“Fictional representation of the body exceeding itself or falling apart, either opening up or being altered past the point where it would be recognised by normative understandings of human corporeality.” (Reyes, 2014). This is how Reyes describes Body Horror which is a term in Gothic and Horror studies, describing “broadly speaking, body horror features the graphic depiction, destruction or degeneration of the human body” (Reyes, 2014). Body Horror are technique to generate viewer’s physical reaction through using the extreme gruesome imagery of body and corporeal transformation or mutation. As well as shocking viewers into experiencing sense of fear, dread and disgusted.
Film like the 2019 ‘Colour out of Space’ which are adapted from H.P Lovecraft’s short story “The colour Out of Space”, make use of the Body Horror to explore themes of the unknown. Colour out of space is “a freaky-deaky, retro-cosmic science-fiction horror about a meteor that slams into Earth unleashing an extraterrestrial organism.” (Clarke, 2020). The family of five witness flashes of purple and found a meteor, that is when the terror began as something unknown is effecting the area and the livings. Everyone in the family, even the dog starts to behave weirdly from usual, the garden has lush mutant flowers grown. After that things got worst and it was gobsmacking and gagging repulsive. The body horror is used within the film to explore themes of the unknown with the representation of an unknown being that seems to be some kind of alien, or some other extra-terrestrial and its power to make the body of human and animals mutated.
At first no one has any idea what that being is, what is its plan or purpose, both viewers and characters in the story were totally in the dark. This is also another way that can create sense of fear for both viewers and characters in the story as according to Lovecraft, “the oldest and strongest emotion of human mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.” (Jones, 2020). However, as the story goes on we were given a glimpse of the true horror when a scary unknown creature ran passed the front of Nathan and Teresa’s car. When the two brothers, Benny and Jack found their alpacas in a state of mutation that are beyond human’s recognition of living animal. Then flashes of purple light fuses Jack and his mother, Theresa’s body together into a deranged massand later also transform into an unknown being looking like a monster.These imagerieswere really gruesome, gobsmacking and gagging repulsive, it shocked me into experienced the sense of fear, dread and disgusted. It was really extreme that I did not want to watch it, but at the same time, I was curious into knowing what the creature is and its power.
So Body Horror in this film are the extreme imageries of the mutated bodies of human and animals from the power of the Unknow purple light or being that shock viewers into feeling scared, dread or disgusted.
References:
Clarke, C. (2020, February 27). Color Out of Space review – Nicolas Cage goes cosmic in freaky sci-fi horror. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/feb/27/color-out-of-space-review-nicolas-cage-joely-richardson-richard-stanley
Reyes, A. (2014). Body Gothic: Corporeal Transgression in Contemporary Literature and Horror Film. University of Wales Press.
Jones, N. (2020, August 26). Lovecraftian Horror Lecture [Video]. https://blackboard.aut.ac.nz/bbcswebdav/pid-5273120-dt-content-rid-12699658_4/institution/Papers/ENGL602/Publish/Lovecraftian%20Horror%20Lecture.mp4
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