Best Body Horror Movies

24 of the 45 score 4 or 5 for dread — this is a corner of horror that works on you slowly rather than making you flinch. 24 never push past 2 for jump scares.

22 of them are films most horror lists never mention. The Wolf House rates 0.8 higher on Douban than IMDb — Chinese audiences consistently read this kind of horror differently, and the gap is often the most interesting signal on the page. 3 are currently streaming on Netflix.

45 films 1931–2025 Jumps · gore · dread scored Updated September 2026
01

Aliens 1986

James Cameron

Jumps8 Gore6 Dread6 8.8/10

Streaming: Netflix

02

The Thing 1982

John Carpenter

Jumps8 Gore10 Dread8 8.5/10

Streaming: Peacock

03

Eyes Without a Face 1960

Georges Franju · Hidden gem

Jumps4 Gore4 Dread8 8.4/10

04

The Wolf House 2018

Joaquín Cociña, Cristóbal León · Hidden gem

Jumps4 Gore4 Dread10 8.3/10

05

The Fly 1986

David Cronenberg

Jumps6 Gore10 Dread8 8.2/10

06

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde 1931

Rouben Mamoulian

Jumps4 Gore2 Dread4 8.2/10

07

Braindead 1992

Peter Jackson

Jumps4 Gore10 Dread2 8.2/10

08

Frankenstein 2025

Guillermo del Toro

Jumps4 Gore6 Dread6 8.2/10

Streaming: Netflix

09

The Ugly Stepsister 2025

Emilie Blichfeldt · Hidden gem

Jumps4 Gore10 Dread6 8.1/10

10

Eraserhead 1977

David Lynch

Jumps4 Gore4 Dread10 8.0/10

11

Dead Ringers 1988

David Cronenberg

Jumps4 Gore6 Dread10 8.0/10

12

Pi 1998

Darren Aronofsky

Jumps6 Gore4 Dread8 8.0/10

13

Possession 1981

Andrzej Żuławski · Hidden gem

Jumps6 Gore6 Dread10 7.9/10

14

Re-Animator 1985

Stuart Gordon · Hidden gem

Jumps4 Gore10 Dread4 7.9/10

15

Invasion of the Body Snatchers 1978

Philip Kaufman

Jumps6 Gore6 Dread10 7.9/10

16

The Substance 2024

Coralie Fargeat

Jumps6 Gore10 Dread8 7.8/10

Streaming: Mubi

17

An American Werewolf in London 1981

John Landis

Jumps8 Gore8 Dread4 7.8/10

18

Raw 2016

Julia Ducournau · Hidden gem

Jumps6 Gore8 Dread8 7.7/10

Streaming: Shudder

19

Island of Lost Souls 1932

Erle C. Kenton · Hidden gem

Jumps4 Gore2 Dread6 7.7/10

20

Videodrome 1983

David Cronenberg

Jumps4 Gore8 Dread8 7.7/10

Streaming: Tubi

21

Gremlins 1984

Joe Dante

Jumps4 Gore4 Dread2 7.7/10

Streaming: Max

22

Sick of Myself 2022

Kristoffer Borgli · Hidden gem

Jumps2 Gore6 Dread6 7.7/10

23

Alien: Romulus 2024

Fede Alvarez

Jumps8 Gore8 Dread6 7.7/10

24

Shin Godzilla 2016

Shinji Higuchi, Hideaki Anno

Jumps4 Gore4 Dread8 7.6/10

25

Bring Her Back 2025

Danny Philippou, Michael Philippou

Jumps6 Gore8 Dread10 7.6/10

26

Titane 2021

Julia Ducournau

Jumps4 Gore8 Dread6 7.6/10

27

Thirst 2009

Park Chan-wook

Jumps6 Gore8 Dread6 7.5/10

28

Good Manners 2017

Marco Dutra, Juliana Rojas · Hidden gem

Jumps4 Gore6 Dread6 7.5/10

29

Annihilation 2018

Alex Garland

Jumps6 Gore6 Dread10 7.4/10

Streaming: Paramount+

30

Tetsuo: The Iron Man 1989

Shinya Tsukamoto · Hidden gem

Jumps6 Gore8 Dread8 7.4/10

31

Altered States 1980

Ken Russell

Jumps4 Gore6 Dread6 7.4/10

32

Huesera: The Bone Woman 2022

Michelle Garza Cervera · Hidden gem

Jumps6 Gore4 Dread8 7.4/10

33

Color Out of Space 2019

Richard Stanley · Hidden gem

Jumps6 Gore8 Dread8 7.3/10

Streaming: Shudder

34

Gozu 2003

Takashi Miike · Hidden gem

Jumps4 Gore6 Dread6 7.3/10

35

The Hidden 1987

Jack Sholder · Hidden gem

Jumps6 Gore6 Dread4 7.2/10

36

Cronos 1992

Guillermo del Toro · Hidden gem

Jumps4 Gore4 Dread6 7.2/10

37

Hellraiser 1987

Clive Barker

Jumps6 Gore10 Dread6 7.1/10

Streaming: Tubi

38

Possessor 2020

Brandon Cronenberg · Hidden gem

Jumps6 Gore10 Dread8 7.0/10

Streaming: Hulu

39

Three... Extremes 2004

Fruit Chan, Park Chan-wook · Hidden gem

Jumps6 Gore8 Dread8 7.0/10

40

Revenge 2017

Coralie Fargeat

Jumps4 Gore10 Dread4 6.9/10

41

Dumplings 2004

Fruit Chan · Hidden gem

Jumps4 Gore6 Dread8 6.8/10

42

Under the Skin 2013

Jonathan Glazer · Hidden gem

Jumps4 Gore4 Dread10 6.6/10

Streaming: Netflix · Max

43

The Similars 2015

Isaac Ezban · Hidden gem

Jumps4 Gore4 Dread6 6.6/10

44

The Untamed 2016

Amat Escalante · Hidden gem

Jumps2 Gore6 Dread8 6.5/10

45

The Void 2016

Gillespie & Kostanski · Hidden gem

Jumps6 Gore8 Dread8 6.2/10

Streaming: Tubi · Shudder

How these are scored

Every film carries three separate 1–5 ratings — jump scares, gore and dread — because they measure different things. A film can be a 5 for dread and a 1 for gore. Scores are editorial, not aggregated from other platforms, which is the point: review aggregates tell you whether a film is good, not what it will do to you.

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