10 Best Body Horror Movies

James Woods plays Max Renn, a TV channel boss with a skewed moral compass. Max is always on the lookout for the next procurement that can push the boundaries of his output.

He discovers a channel of unknown origin known as Videodrome. The channel broadcasts S&M and snuff style torture. Max discovers there is more to Videodrome than just subversive content and that it holds a dangerous power which will consume his life.

Videodrome showcases what David Cronenberg could do as a director with a more generous budget. He explores a number of ideas touched upon in earlier works: fear of aids, the dangers of sex, and fetishism, as well as postmodernist theories similar to those presented by Jean Baudrillard in his work, Simulacra and Simulation.

Woods is fantastically intense as Max Renn. He plays alongside Debbie Harry as the dangerous Nicki Brand and the film also features some great character names such as Prof. Brian O’Blivion, a man who only exists in the medium of television, and Barry Convex (who obviously sells glasses).

The effects are fantastic with a number of classic body horror moments; melting heads, a melding of limbs into weapons and a number of excellent bodily transformation sequences.