The Politics of David Cronenberg’s Cinema of Body Horror

The genre of horror film was invented with the production of Dracula (1931). Since then, a large number of horror films have been made. Even though horror has often been considered an inferior film genre, the 20th Century witnessed several filmmakers, directors and films that have contributed to the elevation of the horror film genre. The scope of horror films has extended, and the types of horror have diversified over time, especially during the 1970s and 1980s. Body horror is a peculiar sub-genre of horror film genre. Though its history is not too long, a significant number of body horror films have been made, known as cult classics today with their cult followers. David Cronenberg is one of the most influential and critically acclaimed body horror filmmakers and directors of the 20th Century. He started his career producing in the 1970s with urban panic films like Shivers (1975) and Rabid (1977). Over time, Cronenberg made a significant number of body horror films that influenced audiences worldwide and generations who grew up with these films. This research presents an overview of Cronenberg’s films within the larger context of the politics of his body horror cinema. In doing so, the research closely focuses on three Cronenberg films in particular: Videodrome (1983), The Fly (1986) and Crash (1996).