Body horror is one of our favorite outgrowths of the genre, and I use the term "outgrowths" quite literally. In a nutshell, it deals with the feelings of terror elicited by the destruction, degradation and mutation of the human body. Whether that comes from viral infection, supernatural forces or other causes, it always has us up in goose bumps. These movies are a Murderer's Row of body horror classics. Can you watch them all? Check out the best body horror movies.
Best Body Horror Movies
It's time to delve deep within the terror inherent in our own bodies. These films are the most disturbing, terrifying, utterly disgusting, and yet, the best body horror movies ever made. I hope you have a strong stomach.
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By K. Thor Jensen December 1, 2011 |
Credit: Universal Pictures
| 11 | The Thing |
John Carpenter's 1982 remake of The Thing is basically the blueprint of the best body horror movie. A skeleton crew of men at an Arctic research station find their peaceful lives interrupted by a viral alien that digests living flesh only to replicate it. Whenever the beast is in action, nasty old-school Stan Winston and Rob Bottin FX bring it to life, but sometimes the flick is just as scary when the Thing isn't on-screen... or at least you don't know it is, because it could be hiding in anybody's skin. As for the 2011 prequel, let's not even talk about it, OK?
Credit: Philip Brophy
| 10 | Body Melt |
If you ever wished that Peter Jackson never made the Lord of the Rings movies and stayed in New Zealand making over-the-top splatter films, you need to see Body Melt. This 1993 Australian film is one of the best body horror movies and is directed by Philip Brophy. It kicks off with the arrival of a new dietary supplement that hits mailboxes in the cozy neighborhood of Pebbles Court. Designed to bring human beings to their "ultimate potential," they really just lead to a gruesome horrorshow of blood, guts and deformity.
Videodrome
Credit: Universal Studios
| 9 | Videodrome |
David Croenenberg is probably the director who is most closely connected with the body horror genre, as many of his films feature disturbing malformations of the human form. Expect a few of his flicks to show up on this list. The one we're concerned with now, however, is 1983's Videodrome. When the CEO of a UHF TV station starts rebroadcasting a snuff show from Malaysia, it sends him into a horrific spiral of death and decadence topped off by the chilling final line, "long live the new flesh."
Credit: Warner Brothers
| 8 | Altered States |
The recent death of Ken Russell just made us appreciate Altered States even more. This is a mind horror movie as much as a body horror one - the story of a university professor who experiments with psychoactive drugs and sensory deprivation only to find himself regressing to a more primitive form of life is a little artsier than some of the other flicks on this list, but no less nerve-wracking. When our protagonist basically becomes an undistinguished blob of protoplasm, you will feel a little sick to your stomach, but that's what makes this one of the best body horror movies now isn't it?
Credit: Warner Brothers Pictures
| 7 | Splice |
The new wave of body horror flicks posits that the greatest threat to the sanctity of our vital organs is... ourselves. 2010's Splice told the story of a pair of geneticists creating new hybrid animals for use in medical research. Of course, they get greedy and start stirring some human genetic material in there, and things go off the rails. The product of their experimentation is one of the most disquieting body horror monsters ever. Played by the striking Delphine Chanaec, it's just human enough to get our empathy but just alien enough to make us want to kill it with fire. Then there's the whole sex thing.
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