For those who wondered what the human body is capable of, whether there are limits to flesh and bone, and whether humanity can exist beyond its mortal cage, there's a subgenre for you. Body horror provides some of the most disgusting content ever put to film, and it does it with a strong message behind all the blood.
Body horror is best codified by the works of director David Cronenberg, whose name is now inseparable from the genre. Though he recently returned to the subgenre after a couple of decades away, there are plenty of other interesting and unique creators still keeping the internal nightmares alive.
Possessor
Who else to carry the disgusting fleshy torch from David Cronenberg than his son Brandon? This 2020 body horror thriller has one of the best horror premises of recent memory and still manages to go above and beyond in execution. Andrea Riseborough stars as Tasya Vos, an assassin who carries out her grim work by forcefully taking over the mind of an innocent bystander and using their body to kill her target. The job takes a massive toll on her ability to maintain her own identity, as she struggles to keep her life and her victim's life separate. When she takes a big-name assignment that leaves her in someone else's head for too long, the walls start to break down and everyone involved becomes endangered. It's one of the most powerfully disturbing films released recently, with an approach to violence that makes the viewer's blood run cold. Possessor is a special film that sticks in its audience's head, whether they'd like it to or not.
Titane
Despite only having two features to her name so far, Julia Ducournau has established herself as one of the best filmmakers in the body horror genre. Her 2016 theatrical debut Raw was a masterful dive into the concept that combined genuinely stirring provocation with a shocking level of intelligence. Her 2021 follow-up Titane is one of the strangest and most powerful horror films of the last decade. The film's plot is messy and ethereal, but the tone and atmosphere drive the narrative without issue. Some of the imagery will send viewers out of the room with complaints, but it's a wild ride for those who can stomach it. Some films have a heart underneath all the violence and sex, Titane's heart is tangled up within it. The film simply has to be seen to be believed.
Spring
Before they joined the MCU, Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead made their name crafting stellar low-budget horror films. The Endless and Resolution are both fantastic, fans of the genre can only hope that the duo will find time to create more work in their original home genre between the big comic book projects. The duo's second feature film stars Lou Taylor Pucci as Evan, a man sent reeling after a personal tragedy. As his life falls apart at home, Evan takes the advice of a friend and takes the first cheap flight overseas he can book. He winds up in Italy and finds himself instantly bewitched by Louise, a gorgeous and intelligent woman. Their courtship is sweet, bolstered by the solid performances of Pucci and Nadia Hilker. As the story goes on, however, it becomes clear that Louise holds a secret that threatens more than their burgeoning romance. Spring doesn't have the budget of some other big body horror films, but it finds a way to remain haunting, disgusting, and sincere in a way that a lot of other movies can't. A lot of body horror movies wind up feeling detached, even cold, but even the nastiest parts of Spring are warm.
The Autopsy of Jane Doe
The actual medical science of performing an autopsy is the kind of necessary evil that turns many people away from the field. The awful truth is that sometimes a corpse has to be cut open to answer some very important questions, and some very skilled professionals have to be the ones to get the job done. In horror cinema, however, it's one of the most unpleasant concepts one could imagine. André Øvredal's 2016 film adds a supernatural twist to the horror of the cold dead flesh to create something smart, creepy, and foreboding. At 86 minutes, there's absolutely no fat on The Autopsy of Jane Doe, and it carries its audience on a short trip through some truly imaginative nightmares.
Under the Skin
Johnathan Glazer's 2013 film isn't exactly a fixture of the body horror genre, it's more like an ice-cold sci-fi drama with two or three body horror scenes. The film deserves a place among the subgenre for two reasons. It plays with many of the same themes endemic to body horror and its handful of moments outclass large swaths of the genre's entries. Scarlett Johansson stars as an alien trying to experience a life she can't understand and preying on men who instantly fall for her. Johansson is flawless in the role, but the real star is the film's overwhelming sense of otherworldly atmosphere. It's not the scariest film, but it manages to explore both the fleshy reality and the clever subtext of the body horror genre with aplomb.