Rick and Morty recently released a clip inspired by the horror film, Hostel. With season 5 currently on the air, the highly popular Adult Swim animated show has been churning out content over social media. The season is set to consist of 10 episodes total, with three having been released so far. While there is not much information out about season 6 yet, the seventh season is already in development.
Released in 2005, Hostel is a horror movie written and directed by Eli Roth. It follows a group of tourists who find themselves kidnapped by unknown people. They must fight to survive against an organization that targets tourists to torture for their sick enjoyment. The film made noise across the news for being so disturbing that it caused some extreme reactions from audiences due to how grotesque it was claimed to be. It went on to spawn two sequels, forming a Hostel trilogy, which is included in what became known as the "torture porn" sub-genre.
The official Rick and Morty Twitter page shared a clip reminiscent of Hostel. Utilizing claymation, the video features Morty tied to a chair, quickly revealing that Rick is his torturer. Instead of using the various torture instruments on the wall, his weapon of choice is a television. The caption on the social media post reads "Mortyfied." See the full clip down below:
Rick and Morty is known for its ability to keep its finger on the pulse of social and political commentary, as well as pop culture references. Given the show's adult audience, the reference should be familiar to most viewers. While the bite-sized clip doesn't display any physical torture, it's clearly putting out a fun, trippy message about television. Adult Swim's content all runs through its odd, seemingly random filter, Morty's reaction makes sense. On a regular night watching the channel, this clip makes more sense than most of the ones that run around the commercial breaks later at night.
Regardless of how strange the content is from Adult Swim, they have a very strong understanding of their audience. By releasing clips like these, they are keeping Rick and Morty relevant, even when the weekly episode has already been released. While plenty of other networks and shows have tried to make short-form content to keep audiences engaged, it seems particularly effective with Rick and Morty. Since there's still more than half of the season left to go, expect more creative Rick and Morty clips and content that is likely on its way.
Source: Rick and Morty