"Kerner views [torture porn] with a clear, cold eye, continually drawing readers back to his central point, which is that viewers are complicit in the creation and reception of torture porn films. This offers a bleak signpost to what one can expect in the shared stakes of cinematic representationalism." (Choice) "Kerner views [torture porn] with a clear, cold eye, continually drawing readers back to his central point, which is that viewers are complicit in the creation and reception of torture porn films. This offers a bleak signpost to what one can expect in the shared stakes of cinematic representationalism." (Choice) "Vital for our current cultural moment." (Journal of American Culture) "An important work in film studies." (Cinema Journal) "Vital for our current cultural moment." (Journal of American Culture) "An important work in film studies." (Cinema Journal) "A rich and provocative account of the possible cultural and political merits of films representative of the genre." (Women's Studies) "A rich and provocative account of the possible cultural and political merits of films representative of the genre." (Women's Studies) "By focusing on the concept of sadism and drawing on holocaust atrocities, Kerner offers original insights into the relationship between torture porn and American culture in the post-9/11 period." - Steve Jones (author of Torture Porn: Popular Horror after Saw) "By focusing on the concept of sadism and drawing on holocaust atrocities, Kerner offers original insights into the relationship between torture porn and American culture in the post-9/11 period." - Steve Jones (author of Torture Porn: Popular Horror after Saw) "This remarkable contribution to the scholarship on today's most reviled film cycle expertly demonstrates the continued relevance of trenchant cultural criticism, from Saw to Bush and beyond." - Mattias Frey (University of Kent) "This remarkable contribution to the scholarship on today's most reviled film cycle expertly demonstrates the continued relevance of trenchant cultural criticism, from Saw to Bush and beyond." - Mattias Frey (University of Kent)