Between horror movie subgenres, body horror is one of the most revolting, with the most prominent offenders standing the test of time as deliciously gross films. Body horror is a term that encompasses a wide range of frightening subject matter, from disgusting inhumane transformations of flesh to traditional blood and gore rendered in increasingly creative ways. The more gruesome body horror scenes tend to lean toward the former, creating some of the genre’s standout films that have withstood centuries of scrutiny.
Interestingly, despite relying on special effects to work, some of the best body horror films are mired in practical effects, with the medium somehow functioning more realistically when done with carefully crafted prosthetics. David Cronenberg’s infamous works stand out in this arena, being responsible for some chilling images that explore how far the human body can go in cinema. Whether traditionally sculpted or computer-generated, the best-known body horror films stand out for their grotesque images and bizarre stories.
10
The fly
I turned a charming B movie into a nightmare
David Cronenberg’s best-known film by far The fly is a true stomach-test for gruesome gore and an exploration of the human mind’s capacity for animalistic influence. Loosely based on the iconic sci-fi B-movie of the same name, the film follows Brundle, a brilliant scientist on the verge of inventing teleportation technology. Once he begins a relationship with a reporter fascinated by his work, Brundle suffers from a literal fly in the ointment – a common house fly that fuses with his body, causing him to slowly transform into an insectoid monster.
Jeff Goldblum is singularly excellent as the eccentric scientist, whose gentle nature is gradually corrupted by the influences of the creature that now inhabits his DNA. Whereas the original The fly could only offer the head scream of Vincent Price”Help me!“with a high-pitched voice in the body of a fly, Cronenberg’s version explores the limits of human transformation. Brundle’s flesh slowly sloughing off to make way for his horrific new hybrid form is an unforgettable image.
9
Tetsuo: Iron Man
Merges metal with flesh in a garish union
As disturbing as biological transformations can be, Tetsuo: Iron Man unleashes the full force of artificial machinery into human form, with distorted results. The fever dream narrative begins with an anonymous white-collar protagonist, simply known as “the Salary Man,” who runs over a strange figure obsessed with grafting metal into his flesh. Before long, the salaryman begins to undergo his own painful metamorphosis, with jagged, twisted pieces of metal growing from his skin until he becomes an unstoppable monster.
The lack of a clear explanation for the salaryman’s transformation only makes the story even more terrifying, leaving the audience as confused about the condition as the screaming characters. The black and white footage is the perfect mask for the stunning special effects, which make it difficult to tell where the human body ends and the cold, hard steel begins. Laced with a potent helping of psychosexual imagery to complete its scares, Tetsuo: Iron Man is a totally unique body horror chiller that more than makes up for its advanced age.
8
The thing
The model for many body horror films
It would be remiss not to mention The thing when it comes to discussing body horror. Perhaps the greatest film by the legendary John Carpenter, the story of the extraterrestrial invasion begins with an eclectic team of misfits conducting research at an isolated station in Antarctica. When a disguised alien organism enters the facility, the crew soon turn against each other, unsure of who to trust, as the titular amorphous creature tears apart the station’s staff with its jaw-dropping shape-shifting abilities before hiding away. in plain sight.
Despite being an alien invasion film, The thing draws a lot of body horror from its eponymous villain’s unique abilities. The legendary spider head scene is a shining example of body horror done right, and the lengths the creature is willing to go to procreate and survive are almost dizzying. With a tense, uncertain ending and a handful of excellent action beats leading up to it, The thing is a visionary work of horror that has since spawned countless imitators.
7
The Brood
Associates body horror with mental health
A potent mix of psychological horror and body horror, The Brood manages to touch on fears of all kinds while navigating its dark premise. Another one of David Cronenberg’s surprisingly commanding body horror features, The Brood follows a mentally tortured woman who is left in the clutches of a strange psychiatrist by her ex-husband after an incident in which her son was injured. Before long, attacks from a bizarre band of dwarf-like children threaten to shatter his already frayed sanity.
The drama of The Brood is as gripping as its mutant antagonists, with the custody battle between Nola and Frank clearly being inspired by Cronenberg’s own experiences co-parenting after divorce. But don’t be fooled, The Brood really shines in its gruesome depictions of blood and disturbing homunculi, which wreak havoc on its “mother’s” unstable psyche. The nauseating scenes of the creatures’ psychosomatic birth are the gruesome cherry on top of an already deliciously frightening body horror enterprise.
6
Crimes of the Future
Cronenberg’s latest body horror exploration
Even in the modern day, Cronenberg’s legendary body horror sensibilities remain unmatched, as verified by the likes of Crimes of the Future. Maddeningly unrelated to his previous 1970 film of the same name, the film is set in a distant science fiction future in which humanity’s advances in medicine have led to a golden age of body modification. Here, an eccentric artist uses surgery to create horrific pieces that push the limits of human evolution.
Despite being a more recent entry in his filmography, Crimes of the Future it’s as graphic as Cronenberg’s earliest work. The film doesn’t shy away from its central character’s surgical procedures, showcasing full-frontal nudity, stomach-churning vivisection, and gruesome final “art pieces” that are hard to swallow for all but the most seasoned body horror fans. In addition to the surface-level spectacle, Crimes of the Future has a real point to its madness, ruminating on the possible dark intersection between performance art, eroticism, and scientific advancement.
5
Videodrome
A surrealist masterpiece with precise statements about the future
Cronenberg’s first major cinematic outing, Videodrome proved for the first time why the legendary director’s name deserved to become synonymous with body horror. The film follows the exploits of the CEO of a small UHF cable channel who stumbles upon a broadcast of snuff films that depict vile and intense acts of violence. Airing the images in hopes of chasing sensationalist ratings, James Woods’ Max soon delves deeper into a depraved investigation of the broadcasts, discovering what twisted means they hope to manifest.
In many ways, Videodrome is deeply rooted in 1980s technology, making it difficult to buy into cable TV’s influence as a threat in the modern era. However, the film was quite prescient in imagining a world dominated by screens, something that the digital age may well have made a reality. Like a body horror film, the rippling combination of human flesh and digital consciousness pushes against the limits of human imagination, making it a singularly unforgettable element of the subgenre.
4
Swipe
A sick evolution of Alien and The Thing
Although he is best known today for superhero film franchises, James Gunn’s filmography actually began with a body horror comedy called Slide. Clearly taking inspiration from things like Foreigner and The Thing, Slither is named after its central villains, a series of slug-like alien parasites that infect the residents of a small South Carolina town. When one of the beings transforms into a powerful monster that establishes a local hive mind, it is up to the The local police chief and a small group of recruits take down the monster and kill the pack of creatures before they can infect anyone else.
Swipe deserves praise for the range of body horror it is capable of displaying. From violently bloody deaths to sickening transformations and the disturbing implications of aliens capturing certain targets for “breeding,” there are a lot of different types of trauma to digest during the festivities. Between the high body count and blunt humor, it’s easy to see why James Gunn was able to launch a career outside of film. Slide.
3
rubber head
What is furthest from being easy to visualize
The first work of surrealist visionary David Lynch, rubber head it’s a horrific experience that defies typical conventions and classifications. The loose story revolves around a nervous young man who is encouraged to marry by his girlfriend’s family after the two become unexpectedly pregnant. However, what the girl gives birth to is far from a typical human baby, and the maddening assault on the senses that follows hangs over the man’s frustration at his circumstances.
rubber head is a deeply personal film rooted in Kafkaesque stasis and the surreal nightmare sequences that mar the fabric of traditional narrative. The monstrous baby’s incessant wails are just one small equation of the body horror that emerges in the wake of the vague narrative, with deformed dancers living in radiators and sickly sperm creatures all contributing to the confusing fever dream of terror. An assault on the senses, rubber head earns its infamy as a strange but incredible horror film unlike any other.
2
Reanimator
Another body horror comedy that stretches its source material to the max
Even though it doesn’t qualify as a true Lovecraftian horror film, Reanimator deserves props as one of the only film adaptations of HP Lovecraft’s iconic horror stories to be played for laughs. The film features Jeffrey Combs as Herbert West, the same character from Lovecraft’s original story who becomes obsessed with resurrecting corpses through a special serum of his own creation. However, as is often the case with necromancy in cinema, its subjects soon begin to exhibit some unpleasant side effects, returning as zombie-like monstrosities.
Reanimator can play much of its absurdity for laughs, but still knows when to tone down the humor to let the horror shine. Beats like the infamous severed head scene exemplify the B-movie’s macabre sensibilities as well as demonstrating its gory creativity. Combs is endlessly entertaining as the frighteningly amoral Herbert West, who is nevertheless hard not to root for, no matter how depraved his experiments become.
1
Crude
Whets the modern appetite for visceral gore
The best body horror films are able to take something mundane and turn it into a depraved act that seems unthinkable through sheer exaggeration. Crude focuses on meat-eaters as a careful dissection of human consumption, centering on long-time vegetarian veterinary student Justine. After being forced to eat raw meat for the first time in her life due to a hazing ritual, Justine soon finds herself with an insatiable craving for the stuff, progressing from simple hamburgers to freshly killed human flesh.
Crude is one of the best body horror films for the way it ties its themes to the depravity unfolding on screen, making a true statement with its bloody carnage. Its thoughtful, psychosexual meditation on the nature of basic human desires more than deserves its most upsetting scenarios, never inflicting violence without a good thematic reason. At the same time, a great comedy, a film about coming of age and the body horror film, Crude is a modern classic in a subgenre full of old school choices.