Films like Saw and The Human Centipede are probably just adrenaline rushes and quick thrills. I'm not keen on them because I tend to empathise too much with cha

Films like Saw and The Human Centipede are probably just adrenaline rushes and quick thrills. I'm not keen on them because I tend to empathise too much with characters and, to be honest, I don't want to put myself in the shoes of someone facing their final moments with a reverse bear trap stuck to their face. It's generally why I'm not overly keen on violence in movies because I start to over-think or over-feel it, and those situations are so unrealistic that of course I can't comprehend it. I suppose that in itself is a form of cosmic horror but it's purely self inflicted, it's not what the movie is selling. Saw isn't a Lovecraft film. I wouldn't stop anyone else from watching them, and those movies aren't shit or trashy either (like some commenter has said). But I know my reasons for not enjoying them, and preferring horror that is more subtle, psychological, and rooted in realistic trauma that I've experienced myself. Torture is out of the picture because it's too often depicted as something the torturer can't wait to do, they're just held back by a system and they want to go rogue. You know, the trope of the torturer unfolding a cloth or a leather pouch to joyously reveal a bunch of surgical instruments. Or punching a guy in the face so hard it knocks their chair over; which in real life would probably put them in a coma.