The 25 Best Body Horror Movies of All Time Ranked

The following article contains graphic descriptions of body and self-harm that some readers may find offensive. Reader discretion is advised.

The Body horror Genre can be a little too gruesome for even the most die-hard horror fans, but what it can offer in scares, philosophy, storytelling and filmmaking makes it a crucial part of the beloved genre. Often making lists of the best horror movies ever made, body horror has been a fixture of the genre for nearly as long as the genre has existed. Mary Shelley S FrankensteinFranz Kafka's The Metamorphosisand HG Wells' The Island of Doctor Moreau are classics, all with elements of body horror.

There is something beautiful, fascinating and grotesque about the human body. It is both completely personal and sometimes very foreign. Many horror directors have taken this paradoxical relationship and used it to create some of the most famous horror stories ever put to film. David Cronenberg and his movies are synonymous with the genre, and he is arguably the modern father of it. yet There are many other filmmakers in this space Creating incredible and horrifying movies. The best of body horror movies scare, intrigue and keep audiences coming back for more.

25

The Autopsy of Jane Doe (2016)

A normal autopsy goes wrong

in The Autopsy of Jane DoeFather-and-son coroners, Austin Tilden (Emile Hirsch) and Tommy Tilden (Brian Cox) get a late-night job. A young woman has been found and her death needs to be determined ASAP. As the autopsy is underway, the Tildens find physically impossible and unnerving damage to the body before things start to get really horrible.

The autopsy portions of The Autopsy of Jane Doe are visceral and clinically detailed. Every time Tommy explains a new horrifying realization about the body, it's also easy to imagine what exactly happened to the young woman, thanks to the time spent showing the Tilden' trial.

24

Teeth (2007)

A coming-of-age body horror

teeth is a body horror comedy that follows Dawn O'Keefe (Jess Weixler), a young member of a Christian abstinence group who realizes during a sexual assault that the most intimate area of ​​her body has the ability to violently defend itself. As she finds out more about her condition, Dawn begins to take revenge on those who would hurt her.

The tagline and plot of teeth are purposefully ridiculousBut the tone of the film works perfectly as a coming-of-age story and a parable about femininity and puberty. The scenes of Dawn using her newfound power to take down violent people are as satisfying as they are hilariously cruel.

23

In My Skin (2002)

A new French extreme horror

The 2002 French film, In my skinis written, directed by, and stars Marina de Van Wey Esther, a marketing professional in Paris. After cutting herself one night on a broken piece of metal, Esther becomes preoccupied with the idea of ​​cutting and soon begins chopping pieces of herself in ever-increasing quantities.

In my skin is an unrelenting and shocking look at self-mutilation and bodily autonomy. It may be a slower story with a somewhat flat plot, but Esther's treatment of herself even while her friends and family look on in horror makes it hard to look away from.

22

Prometheus (2012)

Ridley Scott's Gruesome Alien Prequel

Thanks in part to HR Giger's designs in the Alien franchise, body horror has always been a key element of the sci-fi horror and action films. of them, Prometheus Has the most in common with the classic body horror movies. In this prequel to the 1980 Ridley Scott film, a team of scientists investigates a mysterious planet and discovers the progenitors of the human race.

Like The Progenitors, there's plenty of body horror with creatures breaking down to their DNA, black sludge transforming scientists, and An alien C-section scene that is one of the most shocking and intimate horror moments in recent memory. It's all the mystery and terror of AlienWith a modern and cruel instinct for body horror.

21

Company (1989)

A body horror satire

Society is a satirical body horror that follows Bill Whitney (Billy Warlock), the scoundrel of a wealthy family who has sneaking suspicions about his family and their upper-crust friends. Bill discovers that his family and their friend are actually a horrible alien species that join their bodies together to absorb energy.

Society is more than just its over-the-top and expertly crafted ending. Its pulpy, B-movie plot in the first two-thirds makes the ending even more delightful.

It's an incredibly gross movie that has scenes of bodies melting together and faces emerging from every inadvisable body part imaginable. Society is more than just its over-the-top and expertly crafted ending. Its pulpy, B-movie plot in the first two-thirds makes the ending even more delightful.

20

Malignant (2021)

James Wan's bizarrely effective horror film

James Wan is a modern master of horror thanks to his many acclaimed and influential movies, including Saw, The ConjuringAnd Insidious. Malignant is an answer to all these films, flipping the tropes on their head in this delightful near-farce aimed squarely at the fans of his work. In the film, Madison Mitchell (Annabelle Wallis) begins to experience blackouts and supernatural events that terrorize her.

The body horror comes in the twisted revealWhich really should not be spoiled to enjoy the film. It's disgusting, horrifying, and so weirdly fun that it's hard not to cackle with glee when it happens. Every strange and convoluted event that happens before suddenly falls clearly into place and Malignant Is a brilliant thrill ride yet.

19

Rabid (1977)

A terrible injury leads to an epidemic

David Cronenberg's Rabid Follows Rose (Marilyn Chambers), a woman who was injured in a motorcycle accident. After undergoing a mysterious surgery, she learns that there is now an orifice under her arm that hides a stinger that drains blood from those who get too close to her.

Rabid is a violent and terrifying film, with The disturbing stinger-like camera is a nausea-inducing bit of puppetry and makeup. The strange dialogue and strange plot only add to the disorientation of the film, making the whole feel even more disturbing.

18

From Beyond (1986)

A terrifying HP Lovecraft adaptation

in from beyondA cosmic body horror movie based on the short story of the same name by HP Lovecraft, a scientist's experiment accidentally sends him to another dimension with evil creatures. The creatures send him back to Earth, now transformed into a grotesque shape-shifting monster that preys on everyone else in the lab.

from beyond Mixes satire, horror, and some real artistry for an underrated tale about what happens to the mind when it observes something it cannot comprehend. The makeup, monsters and body contortions are top notch And disgusting to look at, perfectly capturing what makes Lovecraft's stories so terrifying.

17

slater (2006)

James Gunns parasitic comedy horror

If MCU fans wondered why Guardians of the Galaxy Felt a little more crazy, violent, and maybe even cosmically terrifying than the films before, they would only need to look at the previous movies of director James Gunn to understand why. Slider is a ridiculous and hilarious film about a small town in South Carolina that is invaded by a parasite.

The parasite turns its victims into hideous, bloated tentacle monsters that are either used to breed more parasites or kill humans. Michael Rooker's portrayal of Grant Grant, who gradually turns into a monstrous, tentacled monster that absorbs those he infects, is tragic and disgusting.

16

Tusk (2014)

Justin Long gets up close and personal with a walrus

Kevin Smith added one of the strangest movies to his already strange list of directed films with Task. In the film, Justin Long plays Wallace Britton, an unscrupulous podcaster who interviews eccentric people to tease them online. When he finds a potential new interviewer in Canada, he is captured by the man and slowly transformed into a walrus using skin grafts and body modifications.

The transformation of Wallace into the walrus is painful and disturbing, and just looking at additional images of the result is enough to be shocking. There are some truly sick moments of Wallace desperately staring out of the skin suit He is forced to bear, and the film lingers long after it is over.

15

Master (2020)

A body-snatching thriller from Brandon Cronenberg

Brandon Cronenberg followed in his father's footsteps, creating a truly terrifying and incredible body horror movie. Owner is only his second movie and his first in almost 10 years. It is set in an alternate future where people can possess other people's bodies. Tasya Vos (Andrea Riseborough) is an assassin whose fortunes slowly go wrong when she loses control of her human puppets.

The property technology in Owner Is not an elegant science fiction device and the bloody and violent way it must be utilized plants Cronenberg's movie in the same hallowed circles as some of his father. There are painful and terribly beautiful moments of minds melding together that are as thrilling as they are terrifying.

14

Crimes of the Future (2022)

A futuristic biotechnology drama

in Crimes of the futureBiotechnology advances, and strange human genetic developments have resulted in most people no longer feeling pain or suffering from infectious diseases. Tenser (Viggo Mortensen) is a stage performer who undergoes public surgery for leering crowds. Eventually he gets caught up in a government conspiracy that sees him infiltrate a sect that believes in human evolution above all else.

Crimes of the future has some mesmerizing and disturbing moments of body horror, with Tensor being the victim, or beneficiary, of dozens of procedures that slowly warp his body into something else. This is a rough and strange film, which is as provocative as any of Cronenberg's previous works.

13

The Brood (1979)

A man and his wife undergo a novel therapeutic treatment

The brood is a psychological body horror film by David Cronenberg that follows Nola Carvet (Samantha Eggar), a woman experiencing mental health problems. She goes to an experimental therapist who helps her give birth to a brood of psychically linked, monstrous children who feed off of their mother's instability.

The creatures themselves in The brood They are descriptive enough with their anatomically incorrect features, but it's the way Nora was born that really ups the body horror.

The creatures themselves in The brood They are descriptive enough with their anatomically incorrect features, but it is the way of birth of Nora that really ups the body horror. Through lesions all over her body, Nora gives birth to her offspring in some of the film's most visceral and disturbing moments.

12

Under the Skin (2013)

A mysterious creature preys on people in Scotland

Scarlett Johansson stars as an unnamed "woman" in Jonathan Glazer's Under the skin. The "woman" is actually some kind of extraterrestrial creature that seduces people and then feeds off them, stealing their skin in the process so she can continue her life as a human.

This is a deeply philosophical film and one of the more trippy modern science fiction movies. Under the skin Features some shocking moments of bodies collapsing and black, featureless creatures emerging from the ether. It's not as disturbing a film as some other body horrors, but its fascination with the body, especially the main character's interest in her own, ranks it high in the genre.

11

Videodrome (1983)

A cryptic, techno-surrealist conspiracy film

in VideodromeA small TV station CEO, Max Renn (James Woods), discovers a gonzo, violent TV channel called "Videodrome" and immediately decides that he must have it as part of his station's programming. Max begins to experience increasingly strange and disturbing hallucinations as he investigates "Videodrome" deeper.

It's also a philosophical look at technology and how the constant pursuit of the next big thing can be disastrous.

From a gun made of flesh extending through a TV screen to a TV exec splitting apart to reveal pulsating orbs and tumors, Videodrome is the quintessential David Cronenberg movie when it comes to body horror. It's also a philosophical look at technology and how the constant pursuit of the next big thing can be disastrous.

10

Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989)

A Japanese salaryman becomes one with a car

in Tetsuo: The Iron ManA man (Tomorowo Taguchi) wakes up to find metal sprouting from different parts of his body. When his body continues to be engulfed by metal, he meets another person who undergoes a similar transformation and the two agree to join forces and transform the entire world into metal.

The scenes of metal sprouting from the man's body are genuinely disturbing, and the stop-motion effects add an element of unnaturalness that highlights the movie.

A low-budget Japanese science fiction body horror film, Tetsuo: The Iron Man is an impressive display of practical artistry, stop-motion and visual storytelling. The scenes of metal sprouting from the man's body are genuinely disturbing, and the stop-motion effects add an element of unnaturalness that highlights the movie.

9

Titan (2021)

A woman has a close encounter with a car

Titan Agathe Rousselle stars as Alexia, a girl who received a metal plate in her head after a car crash. As she grows up, she is shown to have developed sexual desires for automobiles and become a serial killer, moving from town to town killing men and women with whom she pretends to start relationships.

The end of Titan is a strange ending to an already bonkers movie that changes direction and tone multiple times, but never forgets to mention its body horror elements. however, The body horror in Julia Ducournau's second film is more on the beautiful sideWith titanium and human flesh bonding in a way that feels like art.

8

Annihilation (2018)

A mysterious zone transforms those who enter it

An adaptation of the 2014 novel of the same name by Jeff VanderMeer, Destruction Follows a team of female scientists and soldiers who venture into a quarantine zone known as the "Shimmer" that mutates the biological life within it. The Shimmer begins to mutate the minds of the team, and they must withstand the evils that live in the Shimmer as well as each other as they slowly lose their grip on reality.

Destruction is one of the few body horror movies to use beings beyond humans to explore horrific mutations. Bears with human skulls embedded in their faces, crocodiles with shark teeth, and deer with mirrored hooves all inhabit the shadows and are equal parts bewitching and terrifying.

7

Altered States (1980)

Isolation tanks are used for sensory deprivation experiments

Changed states

Star William Hurt as Eddie Jessup, a Columbia University professor studying schizophrenia, who decides he can learn more by entering a sensory deprivation tank. He begins experimenting with hallucinogenic drugs while in the tank and, as he gets closer to solving his research, he risks losing himself in an altered reality.

what makes Changed states Such an effective body horror movie is the moments of calm between the weird and explosive moments of horror. Eddie's transformations are all the more uncomfortable and disturbing because they come right after moments of relative calm and humanity that give way to psychological horror.

6

Color in Space (2019)

A meteor brings some strange phenomena to a small town

Based on the HP Lovecraft novel, The color out of placeThis Nicolas Cage film sees a family move to a small farm where a brightly colored meteorite lands. The meteorite begins to cause changes in the animals and people on the farm, and in space and time itself.

Nicolas Cage is the perfect actor for a body horror movie and his gonzo and over-the-top acting emerges perfectly with the violence and horror, especially the cosmic nightmares that Lovecraft created. The unpredictable mutations and disturbing images are shown in Color out of place is emblematic of the best body horror and the best Lovecraft adaptations.