The franchise that floated “torture porn” into news offices this decade like a message in a bottle now looks to join the endless straight-to-DVD knockoffs it spawned. We’re speculating that Hostel 3 will bypass a theatrical release, but Bloody Disgusting has confirmed that early talks have started inside Lionsgate/Screen Gems to make a second sequel a reality. The series’ creator/director/spokesperson, Eli Roth, will reportedly not serve as writer or director on the sequel. We expect him to update his MySpace with an endorsement or a rant soon enough, and if so, we’ll update accordingly.

Last summer, Hostel 2 failed to reach $20 million at the domestic box office after a boatload of hype, and Roth later announced a big budget action/sci-fi film (not Cell) that remains under wraps. That news drew insta-press because of the PG-13 rating, leaving many outlets to report Roth’s detour from horror as the end of an era/”new low” for the genre.

Discuss: Interested in Hostel 3? Is there a “so bad it’s good” Hostel knock-off? Personally, I’m glad that the brightest days for hooks-and-meat DVD covers are behind us. What about you?