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

Examples of body horror in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

More a horror film than a comic book movie — body horror, to be precise — it’s also perfectly timed to cash in on the current mania of audiences looking for a scary good time. — Frank Scheck, HollywoodReporter, 21 Oct. 2026

Gross, goopy, gory, bloody, and just plain meaty, Matt’s physical ailments aren’t shied away from at all, and Watkins’ dedication to going full body horror is admirable. — Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 21 Oct. 2026

An Australia Spotlight will screen De Heer’s 2022 The Survival Of Kindness; Natalie Erika James’ body horror Saccharine, and Vee Shi’s hybrid documentary Time And Tide. — Liz Shackleton, Deadline, 21 Oct. 2026

There’s seat-shaking violence in how the whale breaches the surface and slams its weight back down (the crafty sound design is by James Miller) and body horror in its claustrophobic, spongy inner chambers. — Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1989, in the meaning defined above