This is the second in a series of articles where we’ll be covering the Top Body Horror Films by decade. Body Horror is a Horror subgenre that features viral or medical transformations of the human body. Changes in the body are often grotesque and visually disturbing. Body Horror often shares similarities with other Horror subgenres such as Psychological and Medical Horror and Splatter and Gore films and Sci-Fi subgenres including Sci-Fi Biotech Films. However, Body Horror often focuses on the mutilation of the body or resulting transformation.
This second article will cover the Best Body Horror Films from the 1970’s and you can check out additional articles by decade below:
- Best Cronenberg Body Horror Films
- Top Body Horror Films You Haven’t Seen – 1970’s
- Top Body Horror Films You Haven’t Seen – 1980’s
- Top Body Horror Films You Haven’t Seen – 1990’s
- Top Body Horror Films You Haven’t Seen – 2000’s
- Top Body Horror Films You Haven’t Seen – 2010’s
- Best Recent Body Horror Films
- Best Body Horror Films of All Time
The 1970’s were a unique decade for Body Horror films as Horror films evolved from the ‘monster’ exploitation films of prior decades to more mainstream and quality fare.
One example of this transition was with a few Body Horror films that debuted in the 1970’s including The Thing with Two Heads (1972), Sssssss (1973), It’s Alive (1974) and The Incredible Melting Man (1977). All of these films were low budget offerings that featured Body Horror themes based on unbelievable or unrealistic premises. It wasn’t until David Cronenberg’s Shivers (1975) debuted that a new foundation of what defined Body Horror emerged. Cronenberg followed up Shivers with Rabid (1977) and The Brood (1979) which laid the groundwork for a new era of Body Horror that would emerge in the 1980’s.
The latter half of the 1970’s also had a few films that helped this transition to better quality Body Horror fare with Eraserhead (1978), The Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) and Alien (1979). Eraserhead was David Lynch’s debut film and incorporated Body Horror elements in a nightmarish narrative. Invasion of the Body Snatchers was a remake of the 1956 film and used Body Horror throughout to visually demonstrate the horror and assimilation of humans by the ‘Pod People’. And a classic Horror film, Alien, incorporated Body Horror into both the Cosmic Horror and Survival Horror subgenres.
Our complete list of Body Horror Films features over 186+ films from 1956 – 2022. Though the 1970’s didn’t have many Body Horror films, we’ll do our best to list some of the subgenre films you should check out below. And, if you’re looking for some Body Horror film recommendations, subscribe to our newsletter to get updated as we release our series of articles outlining rare and lesser-known Body Horror films by decade.
Classic, must see Body Horror Films of the 1970’s: Shivers (1975), The Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978), Alien (1979) and The Brood (1979)
Lesser-known and Rare Body Horror Films from the 1970’s that didn’t make our list: None. As we mentioned, there were few 1970’s Body Horror films to choose from but we do recommend checking pre-1970’s Body Horror including Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956), The Blob (1958) and Eyes Without a Face (1960).
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Here is our list of the Top Body Horror Films from the 1970’s You Haven’t Seen:
Plot: A rich but racist man is dying and hatches an elaborate scheme for transplanting his head onto another man’s body. His health deteriorates rapidly, and doctors are forced to transplant his head onto the only available candidate: a black man from death row.
KBZ’s Take: Well, we told you there were slim pickings for this decade and every Horror fan has most likely seen Alien (1979). The Thing with Two Heads is an example of one of the early Horror exploitation films that gave way to more prominent and quality Body Horror offerings such as Alien.
As for this film, it comes off as more of a comedy with its outlandish premise and even funnier ‘second head’. Worth seeing by completists of the subgenre or if you enjoy early 1970’s schlock.
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Plot: An astronaut exposed to cosmic rays outside of Saturn s rings returns to Earth and begins to melt away. Escaping from the hospital, he wanders around the backwoods looking for human flesh to eat.
KBZ’s Take: This is another example of a Body Horror film that relied more on the Splatter and Gore aspects of Body Horror to shock and awe. While the film’s premise isn’t entirely bad (and somewhat watchable), it’s the gross special effects of the ‘melting man’ that might only appeal to Splatter and Gore fans.
Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3KDU6CE
#8
Eraserhead
Plot: Henry Spencer tries to survive his industrial environment, his angry girlfriend, and the unbearable screams of his newly born mutant child.
KBZ’s Take: If you’re familiar with David Lynch, you shouldn’t expect a straightforward plot or narrative within any of his films. Eraserhead is no exception. The film itself is like watching a confusing nightmare where entire sequences don’t make sense. But it’s some of the incoherence that makes the Body Horror sequences much more impactful when they do occur.
There’s entire sites and forum threads dedicated to trying to explain this film if you’re still wondering what it was all about after watching (like 99% of other viewers).
Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3Y9bz8Z
#7
Rabid
Plot: After undergoing radical surgery for injuries from a motorcycle accident, a young woman develops a strange phallic growth on her body and a thirst for human blood – the only nourishment that will now sustain her.
KBZ’s Take: Cronenberg’s sophomore effort doesn’t quite match his much better debut feature Shivers (1975), but it’s still a quality film worth watching. Though it stars 70’s porn actress Marilyn Chambers, she gives a decent performance as the young woman who is Patient Zero. It’s a film worth watching by fans of the subgenre and Cronenberg Film completists.
Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3maO3LT
#6
Embryo
Plot: A scientist doing experiments on a human fetus discovers a method to accelerate the fetus into a mature adult in just a few days.
KBZ’s Take: This is actually one film on this list that would have been better without its Body Horror elements. The Body Horror in the film seems forced and takes away from a very intriguing premise that was ahead of it’s time.
Though it’s definitely a film worth watching, it’s a much better Sci-Fi Biotech film that delves into issues like cloning and how a clone would act if its life was accelerated to the point it didn’t learn critical issues in life such as what is ethical or right and wrong. And because of that lack of critical knowledge and empathy, what would the clone do to survive?
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#5
Shivers
Plot: The residents of a suburban high-rise apartment building are being infected by a strain of parasites that turn them into mindless, sex-crazed fiends out to infect others by the slightest sexual contact.
KBZ’s Take: Cronenberg’s first feature film has his signature Body Horror layered on top of a viral outbreak. Only Cronenberg would come up with a ‘parasite’ that takes over human bodies and exists in increasingly creative (yet horrific) ways. While the film drags in a few parts and can get confusing, the bookend sequences of the film are the best of the film and most chilling.
Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3IVnK4Y
#4
It’s Alive
Plot Lenore Davis and her husband Frank are about to have their second child. As she gives birth, the newborn baby vanishes and leaves behind five dead bodies. It’s up to the police and Frank to figure out where their mutated child has gone.
KBZ’s Take: We ranked this film higher than it probably should be given its notoriety in the 1970’s and cult classic status now. Despite a chilling teaser trailer, the film was rated PG so don’t expect more extreme Body Horror visuals in the film. Though there are some admittedly scary Body Horror sequences with the mutant baby, the film relies much more on atmosphere and suspense for its scares.
Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3KEXAoo
#3
Sssssss
Plot: College student working as a lab student is changed into a ‘man-snake’ by the doctor he is working with.
KBZ’s Take: This film has a very hokey premise but is actually quite good. It’s one of the better ‘schlock’ films about the merging of humans and animals in the 1970’s and the Body Horror elements are genuinely creepy.
It stars a young Dirk Benedict before he would go on to star in Battlestar Galactica (1978). The makeup and effects are also above average for a film of this type, and it’s recommended for fans of the subgenre.
Additional Lists: Top Sci-Fi Biotechnology Films You Haven’t Seen #10
Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3FlHxZu
Plot: Man starts to discover that his friends are acting strangely and discovers they’ve been taken over by alien entities.
KBZ’s Take: This film is #2 on our list simply due to the number of films that have used the “Body Snatchers” theme as the basis for an Alien Invasion. While the 1978 version of Body Snatchers wasn’t the first, here is a list of all the films based on this concept and story: Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956), this film, Body Snatchers (1993), The Puppet Masters (1994), The Invasion (2007) and Assimilate (2019).
While the 1978 version is a bit dated with 1978’s San Francisco, it includes a good amount of Body Horror of the pod people assimilating humans. And those Body Horror sequences are some of the scariest of the decade (not just within this subgenre).
While younger viewers might watch the more recent Assimilate, we advise any film fan generation to check out this version first – it’s the scariest, has some truly disturbing scenes (you’ll never forget the homeless man and his dog), and has arguably one of the most horrific and bone chilling endings to any film you will see.
Additional Lists: Top Films About Alien Invasions You Haven’t Seen #1, Top Scariest Halloween Films For Adults You Haven’t Seen #7, Best Alien Invasion Films #2
Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3UqRzgz
#1
The Brood
Plot: A man tries to uncover an unconventional psychologist’s therapy techniques on his institutionalized wife, while a series of brutal attacks committed by a brood of mutant children coincides with the husband’s investigation.
KBZ’s Take: This film is likely relatively unknown by generations that did not grow up in the late 70’s and early 80’s. It’s also one of David Cronenberg’s lesser-known films, but one of his scariest.
Like most Cronenberg films there’s a fair amount of ‘WTF!’ in the film. The film delivers the scares and creepiness factor once the ‘brood’ starts to appear and you get near the end which has one of the top Body Horror moments within the entire subgenre.
Additional Lists: Top Scariest Halloween Films for Adults You Haven’t Seen #10
Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3VIp66L
