50 Essential Body Horror Films
The term "Body Horror," used strictly and correctly, refers to a cycle of horror films in the 70s and 80s that dealt with penetration, violation, transformation, and ultimately destruction of the human body. The undisputed leader of the pack was David Cronenberg, whose Rabid, Videodrome, and The Fly were key texts of body horror, as intellectually compelling as they were viscerally repulsive. This list takes a more expansive view of the phenomenon, looking to early werewolf movies for some cues as to how body horror might encompass themes of puberty and nascent sexuality, as well as to certain zombie flicks, venereal epics and torture-porn opera that serve to remind a new generation of the ultimately transient and permeable nature of their too-mortal flesh. The tack I'm taking? If freaking Fargo is film noir, then Martyrs counts as body horror. If you've seen more than 40 of these, congratulate yourself on your ability to sleep at night -- if, in fact, you still can.
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