After ‘The Substance,’ Watch These Body Horror Movies

In some scary movies, the sources of horror are closer than in your town or even in your house — they’re in your very own skin.

These films belong to a subgenre called body horror: movies that depict various transformations, mutations and degradations of the human form. The terrifying changes often emphasize the futility of our efforts to control our horribly unpredictable bodies. We like to think of ourselves as a mind managing a body, but these movies remind us that we’re ultimately at the mercy of the meat sacks we walk around in.

Coralie Fargeat’s newest film, “The Substance” (in theaters), starring Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley, participates in this robust tradition, depicting an aging starlet who uses an experimental new drug to create a younger, better version of herself. As you might guess, the treatment causes some unexpected and disgusting side effects, satirizing society’s (and particularly Hollywood’s) obsession with wanting women to stay stereotypically beautiful and youthful — at any cost.

If you’re looking for a primer on the subgenre, here are eight films that will give you a crash course in the gutsy, the gory and the goopy.

‘The Thing’ (1982)

Stream it on Peacock.