Of all the subgenres of horror, body horror has a way of getting under our skin like no other, figuratively and otherwise. There’s no end to the creative ways body horror violates, mutilates, and mutates basic biology, finding endless ways to test the gag reflex in the process.
Body horror has also long provided fertile ground for filmmakers to explore the psychologically and physically disturbing ways human anatomy can be abused. Case in point? This week brings the theatrical release of The Substance, Coralie Fargeat’s rage-filled and absurdly funny body horror magnum opus. In celebration of one of the year’s best horror offerings so far, this week’s streaming picks are dedicated to body horror movies that’ll make you squirm.
Whether you’re in the mood for gallows humor or squeamish frights, these five body horror movies put the emphasis on repulsive horror filled with abnormal growths, grotesque transformations, and an insane amount of bodily fluids.
Here’s where you can stream them this week.
For more Stay Home, Watch Horror picks, click here.
Body Melt – AMC+, Fandango at Home, Shudder, Tubi
A subset of body horror is melt horror, a specific flavor of genre films where, expectedly, the flesh melts, oozes, and dissolves into goo. In other words, these types of films are best viewed on an empty stomach. Body Melt is an Australian horror-comedy that sees a community being used unknowingly as guinea pigs for a new dietary supplement. Too bad it causes rapid decomposition and excruciating death. It’s as over the top as it is goopy, and as zany as it is ultra-gory. If you love Peter Jackson’s early splatter works, then you’ll love this.
The Brood – Criterion Channel, Max
No body horror list would be complete without mention of body horror maestro David Cronenberg. One of his more personal films, The Brood, blends an affecting family drama with nightmarish body horror. Parenthood gets monstrous when a group of demonic child-like beings terrorize a man and his young daughter. They’re connected to the man’s estranged wife, who is receiving a radical form of psychotherapy at a remote institute. The body horror takes a good while to present itself, but when it does, it’s nothing short of shocking. The disturbing imagery in the final act, complete with a riveting yet unhinged performance by Samantha Eggar, will sear itself into your skull forever.
From Beyond – freevee, Pluto TV, Prime Video, Tubi
Based on a 7-page short story by H.P. Lovecraft, From Beyond unleashed a loose adaptation filled with gooey creatures, phallic pineal glands, and body horror washed in neon pink haze. It also marked a reunion between director Stuart Gordon, screenwriter Dennis Paoli, producer Brian Yuzna, and actors Jeffrey Combs and Barbara Crampton. Stuart Gordon’s adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft goes hard on the gooey body horror when scientists tamper with reality. The more they lift the veil to an alternate reality, the more they’re irrevocably altered as creatures invade. All of it is strange, but not as much as Dr. Tillighast’s (Combs) enlarged pineal gland or the massive pink mutation that Dr. Pretorius (Ted Sorel) becomes. This cosmic creature feature morphs into a body horror nightmare.
Society – Kanopy, Night Flight+, Plex
When you see the name Screaming Mad George credited with “Surrealist Make-up Effects” in the opening of a horror movie, you’d be wise to pay attention. Of course, director Brian Yuzna bides his time revealing the full scope of madness, delivering a methodical but quirky build-up of a plucky teen realizing he doesn’t quite fit in with his affluent family. Screaming Mad George already made an impressive name for himself with his work on notable films like Big Trouble Little China, Predator, and A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, but it was his work on Society that solidified his reputation for surreal gore effects. Of all the horror in existence, there’s nothing quite like the visual spectacle of the slimy, gooey nature of what can only be described as “the Shunting.”
Starry Eyes – AMC+, Fandango at Home, freevee, Peacock, Pluto TV, Screambox, Shudder, Tubi
Kevin Kölsch and Dennis Widmyer use body horror to showcase the darker side of Hollywood. Alex Essoe stars as Sarah, an aspiring actress desperate to land a breakout role and become a star. When presented with a rare, insidious opportunity to join the Hollywood elite, Sarah’s willing to do whatever it takes, including selling her soul. Starry Eyes bides its time until an explosive final act. Expect shocking violence and utterly revolting body horror as Sarah undergoes the most gruesome makeover. Ambition has never looked so ghastly.
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