What’s your stance on body horror?
Body horror is a sub-genre of horror that to me feels personal. It was thanks to Shinya Tsukamoto, Yoshihiro Nishimura, Kei Fujiwara and Shozin Fukui that I came to a gradual appreciation for it as a sub-genre and feel awakened because of it. Body horror also is sometimes a sub-genre used outside of the horror genre too such as in films such as Akira (1988) which is a Cyberpunk dystopian action anime film.
Films such as John Carpenter’s classic The Thing (1982), The Fly (1986), David Cronenberg’s mega inspirational Videodrome (1983) (which was deeply influential on a lot of Japanese movies), Society (1989) and other body horror movies that came out during the early 80’s all the way even to modern day, such as The Substance (2024) have left profound impacts on people, especially with regards to the practical VFX aspects as well as the underlying commentaries that aren’t explicitly discussed in the films but are able to be visually understood by many who watch body horror.
I’m also not here to say body horror needs an inherent meaning either or underlying commentary either, some people love it for the fun of just the practical effects and makeup, sometimes even for the transgressive feel to some body horror films too.
There’s even video-games like Scorn (2022) which have a haunting atmosphere and are almost biopunkish body horror in an almost externally dead yet internally alive flesh meets technology world.
I noticed even games like Silent Hill f (2025) have some aspects of body horror with regards to the enemy designs and I’d also be doing a disservice to fans of body horror if I didn’t bring up Junji Ito’s Uzumaki manga spanning 3 volumes from 1998 to 1999 as well as its 2000 movie, Wonderswan video-game and 2024 anime adaptations respectively.
For myself personally, body horror deeply resonates with me on a personal autonomous level. I could see my body violently transforming into something monstrous, which is why films like Tokyo Gore Police (2008), Meatball Machine (2005)and most importantly Tetsuo (1989) and Tetsuo II: Body Hammer (1992) left me deeply inspired as well as 964 Pinocchio (1991)
Body horror feels almost personal to me if it makes sense, seeing my body violently erupt into something inhuman on screen wouldn’t bother me as since I was a child I’ve felt deep anger yet I also have felt deeply isolated and alone. I feel body horror is a universal sub-genre not specific to any region of horror, it’s unanimously understood by a lot of people globally.
Both on a personal and filmmaking level body horror has deeply inspired me to want to make films in the horror genre and of the body horror sub-genre, especially more regarding technology as we approach futures that become more and more technologically reliant.
However, what is your stance on body horror as a sub-genre of horror?