Body horror

Last updated

A woman in zombie makeup Zombie Richmond VA RVA 2014-20 (15625348701).jpg
A woman in zombie makeup

Body horror, or biological horror, is a subgenre of horror fiction that intentionally showcases grotesque or psychologically disturbing violations of the human body or to any other creature. [1] These violations may manifest through aberrant sex, mutations, mutilation, zombification, gratuitous violence, disease, or unnatural movements of the body. Body horror was a description originally applied to an emerging subgenre of North American horror films, but has roots in early Gothic literature and has expanded to include other media. [2]

Contents

Characteristics

According to the film scholar Linda Williams, body horror falls into one of three "gross" genres or "genres of excess" which also includes pornography and melodrama. [3] Williams writes that the success of these body genres "is often measured by the degree to which the audience sensation mimics what is seen on the screen". [3] For example, an audience may experience feelings of terror through horror, sympathy through melodrama, or sexual arousal through pornography. [4] Body horror specifically focuses on the limits and transformative capabilities of the human body. [5]

Body horror often overlaps with, but is distinct from, other horror subgenres. For example, while elements of mutilation may be present in body horror, other similar subgenres such as slasher, splatter, or monster horror may also share this trope, but differ in message and intent. [6] A common difference in the body horror genre is that violations or distortions of the body are rarely the result of immediate or initial violence. Instead, they are generally marked by a loss of conscious control over the body through mutation, disease, or other tropes involving uncontrolled transformation. [7] The genre can invoke intense feelings of physical and psychological disgust, or squick, and play upon anxieties of physical vulnerability. [8] In addition to common tropes used within the broader horror genre, some tropes specific to the body horror subgenre may include invasion, contagion, mutation, transformation, disease, mutilation, or other unnatural or violent distortions of the human body.

Body horror films, such as Crimes of the Future [9] and Titane , [10] have been likened to erotic horror. [11]

History

The term "body horror" was first used by Phillip Brophy in his 1983 article "Horrality: The Textuality of the Contemporary Horror Film". [12] He coined this term to describe an emerging subgenre which occurred during a short golden period for contemporary horror film. [13] Although Brophy coined the term to specifically describe a trend within cinema, film director Stuart Gordon notes that the body horror trope had existed before its adaptation to the screen, most notably within fictional writing. [14] [5]

Literature

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1818) is an early example of the body horror subgenre within fictional writing. The success of gothic horror in the 19th century, in combination with the birth of science fiction as a literary form, is thought to be the origin of body horror as a literary genre. [2] According to Halberstam, "By focusing on the body as a locus of fear, Shelley's novel suggests that it is people (or at least bodies) who terrify people... the landscape of fear is replaced by sutured skin." [2]

Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis is another early example of body horror literature. It shows Gregor Samsa transform into a large bug for unknown reasons. The work has influenced other body horrors like The Fly .

Film

Canadian filmmaker David Cronenberg is considered a principal originator of body horror through early films such as Shivers and Rabid , and his remake of The Fly . However, body horror tropes existed within film prior to official recognition of the genre. Early examples of the body horror genre arose out of 1950s American horror cinema including The Blob and The Fly , both of which set the standard for the genre due to the films' primary focus on mutation and visceral special effects. [15] [ unreliable source? ] Many contemporary films of the horror genre (those produced after 1968), including body horror, are considered to be postmodern in contrast to classical horror. [16] Because of this, delineations between the genres are difficult to define, since postmodernism is concerned with blurring boundaries between categories.

The body horror genre is widely represented throughout Japanese horror and within contemporary media, such as anime. [17] Katsuhiro Otomo's 1988 film Akira is an early example of body horror within anime. The film uses the genre to explore the "notion of the adolescent body as a site of metamorphosis, a metamorphosis that can appear monstrous both to the figure undergoing it and to the outside world." [18]

Comics and graphic novels

Many manga authors, such as Junji Ito, specialize in writing within the horror genre and use body horror tropes in combination with narrative storytelling devices of Japanese horror. [19] Highly influenced by the literary works of H. P. Lovecraft, Ito's manga depict obscene body horror through both aesthetic and narrative in order to invoke feelings of abject terror. [1] In contrast, Canadian cartoonist Michael DeForge incorporates recurring body horror aspects within his work through less graphic aesthetic and narrative styles. [20]

Videogames

Examples of videogames of this genre are The Forest and Sons of the Forest .

Controversy and censorship

Since the 18th century, the horror genre has been popular among readers but dismissed as controversial by some critics who saw the genre and its thematic elements threatening or dangerous to society. [21]

Because of the use of graphic and gratuitous violence or themes that may be considered taboo, horror media that fall within the body horror genre are often censored or banned across a variety of countries. [22] For example, the Saw and Human Centipede franchises have been referred to as "torture porn" and widely criticized to include overly "exploitative, gratuitous portrayals of destructive sexual perversion."

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cyberpunk</span> Science fiction subgenre in a futuristic dystopian setting

Cyberpunk is a subgenre of science fiction in a dystopian futuristic setting that tends to focus on a "combination of lowlife and high tech", featuring futuristic technological and scientific achievements, such as artificial intelligence and cyberware, juxtaposed with societal collapse, dystopia or decay. Much of cyberpunk is rooted in the New Wave science fiction movement of the 1960s and 1970s, when writers like Philip K. Dick, Michael Moorcock, Roger Zelazny, John Brunner, J. G. Ballard, Philip José Farmer and Harlan Ellison examined the impact of drug culture, technology, and the sexual revolution while avoiding the utopian tendencies of earlier science fiction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Film genre</span> Classification of films based on similarities in narrative elements

A film genre is a stylistic or thematic category for motion pictures based on similarities either in the narrative elements, aesthetic approach, or the emotional response to the film.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gothic fiction</span> Romance, horror and death literary genre

Gothic fiction, sometimes called Gothic horror, is a loose literary aesthetic of fear and haunting. The name refers to Gothic architecture of the European Middle Ages, which was characteristic of the settings of early Gothic novels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Horror film</span> Film genre

Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes.

A hybrid genre is a literary or film genre that blends themes and elements from two or more different genres. Works in hybrid genres are also referred to as cross-genre, multi-genre, mixed genre, or fusion genre. The Dictionary of Media and Communication describes hybrid genre as "the combination of two or more genres", which may combine elements of more than one genre and/or which may "cut across categories such as fact and fiction". Some such sub-genres have acquired their own specialised names, such as comedy drama, romantic comedy ("rom-com"), horror Western, and docudrama.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tentacle erotica</span> Sensual art genre involving tentacles or pseudopods

Tentacle erotica is a type of pornography most commonly found in Japan that integrates traditional pornography with elements of bestiality, fantasy, horror, and science fiction. It is found in some horror or hentai titles, with tentacled creatures having sexual intercourse, predominantly with females or, to a lesser extent, males. Tentacle erotica can be consensual but mostly contains elements of rape.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Splatter film</span> Subgenre of horror film that deliberately focuses on graphic portrayals of gore and graphic violence

A splatter film is a subgenre of horror films that deliberately focuses on graphic portrayals of gore and graphic violence. These films, usually through the use of special effects, display a fascination with the vulnerability of the human body and the theatricality of its mutilation. The term "splatter cinema" was coined by George A. Romero to describe his film Dawn of the Dead, though Dawn of the Dead is generally considered by critics to have higher aspirations, such as social commentary, than to be simply exploitative for its own sake.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Exploitation film</span> Informal film genre

An exploitation film is a film that tries to succeed financially by exploiting current trends, niche genres, or lurid content. Exploitation films are generally low-quality "B movies", though some set trends, attract critical attention, become historically important, and even gain a cult following.

Ero guro is an artistic genre that puts its focus on eroticism, sexual corruption, and decadence. As a term, it is used to denote something that is both erotic and grotesque.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Erotic horror</span> Erotic subgenre, horror subgenre

Erotic horror, alternately called horror erotica or dark erotica, is a term applied to works of fiction in which sensual or sexual imagery are blended with horrific overtones or story elements for the sake of sexual titillation. Horror fiction of this type is most common in literature and film. Erotic horror films are a cornerstone of Spanish and French horror.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Erotic thriller</span> Film and literary sub-genre

The erotic thriller or sexual thriller is a film subgenre defined as a thriller with a thematic basis in illicit romance or sexual fantasy. Though exact definitions of the erotic thriller can vary, it is generally agreed "bodily danger and pleasure must remain in close proximity and equally important to the plot." Most erotic thrillers contain scenes of softcore sex and nudity, though the frequency and explicitness of those scenes can differ from film to film.

Suburban Gothic is a subgenre of Gothic fiction, art, film and television, focused on anxieties associated with the creation of suburban communities, particularly in the United States and the Western world, from the 1950s and 1960s onwards.

Japanese cyberpunk refers to cyberpunk fiction produced in Japan. There are two distinct subgenres of Japanese cyberpunk: live-action Japanese cyberpunk films, and cyberpunk manga and anime works.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gender in horror films</span>

The representation of gender in horror films, particularly depictions of women, has been the subject of critical commentary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julia Ducournau</span> French filmmaker (born 1983)

Julia Ducournau is a French film director and screenwriter. She made her feature film debut in 2016 with Raw. At the 2021 Cannes Film Festival, she won the Palme d'Or for her film Titane, which made her the second female director to win the award as well as the first to win the award solo. Additionally, Ducournau also received a nomination for Best Director at the 75th British Academy Film Awards. Her films typically fall under the body horror genre.

Techno-horror is a subgenre of horror fiction that focuses on concerns with and fears of technology. The stories are often cautionary tales created during periods of rapid technological advancement that express concerns about privacy, freedom, individuality and wealth disparity. They often take place in dystopian settings.

Art horror or arthouse horror is a sub-genre of both horror films and art-films. It explores and experiments with the artistic uses of horror.

References

  1. 1 2 Cruz, R. A. L. (2012). "Mutations and Metamorphoses: Body Horror is Biological Horror". Journal of Popular Film and Television. 40 (4): 160–168. doi:10.1080/01956051.2012.654521. S2CID   194091897.
  2. 1 2 3 Halberstam, J. (1995). Skin shows: Gothic horror and the technology of monsters. Duke University Press.
  3. 1 2 Williams, L. (1991). "Film Bodies: Gender, Genre, and Excess". Film Quarterly. 44 (4): 2–13. doi:10.2307/1212758. JSTOR   1212758.
  4. González Montero, Sebastián Alejandro (August 29, 2007). "Pornografía y erotismo". Estudios de Filosofía (36): 223–245. doi: 10.17533/udea.ef.12747 . S2CID   255928889.
  5. 1 2 Cardin, Matt. (2017). Horror Literature Through History: an Encyclopedia of the Stories That Speak to Our Deepest Fears [2 Volumes]. Santa Barbara, California : Greenwood.
  6. Reyes, X. A. (2016). Horror Film and Affect: Towards a Corporeal Model of Viewership (Vol. 47), p. 16. Routledge.
  7. Hutchings, Peter. (2009). The A–Z of Horror Cinema. A–Z Guides 100. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press.
  8. "The Future of Body Horror: Can Our Art Keep up with Our Suffering?". The Rumpus.net. January 26, 2017. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  9. Kaufman, Sophie Monks (June 5, 2022). "David Cronenberg Creates a World Where "Surgery is the New Sex"". Hyperallergic. Retrieved October 22, 2023.
  10. Haddad, Natalie; G’Sell, Eileen (November 4, 2021). "The Automotive-Erotic Body Horror of Titane". Hyperallergic. Retrieved October 22, 2023.
  11. Walker, Billie (January 9, 2023). "Is Body Horror the New Intimacy?". Hyperallergic. Retrieved October 22, 2023.
  12. Brophy, P. (1983). "Horrality – The Textuality of the Contemporary Horror Film". Art & Text, Melbourne, 1983. 3 (Having read the referenced article, the term 'body horror' isn't used). Archived from the original on September 10, 2018. Retrieved November 1, 2018.
  13. Brophy, Philip. "die body crap cut me up smiling". Philipbrophy.com. Retrieved from http://www.philipbrophy.com/projects/rstff/Horrality_H.html
  14. Kane, Paul and Marie O'Regan (2012). The Mammoth Book of Body Horror. Philadelphia: Running Press.
  15. "A Quick History of Body Horror in Cinema". Gehenna & Hinnom Books. April 7, 2017. Retrieved March 12, 2018.
  16. Pinedo, I (1996). "Recreational terror: Postmodern elements of the contemporary horror film". Journal of Film and Video. 48 (1–2): 17–31. JSTOR   20688091.
  17. Gateward, F. (2002). Bubblegum and heavy metal. Sugar, Spice, and Everything Nice: Cinemas of Girlhood, (29)269, p. 283.
  18. Napier, S. J. (2001). Akira and Ranma 1/2: The Monstrous Adolescent. In Anime from Akira to Princess Mononoke (pp. 39–62). Palgrave Macmillan, New York.
  19. Bush, L. (2001). Asian Horror Encyclopedia: Asian Horror Culture in Literature, Manga, and Folklore. iUniverse.
  20. Jones, T. (2014). "Aw Dude, Gross": The Mundane Body Horror of Michael DeForge.
  21. Cooper, L. A. (2010). Gothic Realities: The Impact of Horror Fiction on Modern Culture. McFarland.
  22. "Banned and Brutal: 14 Beyond-Controversial Horror Movies". Rolling Stone.