10 Body Horror Movies That'll Make You Squirm

As it will become apparent in this list, body horror and sci-fi pair together like peanut butter and jelly. And District 9 is no exception.

Directed by Neil Blomkamp, this 2009 film is based on Blomkamp’s short film Alive in Joburg.

There are a lot of body horror films about changing into a monstrous being. However, District 9 made it onto this list because of the clever themes that are represented within this horror.

Abject horror is a term coined by psychoanalyst Julia Kristeva. It refers to things which disrupt our meaning of humanity, and is the reason humans are afraid of the “other”; something that is similar, yet different to us, such as animatronics or wax figures, although this definition can extend to things like different races.

The abject horror in District 9 is shown through the aliens that the people of Johannesburg view as other.

When our protagonist, Wikus, goes through the disturbing change into an alien, the fear comes from him turning into the other, and everything that will mean for his sense of self.

Yet as Wikus’ skin begins to peel and his fingernails fall off, he doesn’t lose his humanity; he gains it. He can finally empathise with the other, and make up for a career forged in the mistreatment of aliens.

In this way, the body horror shown is actually positive. Rather than changing the protagonist into something monstrous, it gives him a depth of understanding no other experience could.

This metaphor for xenophobia and racism is shown expertly through the genre of body horror, and leaves people with a lasting impression.