The year is 1997. Blood-letting and slaughter become more prominent in video games. Movies like I Know What You Did Last Summer escalate the revival of slasher movies. Massacres in Algeria become so common that they end up in the world brief sections of newspapers.

But amid this culture of violence and insensitivity, a new website, set up with $25,000 by a man fed up with his "hopeless" and "pathetic" life, shocks the online world and society by not only raising S/M pornography to new levels of extremism, but also by its enormous popularity.

The documentary Graphic Sexual Horror, written and directed by Anna Lorentzon and Barbara Bell, offers an informative, disturbing and at times humorous look into the website, Insex.com, and its creator, pd (Brent Scott). The film does not directly ask questions about the morality of the site or pornography in general, nor does it pass judgment on pd or his work. It lets the viewer decide.

And as enthusiasts of violent images, and even as former members of Insex, we can watch the documentary in a different light from the mainstream crowd. The behind-the-scenes action and the candid interviews should still enlighten and unsettle even the most hard-core GIMPer. They may even change the way you feel about Insex.

Graphic Sexual Horror touches on many elements you would expect, such as business insiders describing pd's work not as pornography, but as art that highlights the beauty of restraints and body forms with a focus on the woman's orgasm. Model Lorelei Lee compares an Insex session to a song, with the action rising and intensifying, and ultimately culminating in a climax.

The film also stresses the fact that all of the models have consented to what they are put through. They are shown proudly displaying their signed release forms.

But why readily submit to some of the most diabolical, sadistic and painful devices ever seen on the Internet? Model s4 says it's an emotional release. Others say they are simply turned on by pain and want to test their limits. And there is also a great part with a model who appears all smiley and glassy-eyed on an orgasmic high after a grueling torture session.

Yet the bottom line is often money. Some of the models were paid $300 an hour plus bonuses or even thousands a day for Live Feeds.

And pd ensures they earn it, pushing them to their limits--and beyond--to create the images of suffering so important in his art. Anyone who has seen Insex shoots knows these women are experiencing real pain. There's no acting involved, nor is it necessary. The models are shown crying and screaming, some in hysterics or outright panic. It's what the viewers and pd demand.

The transformation of pd himself that correlates with the rising success of Insex is perhaps the most fascinating aspect of the documentary. He comes across as intelligent, charming, determined and a perfectionist, as well as a cunning manipulator and an amoral dictator.

The early interviews with pd describe his days as a faithful husband and show him making sure his bound models are all right. The inspirations for his work are mentioned, which not surprisingly include Japanese rope bondage, Randa Mai and John Willie. But surprisingly, pd also mentions real-life serial killers, like the Hillside Stranglers.

One key to the growing popularity of Insex was its interactive functions, including Live Feeds in which members could issue instructions on how to torture the model. But as the money poured in, pd seemed to become more determined to get the most from his models, and his tyrannical side was constantly on display.

Model 62 says pd would often storm off the set pissed off, making the model feel bad about herself. Rigger Cyd Black says pd threatened to shut down the site every week. Two-day shoots at his farm would become two-week excursions, but no one dared to go home early for fear of losing their job.

A scene shown from the Live Feed "s4 Reloaded" really underscores pd's manipulative ways. He apparently forgets that face-slapping is off-limits for s4 and smacks her a few times on the request of a viewer as she is bound naked on a chair. Her reaction is complete shock.

She gasps, "You fucking asshole," and ends up sobbing uncontrollably and hyperventilating, her protests barely audible. Something has obviously gone wrong but pd shows no sympathy. He berates her for "copping an attitude" and trying to "gain control" of the situation. He angrily reminds her that she's there to put on a live show, and warns her that if she lectures him "we're done!" He finally ends up promising, in a sort of off-handed way, not to slap her again. Still sobbing and emotional hurt, s4 agrees to continue the shoot as pd nonchalantly starts to apply nipple clamps.

Forget the bleeding breasts, the needle play or the angry welts from caning. The meltdown of s4, for me, was the most difficult thing to watch in the documentary.

Rigger Matt Williams says Insex provided the safest bondage sets for the models, who were always given the chance to say the safe word (or safe sound if gagged). Yet saying the safe word was discouraged.

Princess Donna explains that she wouldn't say the safe word out of pride and to not appear wimpy in front of her fans. Still, the big motivator for others was, of course, the money.

Barry Goldman, an agent for Insex models, says a woman who survived an Insex shoot could do work on any bondage site because nothing was harder than what pd put them through. And models who did say the safe word were not invited back to Insex, losing the chance for lucrative paydays in the future.

pd used this as leverage to get the models to reach their limits. And although pd went to great lengths to ensure the safety of his models, he did, on occasion, go too far.

Model 1201 said that in the Slaveshave Live Feed in 2003, she was bound and tightly tape-gagged and not sure of pd's intentions--until he rammed a dildo on a stick into her ass. It was her first anal experience, and the scene shows her crying and screaming in pain as the dildo goes in and out. "It was not OK. ... I feel like I was raped," she recalls, but adds that she didn't say the safe word out of fear that the shoot would end and she would lose the job.

She is clearly very uncomfortable talking about this experience, and indeed she looks like a real rape victim after the anal violation sequence ends.

pd's manipulation was also evident offscreen. Although some of the models were truly into him, others said pd coerced them into free bondage and sex play after-hours. He apparently told them he needed these free sessions to gain inspiration with the models, or he couldn't work with them anymore.

pd admits he violated protocol. He also acknowledges that the huge financial success of Insex corrupted him and turned him into a monster. Yet he doesn't seem too apologetic for his actions, stressing that some of the models and workers ensconced themselves in his way of thinking.

The end of the documentary discusses the demise of Insex, with the government using credit card companies and billing companies to shut down violent porn sites. pd explains that Homeland Security applied pressure by saying that terrorists were using violent porn to funnel money. But pd refused to change his site, and the rest is history. Unfortunately, no information is given about Hardtied, his new site, and the adjustments he had to make.

Graphic Sexual Horror is well-paced, superbly edited and contains excellent footage. It relies almost solely on the words of the models, riggers, including Peter Ackworth of Kink.com and Sgt. Major, and pd himself to explain the history and success of Insex. And they do so with brutal honesty. (The interviews with model 101, who formed a romantic relationship with pd and battled depression and drug addiction, are quite chilling.)

No outsiders are used to give their views about Insex, violent pornography or other related social issues, which bends the documentary toward a more positive image of Insex and pd. But I think this approach works better for us. Do we really need some eggheaded stranger trying to explain to us our proclivities and feelings that have been with us all our lives?

As GIMPers, we ourselves can watch this documentary with a bit of self-reflection. Can we really enjoy scenes in which the models are enduring genuine pain beyond their limits just to avoid being fired? Is Insex art or did it degenerate into a salacious reality show? Knowing that some of the models objected to what pd was doing, does his work cross the line between fantasy and reality in way that should make us feel uncomfortable watching his stuff? Have we become so desensitized to violence that we have no problems watching real torture of women as long as it's labeled "consensual"?

Or we could watch Graphic Sexual Horror as a fascinating profile piece about a unique bondage rigger and the methods he used to create some of the harshest and most exciting bondage pornography around. We can just sit back and enjoy the creativity and artistry of pd's work knowing that the models could have ended the shoots at any time, left the sets in one piece (many with smiles on their faces) and were well-paid for their efforts. Maybe we should just agree with agent Goldman's comment about pd: "Brent (pd), no matter how fucked up he is as a person, is in my opinion the Michelangelo of bondage and torture."

The viewer can decide what he or she wishes to take from this gripping documentary.