

But Saw III? Vacancy? Captivity? This is a different breed of film entirely, and disturbing in quite another sense. Read more (caution)