And it made me ponder: Has extreme horror gotten, well, too extreme? Will the prevalence and popularity of torture porn — a.k.a. gorno — warp our views on mayhem and murder, inure us, seep into our consciousness in creepy, vestigial ways? Is this stuff — the S & M gear, the leather and vinyl butcher couture, the power tools — being glamorized, fetishized? (Heck, yes!)

Even "gorno" — the torture-porn-horror flicks that power the "Saw" and "Hostel" franchises — has moved from merely alienating those consumers who hate the marketing to snuffing out its target audience. The reason? Gore burnout. Case in point: "Hostel: Part II," which opened Friday. It is already showing signs that it will make significantly less than the $19 million than its predecessor nabbed last year in its opening weekend.

The two essential horror movie drawcards — sex and violence — are here in spades and it's this slick schlock director's understanding of what really shocks that gives Hostel bite. A mostly unknown cast brings the goods, it's effectively repugnant and, like the conditions of hostels themselves, this debaucherously brutal ''gorno'' is likely to give you nightmares.