The 4 best body horror movies streaming on Netflix

As the leaves begin to change and the weather starts to cool, this is the time of year that we all wait for—that's right, I’m talking about horror movie season. When Halloween is around the corner, it’s time to break out the films that will terrify us in the best ways.

Today, I’m going to look at body horror movies on Netflix. While not all of these are classified as traditional “body horror,” they have several key aspects that often use a lot of body parts for their horror. With that in mind, let’s dive right in.

Saw X

You’d think if I recommended a horror movie in a legendary franchise, I’d start with the first one, but I genuinely believe Saw X is one of those films in a series that is better much later on than its predecessors.

Saw X follows John Kramer (Tobin Bell), otherwise known as the original Jigsaw Killer. He travels to Mexico to undergo a special type of treatment that could potentially cure the cancer in his brain. But when he arrives, he discovers it’s just a scam. Because he’s (understandably) angry, he turns to his familiar games and death traps to deliver justice.

The movie takes place between the events of the original Saw and Saw II, but personally, I think it’s better than both films in certain ways. I always love it when people get to dive deeper into a villain's complexity and see behind the masks we all know and love.

But the real kicker is that the gore here is top-notch. No, you’re not going to get bodies mutating or anything like that, but what you will get is some horrific gore that will surely make you want to turn away from the screen—or keep watching because it’s just that disgusting.

Smile 2

Before you ask, no, you do not need to watch the first Smile film to enjoy Smile 2. Honestly, I’d recommend skipping the first because the second is clearly the superior film. The first is disturbing, but this one is a tight story with some truly horrifying moments that even seasoned body-horror lovers might turn away from.

Smile 2 is essentially the same premise as the first film, except this time it affects a pop star named Skye Riley (Naomi Scott), who is cursed by a malicious entity that feeds on trauma, as it slowly terrifies her right as her world tour is about to begin, one that is meant to revive her career.

If you want truly terrifying, gory moments, Smile 2 will make you feel nauseous. There aren’t as many as you would expect, but the ones you do get are horrendous. They’re almost impressive because the time and effort poured into those designs must have been endless. It’s gory and great.

Frankenstein

Frankenstein is an adaptation based on Mary Shelley's novel and follows a doctor who plays God and tries to stitch together body parts to create new life, leading him down a dark, dangerous path. It’s the horror film everyone was dying to see.

While Frankenstein isn’t what you would normally consider “body horror” because there aren’t any seriously mutating body parts or anything else that would make you squirm, many people consider the story one of the first interpretations of “body horror” because it literally morphs and stitches body parts back together.

And boy, do we see that throughout the film. Oscar Isaac as Dr. Frankenstein is brilliant (as you would expect him to be), but the real winner of this is Jacob Elordi as the Creature, who has hours and hours of makeup and prosthetics to make him look truly monstrous, but also… kinda kind? It’s a strange feeling.

Alien

Last but not least, we have this fun sci-fi body-horror film, Alien. Directed by Ridley Scott, this iconic film follows a starship crew that must survive being hunted by aliens after investigating an abandoned space vessel.

Is Alien as horrifying as other body horror films? No. But when you think about it, Alien was one of the first body-horror sci-fi films because of the select moments it includes. Everyone knows the iconic chest-bursting scene, which still lives in my head years after I first watched the film as a young teenager. But even the aliens' appearance is horrific. They are an example of what true body horror could look like.

If you want a classic sci-fi body horror, really, this is the film. It’s just as creepy as you would expect. And of course there are plenty of sequels to the original movie, but nothing beats the first. It was a classic for the sci-fi genre for a reason.

You can watch all four of these films on Netflix right now.

Add us as a preferred source on Google