The following article contains graphic descriptions of bodily and self-harm that some readers may find offensive. Reader discretion is advised.

The body horror genre can be a bit too gruesome for even the most staunch horror fans, but what it can offer in scares, philosophy, storytelling, and filmmaking makes it a critical part of the beloved genre. Often making the lists of the best horror movies ever made, body horror has been a fixture of the genre for nearly as long as the genre has existed. Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis, and H. G. Wells' The Island of Doctor Moreau are classics, all with elements of body horror.

There is something beautiful, fascinating, and grotesque about the human body. It's both completely personal and at times completely alien. Many horror directors have taken this paradoxical relationship and used it to craft some of the best-known horror stories ever put to film. David Cronenberg and his movies are synonymous with the genre, and he's arguably the modern father of it. Still there are plenty of other filmmakers in the space creating incredible and horrifying movies. The best of these body horror movies terrify, intrigue, and keep the audience coming back for more.

25 The Autopsy Of Jane Doe (2016)

A Standard Autopsy Goes Awry

In The Autopsy of Jane Doe, father-and-son Coroners, Austin Tilden (Emile Hirsch) and Tommy Tilden (Brian Cox) receive a late-night job. A young woman has been found and her death needs to be determined ASAP. As the autopsy gets underway, the Tildens find physically impossible and unnerving damage to the body before things begin to get really frightening.

The autopsy portions of The Autopsy of Jane Doe are visceral and clinically detailed. Each time Tommy explains a new horrifying realization about the body, it's too easy to imagine what exactly happened to the young woman thanks to the time spent showing the Tildens' process.

24 Teeth (2007)

A Coming-Of-Age Body Horror

Teeth is a body horror comedy that follows Dawn O'Keefe (Jess Weixler), a young member of a Christian abstinence group who realizes during a sexual assault that the more intimate region of her body has the capability to violently defend itself. As she finds out more about her condition, Dawn begins to get revenge on those who would hurt her.

The tagline and plot of Teeth are purposefully ridiculous, but the tone of the film works perfectly as a coming-of-age story and a parable about feminity and puberty. The scenes of Dawn using her newfound power to take violent men down a peg are as satisfying as they are hilariously gruesome.

23 In My Skin (2002)

A New French Extremity Horror

The 2002 French film, In My Skin, was written, directed by, and stars Marina de Van as Esther, a marketing professional in Paris. After cutting herself one night on a jagged piece of metal, Esther becomes obsessed with the idea of cutting and soon begins chopping off pieces of herself in larger and larger quantities.

In My Skin is Marina de Van's directorial debut.

In My Skin is an unrelenting and shocking look into self-mutilation and bodily autonomy. It may be a slower story with a somewhat flat plot, but Esther's treatment of herself even while her friends and family look on in horror makes it hard to look away from.

22 Prometheus (2012)

Ridley Scott's Gruesome Alien Prequel

Thanks in part to H. R. Giger's designs in the Alien franchise, body horror has always been a key element of the sci-fi horror and action films. Of them, Prometheus has the most in common with the classic body horror movies. In this prequel to the 1980 Ridley Scott film, a team of scientists investigates a mysterious planet and discover the progenitors of the human race.

As the progenitors, there is body horror galore with creatures breaking down to their DNA, black sludge transforming scientists, and an alien c-section scene that is one of the most shocking and intimate horror moments in recent memory. It's all the mystery and terror of Alien, with a modern and gruesome instinct for body horror.

21 Society (1989)

A Body Horror Satire

Society is a satirical body horror that follows Bill Whitney (Billy Warlock), the scion of a wealthy family who has sneaking suspicions about his family and their upper-crust friends. Bill discovers that his family and their pal are actually a horrific alien species that meld their bodies together to absorb energy.

Society is more than just its over-the-top and expertly crafted ending. Its pulpy, b-movie plot in the first two-thirds makes the ending even more delightful.

It's an incredibly gross movie that has scenes of bodies melting together and faces coming out of every inadvisable body part imaginable. Society is more than just its over-the-top and expertly crafted ending. Its pulpy, b-movie plot in the first two-thirds makes the ending even more delightful.

20 Malignant (2021)

James Wan's Bizarrely Effective Horror Film

James Wan is a modern master of horror thanks to his many acclaimed and influential movies, including Saw, The Conjuring, and Insidious. Malignant is a response to all those films, flipping the tropes on their head in this delightful near-farce aimed squarely at the fans of his work. In the film, Madison Mitchell (Annabelle Wallis) begins experiencing blackouts and supernatural occurrences that terrorize her.

The body horror comes in the twisted reveal, which really should not be spoiled to enjoy the film. It's disgusting, horrifying, and so bizarrely fun it's hard not to cackle in joy when it happens. Every strange and convoluted event that happens before suddenly falls clearly into place and Malignant is a brilliant thrill ride after.

19 Rabid (1977)

A Gruesome Injury Leads To An Epidemic

David Cronenberg's Rabid follows Rose (Marilyn Chambers), a woman who is injured in a motorcycle accident. After undergoing a mysterious surgery, she learns there is now an orifice under her arm that hides a stinger that drains blood from those who get too close to her.

A remake of the film was made in 2019, by sisters Jen and Sylvia Soska.

Rabid is a violent and horrific film, with the disturbing stinger-like apparatus being a nausea-inducing bit of puppetry and makeup. The odd dialogue and strange plot only add to the disorientation of the film, making the gore feel even more disturbing.

18 From Beyond (1986)

A Terrifying H. P. Lovecraft Adaptation

In From Beyond, a cosmic body horror movie based on the short story of the same name by H. P. Lovecraft, a scientist's experiment accidentally sends him to another dimension with sinister creatures. The creatures send him back to earth, now transformed into a grotesque shapeshifting monster that preys upon everyone else in the laboratory.

From Beyond mixes satire, horror, and some real artistry for an underrated tale about what happens to the mind when it observes something it can't comprehend. The makeup, monsters, and body contortions are top-notch and disgusting to look at, perfectly capturing what makes Lovecraft's stories so terrifying.

17 Slither (2006)

James Gunn's Parasitic Comedy-Horror

If MCU fans wondered why Guardians of the Galaxy felt a little more zany, violent, and maybe even cosmically terrifying than the films before it, they would only need to look at director James Gunn's earlier movies to understand why. Slither is a ridiculous and hilarious film about a small South Carolina town that's invaded by a parasite.

The parasite transforms its victims into horrific, bloated tentacle monsters who are either used to breed more parasites or kill humans. Michael Rooker's portrayal of Grant Grant, who gradually turns into a monstrous, tentacled monster that absorbs those he infects, is both tragic and disgusting.

16 Tusk (2014)

Justin Long Gets Up Close And Personal With A Walrus

Kevin Smith added one of the strangest movies to his already odd list of directed films with Tusk. In the film, Justin Long plays Wallace Bryton, an unscrupulous podcaster who interviews eccentric people to mock them online. When he finds a potential new interviewee in Canada, he is captured by the man and slowly transformed into a walrus using skin grafts and body modifications.

The transformation of Wallace into the walrus is painful and disturbing, and just looking at still images of the result is enough to be shocking. There are some truly sickening moments of Wallace desperately staring out of the skin suit he's forced to wear, and the film lingers long after it's over.