Body horror, biological horror, organic horror or visceral horror is horror fiction in which the horror is principally derived from the unnatural graphic transformation, degeneration or destruction of the physical body.Definition of "body horror". CollinsDictionary.com. Collins English Dictionary – Complete & Unabridged 11th Edition. Retrieved November 01, 2012. Such works may deal with decay, disease, deformity, parasitism, mutation or mutilation. Other types of body horror include unnatural movements or the anatomically incorrect placement of limbs to create "monsters" from human body parts. David Cronenberg, Frank Henenlotter, Brian Yuzna, Stuart Gordon, Lloyd Kaufman, and Clive Barker are notable directors of this genre. The term body horror was coined with the "Body Horror" theme issue of the University of Glasgow film journal Screen (vol. 27, no. 1, January–February 1986), which contains several essays on the subject.
Notable films and television series Film/TV series Year Notes The Quatermass Xperiment 1955 Based on the 1953 BBC Television serial The Quatermass Experiment. X the Unknown 1956 Invasion of the Body Snatchers 1956 As well as the 1978 remake, Body Snatchers, and The Invasion. Quatermass 2 1957 Based on the 1955 BBC Television serial Quatermass II. Fiend Without a Face 1958 The H-Man 1958 The Blob 1958 Including its 1972 sequel Beware! The Blob and 1988 remake The Blob.I Married a Monster from Outer Space 1958 Space Master X-71958 The Fly 1958 And its 1959 and 1965 sequels, the 1986 remake, and the 1989 sequel to the remake. First Man into Space 1959 The Wasp Woman 1959 The Tingler 1959 Eyes Without a Face 1960 The Hands of Orlac 1960 Horrors of Spider Island 1960 The Outer Limits 1963–1965 And the 1995 remake. Rosemary's Baby 1968 Godzilla vs. Hedorah 1971 Devilman 1972–1973 Sssssss 1973 The Exorcist 1973 Shanks 1974 The Devil's Rain 1975 Shivers 1975 Squirm 1976 Demon Seed 1977 Eraserhead 1977 The Incredible Melting Man 1977 Rabid 1977 As well its 2019 remake. The Fury 1978 Alien franchise 1979–present The Brood 1979 Prophecy 1979 Alien 2: On Earth 1980 Altered States 1980 The Shining 1980 An American Werewolf in London 1981 Evil Dead franchise 1981–present Galaxy of Terror 1981 The Howling 1981 Inseminoid 1981 Possession 1981 Scanners 1981 The Thing 1982 And its 2011 prequel.Forbidden World 1982 The Beast Within 1982 Parasite 3D 1982 The Deadly Spawn 1983 Videodrome 1983 Xtro 1983 The Terminator 1984 A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise 1984–present The Toxic Avenger 1984 And the two 1989 sequels as well as its 2000 sequel. The Stuff 1985 Re-Animator 1985 And its 1990 and 2003 sequels. Lifeforce 1985 Deadly Friend 1986 Spookies 1986 Night of the Creeps 1986 From Beyond 1986 Street Trash 1987 Prince of Darkness 1987 RoboCop 1987 The Kindred 1987 Bad Taste 1987 Hellraiser franchise 1987–present The Hidden 1987 The Curse 1987 Slugs 1988 Dead Ringers 1988 The Brain 1988 The Kiss 1988 Brain Damage 1988 Beetlejuice 1988 Akira 1988 Nekromantik 1988 And its 1991 sequel. The Nest 1988 Society 1989 Kamillions 1989 Sweet Home 1989 Tetsuo: The Iron Man 1989 And its 1992 and 2010 sequels. Leviathan 1989 Godzilla vs. Biollante 1989 Jacob's Ladder 1990 Baby Blood 1990 Frankenhooker 1990 Metamorphosis: The Alien Factor 1990 Two Evil Eyes 1990 Naked Lunch 1991 Death Becomes Her 1992 Candyman 1992 Braindead 1992 Freaked 1993 Carnosaur 1993 The X-Files 1993–2018 Body Melt 1993 Jason Goes to Hell 1993 Cronos 1993 Necronomicon 1993 Return of the Living Dead 3 1993 In the Mouth of Madness 1994 Species 1995 As well as its 1998, 2004 and 2007 sequels Godzilla vs. Destoroyah 1995 Se7en1995 Neon Genesis Evangelion 1995–1996 Naked Blood 1996 Killer Condom 1996 Thinner 1996 Mimic 1997 The Relic 1997 Event Horizon 1997 Wishmaster 1997 Phantoms 1998 Strangeland 1998 The Faculty 1998 eXistenZ 1999 Virus 1999 Audition 1999 Idle Hands 1999 Ginger Snaps 2000 Ichi the Killer 2001 Resident Evil (film series) 2002–2026 Based on the video game by the same name. Cabin Fever 2002 In My Skin 2002 May 2002 Dreamcatcher 2003 Gozu 2003 Infection 2004 The Stepford Wives 2004 Art of the Devil 2004 As well as its 2005 and 2008 sequels. Elfen Lied 2004 Hostel 2005 And its 2007 and 2011 sequels. Meatball Machine 2005 Funky Forest 2005 Slither 2006 Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead 2006 Taxidermia 2006 Planet Terror 2007 Teeth 2007 Cloverfield 2008 Tokyo Gore Police 2008 Martyrs 2008 One-Eyed Monster 2008 This crossover spoofs the films Jaws and The Thing. Repo! The Genetic Opera 2008 The Ruins 2008 Splinter 2008 Deadgirl 2008 Splice 2009 Book of Blood 2009 District 9 2009 Dread 2009 Carriers 2009 The Human Centipede (First Sequence) 2009 And its 2011 and 2015 sequels. Black Swan 2010 Generator Rex2010–2013 Repo Men 2010 The Skin I Live In 2011 Manborg 2011 Marianne 2011 The Victim 2011 Tokyo Ghoul 2011–2014 Excision 2012 American Mary 2012 Jason Faulkner, "25 body horror movies that make our bones hurt" . SyFy Wire, January 25, 2021. Antiviral 2012 Gravity Falls2012–2016 JoJo's Bizarre Adventure 2012-present Thanatomorphose 2012 Under the Skin 2013 The Green Inferno 2013 Horns 2013 Attack on Titan 2013–2023 Contracted 2013 And Contracted: Phase II, released in 2015. Clown 2014 Parasyte 2014 It Follows 2014 Spring 2014 Starry Eyes 2014 Tusk 2014 Baskin 2015 Bite 2015 Closet Monster 2015 After witnessing a gay bashing death in which the victim was impaled through the stomach with a metal rod, a closeted gay teenager hallucinates metal rods threatening to poke out of his own body whenever he confronts his own sexuality.Kyle Turner, "Trapped in the Closet: “Closet Monster” and Queer Body Horror". Movie Mezzanine, September 21, 2016. Are We Not Cats 2016 The Autopsy of Jane Doe 2016 Raw 2016 Shin Godzilla 2016 The Untamed 2016 The Void 2016 The Killing of a Sacred Deer 2017 Kuso 2017 Life 2017 Mother! 2017 Blue My Mind 2017 Meagan Navarro, "Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid: An Intro to Body Horror!". Bloody Disgusting, December 6., 2018. Get Out 2017 Annihilation 2018 Devilman Crybaby 2018 Overlord 2018 Upgrade 2018 Venom 2018 Based on the Marvel character of the same name. Suspiria 2018 Swallow 2019 Color Out of Space 2019 The Beach House 2019 Adam Symchuk, "10 Films That Explore The World of Body Horror". Screenrant, September 15, 2020. Friend of the World 2020 Possessor 2020 PG: Psycho Goreman 2020 Playdurizm 2020 The Sadness 2021 Old 2021 Based on the graphic novel Sandcastle. Titane 2021 Antlers 2021 Fang 2022 Crimes of the Future 2022 The House 2022 Huesera: The Bone Woman 2022 Nope 2022 Swallowed 2022 Men 2022 Chainsaw Man 2022–present Infinity Pool 2023 Grafted 2024 I Saw the TV Glow 2024 The Substance 2024 The Ugly Stepsister 2025 Together 2025 Clayface2026Based on the DC character of the same name.
Notable writers
In his introduction to The Mammoth Book of Body Horror, the film director Stuart Gordon says that "Body Horror has been with us since long before there were movies". According to the summary of this anthology, the important writers of body horror are:
Mary Shelley Edgar Allan Poe H. P. Lovecraft John W. Campbell Gustav Meyrink George Langelaan Richard Matheson Stephen King Clive Barker Robert Bloch Ramsey Campbell Brian Lumley Nancy A. Collins Richard Christian Matheson Michael Marshall Smith Neil Gaiman James Herbert Christopher Fowler Alice Henderson Graham Masterton Gemma Files Simon Clark David Moody Axelle Carolyn Tony Vilgotsky H. G. Wells Harlan Ellison Andrew Joseph White
But others names could be quoted, according to Xavier Aldana Reyes in his book Body Gothic:
Poppy Z. Brite Kathe Koja Dennis Cooper Bret Easton Ellis
Notable graphic novels Novel Year Description The Visible Man (2000 AD) 1978–2012 Wherein a man suffers a nuclear waste accident, making his internal organs visible. Akira 1982–1990 Cyperpunk manga series by Katsuhiro Otomo, who also provided the script for the anime film of the same name, based on the manga Ed the Happy Clown 1983–2006 Wherein the titular character endures having the tip of his penis replaced with the head of Ronald Reagan. Hino Horror 1983–2004 Later adapted into the Guinea Pig film series; features transformations and mutilation. Druuna 1985–present An infectious disease called "the Evil" lets peoples' bodies mutate into various forms which are not necessarily recognisable as humanoid. Parasyte 1989–1994 Wherein human bodies are taken over by parasitic extraterrestrial organisms. The Invisibles 1994–2000 Wherein the human converts of an invading interdimensional force are selected for "modification". Ruins 1995 Wherein the Marvel universe goes horribly wrong, most notably Bruce Banner turning into a pile of tumors (and yet he's still alive). Black Hole 1995–2005 Wherein a sexually transmitted disease gives teenagers in a small town grotesque mutations. Uzumaki 1998–1999 Wherein humans distort into spirals. Dorohedoro 2000–2018 People are alive due to magic after decapitation, fungi grow from people's bodies, etc. Saya no Uta 2003–2013 Wherein the main character Fuminori has agnosia as known as "meat-vision".Mai-Chan's Daily Life 2004 Wherein an immortal maid with regenerative abilities gets dismembered and disfigured in various ways. Extremis 2005 Wherein a virus makes the body re-interpret itself as an open wound, thus forming a scab cocoon around the body.PTSD Radio2010–2018 Wherein a malevolent god called "Ogushi-sama" haunts various people by creating disturbing creatures and spirits out of human hair. Animal Man 2011–2014 Part of The New 52 reboot, Animal Man features many body horror elements including grotesque mutations, disease and decomposition of animals, plants and humans alike. Made in Abyss 2012–present A massive pit causes numerous ailments for returning explorers, depending on depth. Past a certain point, grotesque transformations/mutations or agonizing death are all but certain.
Use in video games In recent years, the subjects of human experimentation, medical research, and infection have played large roles in video games whose plots are heavily influenced by themes common in body horror.