body horror

noun

: a fiction genre in which a character's body undergoes mutation, disfigurement, decomposition, etc.

Body horror taps into the very human fear of how unpredictable, and even uncontrollable, our bodies can be.

—Theara Coleman

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein might be the earliest example of body horror, a subgenre … that focuses on mutation, destruction and transformation of the human form.

—James Marsh

The Resident Evil franchise has never been a stranger to incorporating elements of body horror into its games, especially given how often enemies will transform and mutate.

—Ewan Lewis

Word History

First Known Use

1989, in the meaning defined above