Body horror, or biological horror, is a subgenre of horror fiction that intentionally showcases grotesque or psychologically disturbing violations of the human body or of another creature. These violations may manifest through aberrant sex, mutations, mutilation, zombification, gratuitous violence, disease, or unnatural movements of the body. Body horror was a description originally applied to an emerging subgenre of North American horror films, but has roots in early Gothic literature and has expanded to include other media.
>>>PUT SHARE BUTTONS HERE<<<
In this Dossier
Graphic violence in the context of Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Jerome Tarantino (/ˌtærənˈtiːnoʊ/ TARR-ən-TEE-noh; born March 27, 1963) is an American filmmaker, actor, and author. His films are characterized by graphic violence, extended dialogue often featuring much profanity, and references to popular culture. His work has earned a cult following alongside critical and commercial success; he has been named by some as the most influential director of his generation and has received numerous awards and nominations, including two Academy Awards, two BAFTA Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards. His films have grossed more than $1.9 billion worldwide.
Tarantino began his career with the independent crime film Reservoir Dogs (1992). His second film, the crime comedy-drama Pulp Fiction (1994), was a major success and won numerous awards, including the Cannes Film Festival's Palme d'Or and the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. He next wrote and starred in the action horror film From Dusk till Dawn (1996). His third film as director, Jackie Brown (1997), paid homage to blaxploitation films.
Graphic violence in the context of Splatter film
A splatter film is a subgenre of horror film that deliberately focuses on graphic portrayals of gore and graphic violence. These films, usually through the use of special effects, display a fascination with the vulnerability of the human body and the theatricality of its mutilation. The term "splatter cinema" was coined by George A. Romero to describe his film Dawn of the Dead, though Dawn of the Dead is generally considered by critics as possessing higher aspiration (such as social commentary) rather than simply being exploitative for its own sake.
The term was popularized by John McCarty's 1981 book Splatter Movies, subtitled: Breaking The Last Taboo: A Critical Survey of the Wildly Demented Sub Genre of the Horror Film that Is Changing the Face of Film Realism Forever. The first significant publication to attempt to define and analyse the 'splatter film', McCarty suggests that splatter is indicative of broader trends in film production. Though splatter is associated with fairly extreme horror films, and such works form the main focus of the book, a relatively diverse range of titles dating mainly from the 1960s to late 1970s are also included; examples include John Waters' Female Trouble, Ted Post's Magnum Force, Terry Gilliam's Jabberwocky, and Walter Hill's Western The Long Riders. This filmography implies that the influence of film-makers such as Sam Peckinpah or Andy Warhol, to name two, is as significant to the development of the form as Grand Guignol, Hammer Films or Herschell Gordon Lewis.
Graphic violence in the context of Psychological horror (film and television)
In films and television series, psychological horror creates tension through exploiting the shared psychological and emotional vulnerabilities of the human psyche, differing from traditional horrors, where the source of the fear are material threats like grotesque monsters, serial killers, or aliens, as well as the splatter and slasher film genres which derive its frightening effects from gore and graphic violence. In Jungian psychology, this concept aligns with the "shadow" archetype, which encompasses darker, often repressed human traits like dread and paranoia of others, oneself, and the world.