Without taking into consideration some pioneering movies in the 1950s, the body horror subgenre emerged in the late 1970s thanks to the contribution of David Cronenberg. It solidified itself as provoking and effective in the 1980s. This ramification of horror is primarily recognizable for the modifications that the human body is subjected to and the radical cinematic visions of its prominent exponents.
This list celebrates the unsung heroes of the subgenre, the special effects teams that put their creative and technical abilities at work to mold into reality iconic modified bodies. From The Thing and Videodrome to Society and An American Werewolf in London, these movies shocked the viewers and pushed forward the thought-provoking side of cinema, the one that is not afraid to show everything on the screen.
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10 Re-Animator
Re-Animator Productions
Re-Animator was co-written and directed by Stuart Gordon, with production by Brian Yuzna. Medical student Herbert West (Jeffrey Combs) relocates from Zurich to the Miskatonic University in Arkham, Massachusetts, and finds a room in the house of fellow medical student Dan Cain (Bruce Abbott). Herbert doesn’t say to Dan that he is working on a serum that revitalizes dead bodies.
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This movie had, since its release, all the ingredients for becoming a cult. Re-Animator efficiently mixes comedy and body horror and features a phenomenal style by Stuart Gordon, unique in every single detail. The special effects are straight to the point and perfectly fitting for the low budget of the movie; at the same time, while the prosthetics are minimal in comparison to other films on the list, Re-Animator doesn’t suffer from this. A bloody exhilarating diamond.
9 Slither
Brightlight Pictures
Slither was written and directed by James Gunn, and it stars Michael Rooker as Grant Grant, a wealthy citizen of Wheelsy, South Carolina. One day, Grant is contaminated by an alien parasite who gets control of his body. As his body starts to change, his wife Starla (Elizabeth Banks) becomes suspicious. Blending comedy and horror efficaciously, Slither wasn’t successful at the box office but has since become a cult classic.
Slither is an undervalued comedy horror that showed the potential of James Gunn, at his directorial debut, and the importance of preserving the old art of crafting practical effects. In a time when CGI had taken over the movie industry, Slither egregiously combined computer-generated effects and practical ones. Todd Masters’s prosthetic designs are impressive in their creativity and plasticity, with a special mention for those reserved for Michael Rooker’s character.
8 Videodrome
Filmplan International
Videodrome is the undisputed masterpiece of David Cronenberg and arguably the quintessential body horror movie. Max Renn (James Woods) is the head of Civic Tv, a cable tv station that broadcasts violent, pornographic, or underground content. After seeing a mysterious show called Videodrome, Max starts to have hallucinations; simultaneously, Max meets and gets involved with radio host Nicki Brand (Debbie Harry), who shows interest in Videodrome.
This 1980s masterpiece is memorable for the fantastic directing of Cronenberg, a tense and inventive screenplay, and an underlining political discourse about technology, sex, and violence. Moreover, the practical special effects by Rick Baker are incredibly well-crafted and perfectly convey the movie’s themes, with their intersection of metal, fake blood, and human prosthetic tissue. Videodrome is an essential view and one of those movies that stay imprinted in your mind for a long time.
7 From Beyond
Taryn Productions, Inc.
Co-written and directed by Stuart Gordon and based on the homonymous work by H. P. Lovecraft, From Beyond stars Jeffrey Combs as Dr. Crawford Tillinghast, an assistant to scientist developer Edward Pretorius (Ted Sorel). The latter has created the Resonator, a machine that makes you see beyond your reality. Everything changes when Tillinghast activates the device and is bitten by a creature. From Beyond features strong directing by Gordon and impressive cinematography by Mac Ahlberg, with its pink and purple neon lights.
From Beyond features many scenes with horrid and unimaginable creatures, whose design was distributed between many FX artists using various techniques. Despite being released in 1986, the movie’s effects are still impressive to this day and have yet to lose a single bit of their scary potential. After all these years, From Beyond is still an 80s horror standard.
6 The Fly
Brooksfilms
David Cronenberg directed The Fly, a loose remake of the homonymous 1958 movie. It features Jeff Goldblum as Seth Brundle, a bizarre scientist working on a teleport machine. After meeting journalist Veronica “Ronnie” Quaife (Geena Davis), he asks her to follow and document his project. As the study keeps developing, Brundle discovers that the machine, in the act of teleportation, recreates a synthetic example of the object transported.
The Fly is a great entertaining horror movie with an impressive performance by Goldblum and a perfectly fitting soundtrack by Howard Shore, a frequent collaborator of the Canadian director. The special effects employed in the movie are fantastic, and the progressive transformation of Brundle gave Chris Walas and Stephan Dupuis the Oscar for Best Makeup. The Fly is perfect as it is and has stood the test of time impressively.
5 Society
Wild Street Pictures
Society has become a cult over the years, primarily due to the last half hour of the movie and the special effects involved in it. Directed by Brian Yuzna, Society stars Billy Warlock as Bill Whitney, a wealthy young man who lives in Beverly Hills. Bill has a therapist, and during a session, he reveals how he doesn’t trust his family; everything gets more and more suspicious after the ex-boyfriend of Bill’s sister gives him a mysterious audio tape.
The last part of the movie is intensely infused with black comedy and gives us some of the most memorable scenes within the body horror subgenre. The special effects created by Screaming Mad George are sublime in conveying the surreal and too-real visions of Society’s modified bodies. Words cannot describe the grotesque and political wit of Society, and only a vision of this mostly neglected gem can explain it.
4 Scanners
Written and directed by David Cronenberg, Scanners features Stephen Lack in the part of Cameron Vale, a wanderer with psychic powers. After the private military company ConSec captures him, he learns that there are other people with his peculiar characteristics who have been categorized as scanners. He subsequently gets recruited to fight against a group of scanners hostile to ConSec. The rebel scanners are led by Darryl Revok (Michael Ironside).
Scanners is known worldwide for the famous head-exploding scene featured in the movie’s first part. Unexpected when the film was released, this scene shocked and impressed many viewers with its powerful delivery and super-effective special effects by Dick Smith. Using gelatin, corn syrup, wax, and leftover burgers among the ingredients, the American effects artist made history and crafted one of the most iconic horror scenes ever.
3 Alien
20th Century Fox
Written by Dan O’Bannon and directed by Ridley Scott, Alien is a movie that doesn’t need explanations. The spacecraft Nostromo is returning to Earth with its crew in stasis; after detecting a transmission from a moon, the crew is awakened to investigate it by the general computer of the ship. They don’t know what they will have to deal with. Characterized by Scott’s slow-paced and solid directing, Alien is a masterclass of tension.
The special effects, designed by H. R. Giger and created materially by a team of FX artists, shine for their accuracy and impact. The Xenomorph is perfect in all its sizes and always conveys the terrifying and dark image we are used to; at the same time, the other effects employed for the creation of the android are very creative and potent. Alien shows how practical effects can be timeless.
2 An American Werewolf in London
PolyGram Pictures
An American Werewolf in London was written and directed by John Landis, and has since become a horror classic due to the iconic werewolf transformation. David Kessler (David Naughton) and Jack Goodman (Griffin Dunne) are backpacking in Yorkshire’s moors when they decide to stop at a local pub, The Slaughtered Lamb; when they are leaving, the locals advise them to keep away from the moors and be careful of the full moon. The two won’t listen.
John Landis combines his trademark comedic style with frightening horror sequences, excelling in both. The famous transformation scene is one of those cinematic sequences you wish you could see again for the first time: the editing, the acting, and especially the special effects are flawless. Rick Baker’s Oscar-winning designs are ultra-detailed and terrifying, perfect for the escalation of the transformation.
1 The Thing
Universal Pictures
Directed by the master of horror John Carpenter, The Thing is one of the greatest horrors ever made and a work of rare beauty. In Antarctica, a sled dog is rescued and sheltered in an American research station after a helicopter carrying Norwegian personnel was pursuing the animal. Among the Americans, we find pilot R.J. MacReady (Kurt Russell) and chief mechanic Childs (Keith David). Everything changes when the dog starts to mutate.
Despite the poor box office result, The Thing has gradually been re-evaluated and praised for its anxious screenplay, magnificent directing, and impressive acting by the ensemble cast. Moreover, the special effects have become legendary for their striking and creatively gory aspect; in fact, the effects designed by Rob Bottin are an essential part of the movie, without which the eerie aura of the monster wouldn’t be the same. Phenomenal.
