In case you haven’t noticed, there’s a crossover happening between the world of porn and horror films. As horror movies continue to become increasingly risqué, adult films are using the plots of classic scary films to concoct down-right outrageous parodies.
While they’re both guilty of taking some characteristics from the other, there’s a big difference in how they’re judged for doing so. Adults films can usually fly under the radar of critics, but the horror genre is susceptible to ribbing from critics and audiences alike for the plot, questionable acting, and the seemingly unnecessary sex scenes and nudity (things that are overlooked and encouraged in adult films).
But to the delight of fans, horror films are a special genre, like romance films. Directors will keep providing cliched scenes and stereotypical characters, despite criticism for doing so, because they know that’s what their audience wants. They know their viewers want to see a young couple getting it on or an attractive actress running around half-naked at some point in their films. Blurring the line with the porn industry is just another way for them to go above and beyond in their delivery.
Not surprisingly, the integration of explicit scenes in the modern horror movies means there’s no room for subtlety. Today, instead of showing a cheerleader flashing her boobs to a truck full of high school football players, sexually charged scenes in horror flicks are becoming more like soft-core porn. Directors don’t hesitate in showing a couple bumping and grinding away in all their glory, with Irene’s run across a motel parking lot in My Bloody Valentine 3D serving as pretty good evidence that they’re not keeping the camera focused on the waist up. Movie Pilot describes the overt sex scenes in films such as House of 1000 Corpses as the ones that “stop you in your tracks, catch your breath, or in the days of good old-fashioned VHS tapes, wear out a specific section of tape so badly you have to buy a new copy of the movie.”
Of course it’s not just the use of super-explicit scenes that are making horror films more like porn—it’s the actors.
You used to have to look hard to find actresses who could go from porn to mainstream pictures, but today’s horror films are making the process a hell of a lot easier. In the last 5 years or so, there’s been a trend of involving actual porn stars into the horror genre, and it’s been met with a lot of success. As Bloody Good Horror puts it, “If there’s a combo for a horror movie that will pretty much guarantee every fan is going to watch it, I would say it’s put a cult icon on screen with a porn star.” Given the popularity of these stars in horror films as of late, audiences everywhere appear to feel the same.
photo by Lost or Forgotten StudioAdult actresses Riley Steele, Gianna Michaels and Ashlynn Brooke all had roles in Piranha back in 2010; Alexis Texas was featured in Bloodlust Zombies in 2011; and Sophie Dee entered the genre in 2012 with Theatre of the Deranged just to name a few.
Some other noteworthy names in the business are making the crossover, too, like well-known actress Bree Olson. Just a year after entering the adult business, Olson was already on her way to becoming a household name. Before she branched out, her films were in such high demand that her popularity earned her a contract with pornographic film and adult retail company Adam & Eve. After starring in more than 280 adult films, she’s now trying her hand at horror, starring in The Human Centipede III (Final Sequence), which is due out in 2015.
Arguably one of the biggest names to come out of porn in the last five years, Sasha Grey has taken a similar path. She’s appeared in over 300 films, a handful of which have fallen under the horror genre. She was in the 2009 low-budget comedy/horror film Smash Cut , 2013’s Would You Rather, and the Indonesian film Pocong mandi goyang pinggul (translated to Shrouded Corpse Bathing While Hip-Shaking) in 2011, among others.
Let us not forget the queen of porn, Jenna Jameson, who starred in 2008 horror-comedy Zombie Strippers!. In the movie, Jameson plays the star dancer at an underground strip club. After she’s bit and turned into a zombie, her character becomes an even better dancer than before. Her success causes other strippers to follow suit, starting a dangerous wave of exotic zombie dancers.
My question is, given the evidence, who can say that porn isn’t a jumping off point? These actress have clearly proven otherwise, and the horror genre as a whole can certainly thank the porn industry for its influence. Hell, maybe romantic comedies would be wise to try the same. If nothing else, that’d be one sure-fire way to reach a new male audience.
