When it comes to subgenres of horror, one of the most squeamish of the bunch is body horror. Here are five body horror films that will leave your skin crawling.
The Thing (1982)
The Thing, directed by John Carpenter, is a science fiction horror film written by Bill Lancaster based off of John W. Campbell Jr.’s 1938 novella Who Goes There?. The film follows a group of American researchers in Antarctica who encounter an extraterrestrial lifeform they dub “the Thing”, which is capable of imitating other living organisms. After disguising itself as a dog, it manages to sneak into the scientist’s facility. The presence of the Thing sow’s paranoia and distrust among the group, as they slowly get picked off one by one.
The film stars actors Kurt Russell as R.J. MacReady, the helicopter pilot, A. Wilford Brimley as Blair, the senior biologist, T.K. Carter as Nauls, the cook, and David Clennon as Palmer, the assistant mechanic.
The Thing can be watched on AMC+, Amazon Prime Video, Philo, Sling TV, and the Roku Channel. It can also be rented from Apple TV, Google Play Movies, or Fandango.
Together (2025)
Together, written and directed by Michael Shanks in his directorial debut, is a supernatural horror film. The film follows couple Tim and Millie as they move to the countryside, as Millie takes a new job as an English elementary teacher. After going to a cave and swimming in some water, the couple are afflicted with a terrible curse that slowly draws them closer together. Whenever they touch, their skin and limbs become stuck together.
The film stars actors Dave Franco as Tim Brassington, an aspiring musician, Alison Brie as Millie Wilson, an elementary school English teacher and Tim’s girlfriend, Damon Herriman as Jamie McCabe, Millie’s new coworker.
Together can be watched on Hulu or Disney+. It can also be rented from Google Play Movies, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, or Fandango
The Substance (2024)
The Substance, written and directed by Coralie Fargeat, is a horror film. The film follows struggling celebrity Elisabeth Sparkle, who is dismissed from her long-running aerobics television show by the producer Harvey due to her age. On her drive home, she is distracted by a billboard of herself being taken down, crashing her car in the process. During a brief recovery at the hospital, a young male nurse gives her a flash drive advertising a drug called “the Substance”, which promises a more youthful version of oneself. After ordering and taking the drug, Elisabeth convulses as a younger woman named Sue emerges from a slit in her back. With the process complete, Elisabeth’s consciousness must take weekly intervals to swap between her original body and “Sue”, with Sue taking over Elisabeth’s old job and Elisabeth becoming a social recluse. During one particular night, when Sue takes a man home to sleep with, she ends up being late to the consciousness transfer, causing Elisabeth’s finger to rapidly age. Sue’s blatant disregard for the transfer schedule begins to sow distrust between the two bodies, as their personalities grow further apart.
The film stars actors Demi Moore as Elisabeth Sparkle, a struggling Hollywood film star, Margaret Qualley as Sue, a younger version of Elisabeth, Dennis Quaid as Harvey, a Hollywood producer, and Edward Hamilton-Clark as Fred, Elisabeth’s former classmate.
The Substance can be watched on MUBI, Hulu, Disney+, and Amazon Prime Video. It can also be rented from Fandango or Apple TV.
The Fly (1986)
The Fly, directed by David Cronenberg with a script written by Cronenberg and Charles Edward Progue, is a sci-fi horror film based on George Langelaan’s 1957 short story of the same name. The film follows Seth Brundle, an eccentric scientist working on a machine that can teleport matter. After meeting science journalist Ronnie Quaife, he takes her back to his apartment and laboratory to show her the machine. She promises to keep the machine a secret in exchange for exclusive rights to a story about the machine, noticing that it doesn’t work with organic material after a failed test involving a baboon. Ronnie and Seth begin a romantic relationship, inspiring Seth to reconfigure the machine so that it can transfer living material. After successfully teleporting a baboon, Ronnie hurries back to her editor Stathis Borans to prevent him from publishing her story. Seth becomes convinced that Ronnie and Stathis are hooking up, causing him to teleport himself whilst alone. Unbeknownst to him, a fly gets into the machine with it, interweaving their DNA together as he begins a slow transformation into a man-fly hybrid.
The film stars actors Jeff Goldblum as Seth Brundle, an eccentric scientist working on teleportation, Geena Davis as Veronica “Ronnie” Quaife, a journalist writing about Brundle, and John Getz as Stathis Borans, Ronnie’s editor.
The Fly can be watched on Hulu, Disney+, Peacock, Philo, and the Roku Channel. It can also be rented from Fandango, Google Play Movies, or Apple TV.
Re-Animator (1985)
Re-Animator, directed by Stuart Gordon with a script written by Gordon, Dennis Paoli, and William J. Norris, is a sci-fi comedy horror film loosely based on H.P. Lovecraft’s 1922 novelette “Herbert West Re-Animator”. The film follows Herbert West, a medical student who moves from Switzerland to Arkham, Massachusetts after being accused of killing his professor, Hans Gruber. Unbeknownst to the faculty in Switzerland, Herbert was attempting to bring Dr. Gruber back to life. Now at Miskatonic University in Arkham, Herbert moves in with fellow medical student Daniel Cain and shows him his experiments by re-animating Daniel’s cat Rufus. After Daniel goes to Dean Alan Halsey, father of his fiancée Megan, to discuss Herbert’s work, Daniel and Herbert are barred from the school as Alan considers them insane. Sneaking into the morgue to provide further evidence, things go awry when they start working with human subjects.
The film stars actors Jeffrey Combs as Herbert West, a medical student, Bruce Abbott as Daniel Cain, Herbert’s classmate in Arkham, Barbara Crampton as Megan Halsey, Daniel’s fiancée, and David Gale as Dr. Carl Hill, a researcher and professor. Robert Sampson plays Dean Alan Halsey, the Dean of Miskatonic University in Arkham and Megan’s father, while Al Berry plays Dr. Hans Gruber, Herbert’s dead professor in Switzerland.
Re-Animator can be watched on Tubi or Amazon Prime Video. It can also be rented from Fandango, Google Play Movies, or Apple TV.
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