"When Lash Touches Flesh"

Abstract

Boundaries and their transgression have been the main pillars of horror since its first appearance. My essay is concerned with the way the transgression between inside and outside 1 Sontag, Susan. “Fascinating Fascism.” The New York Review of Books 6 February, 1975, Date of access: 20 November, 2010. < http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/1975/feb/06/fascinating-fascism/?page=1&gt; 2 The Holy Bible. New International Version Anglicised. Great Britain: International Bible Society, 2006. 5 is treated and staged in some contemporary horror movies. I shall examine the dynamics of these border crossings drawing upon the psychoanalytical concepts of sadism, aggression and pleasure. I am going to examine these phenomena through the first two episodes of the Saw series from 2004 (directed by James Wan) and 2005 (directed by Darren Lynn Bousman) drawing a contrast with Eli Roth’s Hostel 1-2 from 2005 and 2007.