Best Body Swap Horror Films. In this special series of horror-themed articles, we’ll be reviewing the best films about body swap horror and shapeshifter horror. Body swap films typically involve two individuals who trade consciousness with each other while films with shapeshifters feature a person (or creature) that can physically transform into the likeness of another person or creature.
For this first article, we’ll be focusing on the Body Swap film subgenre and isolating films that blend body swaps with horror. While the popular films of this subgenre include comedies such as Freaky Friday (1976), Big (1988) and 13 Going on 30 (2004), there has been a recent shift in the subgenre that features more horror-themed instances of trading a body (and soul) with another person. Freaky (2020), It’s What’s Inside (2024) and The Substance (2024) are just a few of these recent films that have explored the darker side of wishing you were younger or living the life of someone else.
Outlined below is a list of our planned articles for this series of articles as well as some past articles you might be interested in if you enjoy themes of body swaps or shapeshifters:
- Best Body Swap Horror Films
- Best Horror Films About Shapeshifters
- Best Recent Body Swap Films
- Best Raunchy Body Swap Films
- Best Romantic Body Swap Films
- Best Body Swap Thrillers
- The Best Films of the Body Swap Film Subgenre
- Top Cosmic Horror Films You Haven’t Seen
- Top Films About Werewolves You Haven’t Seen
For our rankings we’re going to use some criteria to help define and refine our list. To start, given the shift to horror is relatively new for the Body Swap film subgenre, we’re going to have to expand our list beyond the traditional theme of body swaps (that involve the transfer of consciousness between two people) to also include films where someone’s consciousness can travel between different host bodies or an individual who has physically transformed themselves into another person while also retaining the general tenets of body swap films.
Second, we’ll have a separate article for the best films involving shapeshifters so films such as Cat People (1982) and Spring (2014) won’t be listed here but will be featured in our next article. However, there is one specific film about shapeshifters that also has themes of body swap films that we will include in our list below.
Third, we’re not including films where someone’s consciousness is physically transported to another individual. Without going into spoiler territory, this will exclude some films that are body swap adjacent such as Get Out (2017) and Possessor (2021).
Fourth, we’re also excluding themes of body snatchers seen in Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) and The Invasion (2007) as these are Alien Invasion films involving cloned individuals.
Fifth, though there is a specific film involving demonic possession where the host ‘demon’ can travel between different bodies (and uses themes of a body swap), in general, we’ll also be excluding any films from the Films About Exorcisms & Possessions from this list. This will affect a film such as The Exorcist III (1990) as it’s not a body swap film.
Sixth, though psychic powers involving telepathy and astral projection sometimes involve themes of body swap films, they aren’t true subgenre films so will be excluded from this list. However, if you’re a fan of psychic powers films, you can check out our Complete List of Films by Psychic Power Ability.
And seventh, we had to follow our rule for all of KBZ’s film listings where we only list films that have a 4.0/10 or higher rating and were released after 1970.
Our complete list of Body Swap films features over 97+ films from 1970 – 2026 and if you want to be updated as we release future articles involving film subgenre-related horror, you can subscribe to our newsletter.
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Best Body Swap Horror Films
Honorable Mentions: The Brotherhood of Satan (1971), The Skeleton Key (2005), Detention (2011), Spiritwalker (2021), Two (2021), Devils (2023) and Ghost Killer (2025).
#10
Lifechanger
Plot: A shape-shifting serial killer, Drew, takes the human form of his victims, until their bodies decay and he is forced to find a new host. After meeting Julia, Drew finds himself obsessed and will stop at nothing to make things right to be with her.
KBZ’s Take: As we noted above, Lifechanger is a shapeshifter film with the killer in the film taking over the bodies of its victims. However, the film also explores themes of body swaps as the shapeshifting killer adjusts to the realities of its host body.
Though the film is low budget, it has some great thrills and gore that any horror fan should enjoy.
Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
#9
Slanted
Plot: Asian teenager Joan Huang dreams of being prom queen but fears the only way to win is to look like all the past queens whose portraits line her high school halls. Then she hears about Ethnos, a cosmetic surgery clinic that turns people of color white. Joan undergoes the procedure and wakes up a beautiful blonde who’s destined for the crown, but at what cost?
KBZ’s Take: Slanted is more akin to The Substance (2024) than a true body swap film as the film is a satire of sorts on ethnic swapping – in this case an Asian teenager who turns into a Caucasian teenager to win her high school’s prom.
While the film is more of a horror comedy than scary, it does have some gruesome body horror in the film and has some surprisingly effective themes of perceived societal acceptance.
Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
Plot: A frustrated pianist himself, music journalist Myles Clarkson is thrilled to interview virtuoso Duncan Ely. Duncan, however, is terminally ill and not much interested in Myles until noticing that Myles hands are ideally suited for piano. Suddenly, he can’t get enough of his new friend, and Myles wife, Paula, becomes suspicious of Duncan’s intentions. Her suspicions grow when Duncan dies and Myles mysteriously becomes a virtuoso overnight.
KBZ’s Take: This film is more of a mystery drama than straight up horror so some subgenre fans might find it slow and not scary. However, it’s a good subgenre film that delves more into satanic cults and pacts with the Devil.
There’s also the matter of the satanic rituals allowing transference of consciousness into other bodies, but we won’t ruin the film by going into that too much. If you’re a fan of slow burn horror, you should definitely seek this out and at least make it to the third act which picks up quite a bit (with an interesting ending).
Additional Lists: Top Films About The Devil, Demons and Hell You Haven’t Seen – 1970 – 1989 #6
Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
#7
Together
Plot: Years into their relationship, Tim and Millie find themselves at a crossroads when they move to the countryside, abandoning all that is familiar in their lives except each other. With tensions already flaring, a nightmarish encounter with a mysterious, unnatural force threatens to corrupt their lives, their love, and their flesh.
KBZ’s Take: Together is a horror film focused on a couple in a long-term relationship with some very dark comedic undertones. It’s also a film that’s not for the squeamish as there are some very unique (and frightening) body horror sequences.
The leads in the film, Alison Brie and Dave Franco, are married in real life and their romantic chemistry is quite believable in this very original (and underrated) romantic horror film.
Additional Lists: Best Horror Romance Films #6
Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
#6
Trancers
Plot: Angel City trooper Jack Deth is sent back in time from 2247 to 1985 L.A. to inhabit the body of his ancestor. Deth’s assignment is to find his archenemy, Whistler, who turns people into zombies, before the fiend is able to kill all the ancestors of the future’s governing council.
KBZ’s Take: Trancers is a B-movie version of The Terminator except without robots or Arnold Schwarzenegger. However, it’s a great B-film that ties together many subgenres – Time Travel, Film Noir, Zombies and Body Swaps. Though more science fiction focused, there are some humorous body swap situations with people transported back in time but not into the bodies they’re expecting.
Additional Lists: Top Time Travel Films You Haven’t Seen – 1980’s #4, Top Future Noir Films You Haven’t Seen #6, Top Body Swap Films You Haven’t Seen #9
Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
Plot: Psychiatrist Elizabeth Derby becomes obsessed with helping a young patient who’s suffering from extreme personality disorder. However, it soon leads her into occult danger as she tries to escape from a horrific fate.
KBZ’s Take: Suitable Flesh is one of the better recent films about Cosmic Horror. It’s also based on the H.P. Lovecraft short story, “The Thing on the Doorstep”, so you can expect a good dose of Lovecraftian horror themes and body horror.
As for the body swap elements, they are some of the most horrific of the subgenre with leads Heather Graham (as Dr. Elizabeth Derby) and Judah Lewis (as Asa Waite) giving great performances as the individuals who swap bodies multiple times. Just be prepared for a gruesome third act in the film that isn’t for the squeamish and is very reminiscent of 80s Lovecraftian horror films, Re-animator (1985) and From Beyond (1986).
Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
#4
Fallen
Plot: Homicide detective John Hobbes witnesses the execution of serial killer Edgar Reese. Soon after the execution the killings start again, and they are very similar to Reese’s style.
KBZ’s Take: Though we aren’t including films about demonic possession on this list, we did have to make an exception for Fallen. The film doesn’t feature traditional body swaps, but it does involve a very evil and vindictive demon that continually hops from hosts’ bodies to terrorize Detective John Hobbes (Denzel Washington).
Even without traditional body swap scenes, it does feature some of the creepiest scenes of the subgenre with the demon Azazel hopping between hosts as it sings a song in a police station revealing it’s true identity to Hobbes.
Additional Lists: Top Films About The Devil, Demons and Hell You Haven’t Seen – 1990 – 2009 #4, Best 1990s Horror Films for Halloween #16
Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
#3
Freaky
Plot: A serial killer swaps bodies with a 17-year-old girl.
KBZ’s Take: If you enjoyed Christopher Landon’s Happy Death Day (2017) and Happy Death Day 2U (2019), then you’ll also enjoy this film (if not more). Similar to how Happy Death Day created a unique experience by meshing together the Time Loop and Slasher Film subgenres, Freaky molds the Serial Killer and Body Swap subgenres into a hilarious yet often suspenseful creation.
Highly recommended film to see if only for Vince Vaughn’s many hilarious physical moments as the ‘teen girl’.
Additional Lists: Best Body Swap Thrillers #1, New Body Swap Films #2, Top Slasher Films You Haven’t Seen #3, The Best Films of the Body Swap Film Subgenre #4
Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
Plot: A pre-wedding reunion descends into a psychological nightmare for a group of college friends when a surprise guest arrives with a mysterious suitcase that starts to tear the group apart.
KBZ’s Take: It’s What’s Inside is much more of a Psychological Thriller film with horror elements than a straight up Psychological Horror film. However, it’s one of the most unique films we’ve seen in the last few years with its brilliant take on body swaps and the psychological ramifications of inhabiting another person’s body and identity.
The film takes common body swap tropes and turns them on their head in a darkly comedic and mysterious manner. The less you know about the film going in, the better your experience will be. And we can definitively say, this is one film of the subgenre you will want to watch multiple times to fully understand all the twists and turns that truly mess with your mind.
Additional Lists: Best Recent Body Swap Films #1, The Best Horror Films of 2024 for Halloween #7
Where to Stream / Buy: Netflix
Plot: Elisabeth Sparkle, renowned for an aerobics show, faces a devastating blow on her 50th birthday as her boss fires her. Amid her distress, a laboratory offers her a substance which promises to transform her into an enhanced version of herself.
KBZ’s Take: The Substance is not a film for people with weak stomachs as the film has some extreme body horror sequences with quite a bit of blood and gore. But it’s also a film where the body horror enhances the psychological horror as the story progresses. It’s ultimately a satire on society and aging that hits home more effectively due to its extremely dark take on the obsession with physical beauty.
Even though the film is technically a body swap-adjacent film, it’s still the most horrific film of the subgenre. It’s truly a unique experience that is a blast to watch – if you can handle it.
Additional Lists: Best Recent Body Swap Films #2, The Best Horror Films of 2024 for Halloween #2
Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
