And they keep going and going. There are far too many movies like this, and they just keep making more.
One of my colleagues recently showed a very graphic Holocaust film (probably Night and Fog–I’m not sure) to his students, and they were not the slightest bit perturbed, at least not visibly, by the sight of mass graves, emaciated corpses, etc. They’ve already seen it all, and worse, on a regular basis. That these things actually happened to many, many real people doesn’t seem to register.
In horror movies, it used to be that at least ONE victim would live. Now a lot of horror flicks are killing off everyone (Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning, Saw III, 2001 Maniacs, The Descent, etc.). Without anyone making it through to the end the movie ultimately isn’t about survival, rather just a nihilistic snuff film.
Oh my god, you’re right! The fact that I’m confusing a classic of the 1980’s with a classic of the 1960’s is…not as disturbing as it might be. It’s Calvin and Hobbes, after all.