Body Horror Revival in Film and Art Explores Dissolving Human Form

Body horror is experiencing a revival in film and contemporary art, reflecting anxieties about the dissolution of the human body in an age of digital dysmorphia, biotechnology, and AI. Coralie Fargeat's film 'The Substance' (2024) stars Demi Moore as Elisabeth, who creates a younger doppelgänger named Sue via a Faustian pact. The genre's historical roots include David Cronenberg's 'Videodrome' (1983) and 'The Fly' (1986), and Andrzej Żuławski's 'Possession' (1981). Recent films like Max Minghella's 'Shell' and Aaron Schimberg's 'A Different Man' (both 2024) explore bodily transformation. In visual art, Mire Lee's 'Open Wound' (2024) at Tate Modern's Turbine Hall featured silicone sculptures resembling intestines. Tracey Emin's exhibition 'I Followed You to the End' at White Cube Bermondsey documented her battle with bladder cancer. Tarrah Krajnak, shortlisted for the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize, uses collage to explore fractured identity. French artist ORLAN incorporates AI-generated imagery and 3D modelling. Andrew Thomas Huang creates AI-generated animations of metamorphosing bodies. Legacy Russell's book 'Glitch Feminism: A Manifesto' (2020) calls for reclaiming bodily errors. Chinese artists LuYang (with 'LuYang Delusional Mandala', 2015, and 'DOKU' series, 2020–) and Cao Fei (with 'RMB City', 2007–11) explore digital avatars and cybernetic mutation. The article by Tom Seymour appears in the April 2025 issue of ArtReview.