10 Hidden Gem Body Horror Movies

5. Tetsuo II: Body Hammer

Tetsuo II Body Hammer
Manga Entertainment

Most casual moviegoers won't have heard of Tetsuo: The Iron Man, and even less people will be aware of Tetsuo II: Body Hammer.

That first Tetsuo picture centres on a businessman who accidentally runs over a a metal fetishist. As payback for this, said metal enthusiast gradually transforms his attacker into a twisted part-man, part-machine hybrid.

In Tetsuo II, our central creation is back in a sequel that, despite ignoring certain parts of the first film, sees him evolving to the point of becoming a living cyberkinetic gun. With his son kidnapped, our Iron Man embarks on a bloody rampage of revenge that only amps up further once he inadvertedly kills his offspring when trying to take out one of his kidnappers.

Amongst of all this, there's plenty more at play thanks to a villain - aptly (and simply) named Mad Scientist - doing his best to inject the kidnap gang's members with a serum that will turn them into beings similar to our main protagonist, Taniguchi Tomoo.

Like Tetsuo: The Iron Man, Tetsuo II: Body Hammer is one of those films that any and all horror hounds should watch at least once.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.