Splinter (2008), Thanatomorphose (2012), and Contracted (2013)

When discussing films that deal with body horror, David Cronenberg and his work usually come up in the conversation. How can he not, when so many of his earlier films all dealt with some sort of body horror, mutations, and transformations? But there are plenty of films that go above and beyond (and even below) Cronenberg’s impressive genre efforts… sometimes even making us wonder why we’re watching them in the first place! Could it be that we just want to see how much grossness we can stomach? Or is there more to it?

Body horror is one of the most horrific of horror’s subgenres, tossing heaping handfuls of disgust into the usual bag of scares. And maybe it’s the hangover from the recent global pandemic, maybe it’s the fact that by a certain age all of us have watched someone close to us fight a serious illness, or maybe it’s just built into us by Mother Nature, but there’s something especially horrific about body horror from infection.  But what do we get from watching it? Disgust, discomfort, and maybe a deeper understanding of human experience and anxieties? We can for sure guarantee the first two- so let’s dig in!

Disclaimer: by the end of the episode, you will be forgiven if you catch yourself looking at your body in a full-length mirror thinking “well, at least no maggots fell out of there.”

Movies mentioned in this episode:

Abigail (2024), Beyond the Darkness (1979), Body Melt (1993), Carcinoma (2014), Contracted (2013), Creepshow (1982), The Fly (1986), Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024), The Grudge 3 (2009), House of Wax (2005), Immaculate (2024), The Machinist (2004), Slime City (1988), Splinter (2008), Street Trash (1987), Thanatomorphose (2012), The Thing (1982), Toxic Avenger (1984)