Crimes of the Future are two 2022 movies that proved there's still a place for innovative body horror in the movies. The term describes a popular subgenre that displays grotesque and usually disturbing violations and transformations of the body, usually manifesting due to the influence of mysterious forces, wicked mutations, and ultraviolence.
Usually, body horror is used as a vehicle for an intense psychological approach or the base of something out of this world. In these kinds of films, characters see themselves overwhelmed by otherworldly forces that go through distressing transformations or force their victims to do so. Stories that count on body horror are usually filled with blood and/or bodily fluids and are almost always disgusting.
Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989) - 3.8/5
Tetsuo takes desire and obsession to a whole new level, one filled with oil and blood. The absolutely bonkers story speaks for itself: after accidentally killing a mysterious "metal fetishist," a couple becomes the recipient of a distressing curse that gradually turns their skin into iron.
Besides the ghastly imagery, Tetsuo's surrealist story needles a sexually-repressed, overly industrial Japanese society. The black and white cinematography helps turn the whole environment into a single entity; characters blend into their urban surroundings and there's no way to tell what's flesh and what's steel, what lives still, and what's become waste material.
An American Werewolf In London - 3.8/5
An American Werewolf In London welcomes a classic creature often underused in cinema. The figure of the werewolf is usually related to the moon, the night, and brutality, but people often forget about the demanding body transformation it requires. The film uses the imminent danger of this transformation to develop suspense and when it finally happens, the result is jaw-dropping.
From there on, An American Werewolf In London escalates into a slaughter spiraling out of control. While half of the movie is concerned with developing the protagonist's humanity, the latter half turns him into an actual beast, a bloodthirsty creature that won't stop until daylight hits.
Videodrome (1983) - 3.9/5
It's an impossible task to talk about body horror without mentioning the master of the subgenre: David Cronenberg. Throughout his career, Cronenberg used the body as a receptor for both desire and fear, often depicting the weirdest and most gruesome body anomalies ever seen onscreen. Usually delivered through practical effects and make-up, the results are as ghastly as they are memorable, and his newest film Crimes of the Future doesn't shy away from any of this.
In Videodrome, he blends his distinguishable body horror style with a clever political satire as viewers follow Max Renn, a TV programmer who discovers a disturbing channel depicting non-stop violence and gratuitous torture. Further investigating the broadcast, he suspects the horrific violence onscreen may actually be real.
Braindead (1992) - 3.9/5
Instead of using body horror as a vehicle, Lord Of The Rings trilogy, he used his talent to provide viewers with the wildest 103 minutes they would ever see.
After a Sumatran rat-monkey bites his mother, the innocent Lionel Cosgrove soon finds himself surrounded by zombies and must go beyond his limits to keep everything under control, while still protecting his loved ones. Braindead is a feast of weird bodily fluids and body parts turning to bloody pulps. It doesn't take itself seriously not even for a minute, going over chaotic scenarios as blood sprays all over the place.
Invasion Of The Body Snatchers (1978) - 3.9/5
A remake of the 1956 movie of the same name, Invasion of the Body Snatchers managed to blend sci-fi and body horror quite incredibly, balancing hints of suspense with weird-looking creatures and graphic violence in an engaging narrative. After strange seeds drift from space to earth, strange alien parasites begin to take over San Francisco by replicating its residents one by one. Amid all this, Matthew Bennell realizes he must escape or suffer the same fate, but who can he trust?
This is another movie that proves how practical effects might be the key to a good body horror film. The movie pays thorough attention to the creatures' details and the subtle signs of their hosts showing something's wrong. Additionally, Invasion Of The Body Snatchers is an excellent example of a sci-fi horror that nailed its final scene.
Eyes Without A Face (1960) - 3.9/5
This French black-and-white horror movie might not be the scariest thing that comes to mind when talking about body horror, but it's a vital film for what the subgenre would become later on. Conducting the story in a way it resembles a psychological thriller, Eyes Without A Face unexpectedly shifts into an absolute nightmare every once in a while, forcing viewers to look away from ghastly scenes and causing fear through anticipation of horror.
In the film, a talented surgeon causes an accident that leaves his beautiful daughter disfigured. Swayed by desperate, sadistic impulses, he opts for horrifying measures in an attempt to give his daughter a new charming face.
The Fly (1986) - 3.9/5
The Fly is unanimously regarded as Cronenberg's peak when it comes to body horror. A mixture of sci-fi and creature movie, the film follows Seth Brundle and his huge scientifical achievement: a machine capable of teleporting living beings. What seemingly looks like a success reveals itself as a curse, as Seth accidentally tests himself on the machine with a housefly inside. In a matter of days, human and fly start to become one.
The Fly is a great example of sci-fi horror where the scientist goes too far. Seth's body quickly starts giving form to a disgusting, horrific giant fly. He's surrounded by sticky substances and is able to walk through the walls, slowly, every trace of humanity gives way to a horrendous creature.
Possession (1981)
Possession is a must-see but overlooked '80s horror classic that plays with body horror in the way it resembles H.P. Lovecraft's well-known cosmic elements. Its slow-burn narrative leaves viewers guessing what's coming next, and the way the movie escalates from a family drama to a disturbing psychological thriller is chilling.
The film follows a couple falling apart; the woman wants a divorce and is behaving strangely. The man, suspecting his wife is cheating on him, decides to follow her, discovering a much more sinister truth. Possession isn't as graphic as typical body horror movies, but the few scenes that are there for shock value will stay in the viewers' minds for quite some time.
Akira (1988) - 4.2/5
Akira doesn't fit into a single genre while simultaneously fitting in pretty much all of them. Set in a cyberpunk Neo-Tokyo, a secret military project unleashes an unstoppable force of destruction after turning a biker delinquent, Tetsuo, into a ruthless psychopath that only a small group of teenagers and psychics might be able to stop.
Akira escalates into something quite scary, as Tetsuo mutates into something totally inhuman -- a massive pulp of flesh and bodily fluids causing catastrophic damage to those who cross his path. It's an unexpected yet welcome addition of body horror that shapes the villain into something horrific and unpredictable, giving the heroes a hard time in figuring out his weaknesses.
The Thing (1982) - 4.3/5
No other movie managed to use body horror so effectively in the way it causes fear and repulse at the same time as Halloween, a group of scientists in Antarctica is haunted by a mysterious shape-shifting being that is able to replicate its victims. In a constant atmosphere of suspicion and distrust, they resort to desperate measures to get out unscathed from that inhospitable place.
Body horror is used to effectively introduce an antagonist totally out of this world. Using mostly practical effects, the movie creature attacks in the most ghastly ways possible: it turns into a spider by using the head of one of the scientists, turns a person's entrails into sharp teeth, and even transforms dogs into horrifying, violent creatures. The Thing is a truly remarkable achievement when it comes to turning the human body into a weapon.
