If anything, we tried to tone down the darkness in order to make the film more watchable.
There were a number of strip clubs not far off—most of which are now gone—so they had a bit of a seedy community thing going on.
And why did they all wind up so close together? If you masturbated for the longest time in the privacy of a locked room far away from family and roommates, in a spot where no one bothers you, why would you switch to using your own device at home.