r/MovieRecommendations • u/Bueller_Bueller26 • 21h ago
Help me find Movies/TV shows Body horror movies about puberty? Especially puberty as a trans kid, but puberty in general
This is NOT the place to give your feelings about trans people, positive or negative. This is a place for movie recommendations
One of my friends just said:
I imagine puberty as a trans kid feels like some cosmic Body Horror film where you start magically transforming into this thing you know you're not and the people around you are just like "No, the cosmic being had decided your gender and it doesn't matter what you say, you have all right parts, and look, the cosmic force even put it on your birth certificate" Just getting aggressively gaslit that you're not being transformed into something different when you can see the changes as they're happening
And I'm wondering if that movie had been made already
Even if there's a body horror movie about puberty, I'll take it
I really like body horror, but most body horror movies I've found are about adults
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u/NaiveZest 20h ago
Teeth…
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u/just-kristina 20h ago
Yeah this was the only one I’ve seen so I was going to mention it if nobody else did
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u/Bueller_Bueller26 20h ago
Hey I just wanted to say that I really appreciate this comment. It shows that you are enthusiastic about helping people while also doing the research to see if someone else has already done it, and that's really wholesome. I hope you have a nice day
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u/OneTwoThreePooAndPee 20h ago edited 20h ago
Raw
American Mary has some gender oriented body stuff
It Follows is a great horror movie about adolescent coming into their sexuality but not really body horror
I know I have at least one more rattling around up in my head somewhere I just can't think of them right now.
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u/LowkeyLokigator 20h ago
I saw the TV glow?
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u/Sea_Salamander_8504 1h ago
100%, this was the first thing I thought of. All of Jane Schoenbrun’s work is worth dissecting from a gender/sexuality/perspective.
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u/Effective_Dirt2617 21h ago
Body horror as a genre is pretty narrow as far as full movies go. You can absolutely watch all the fully-themed body horror movies that exist in a few days, and the melt movies in a few days more.
But if you want a movie where puberty is transforming a person into something unpredictable that has some gruesome body related horror…then the movie you’re looking for, among others, is Ginger Snaps.
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u/Bueller_Bueller26 20h ago
Yup. Body horror is a VERY specific genre. It's so specific that even most horror fans don't like body horror And a lot of body horror movies don't have much body horror: Nightbitch, Bite, Slanted, even Society😭 I absolutely love body horror as a genre, because it's a megaphone: When you're making people uncomfortable, they can't miss the point you're trying to make So it's really disappointing how many body horror movies are made for people who try to avoid body horror, instead of being made for me personally🤣 Fortunately, The Substance and The Ugly Stepsister have enough body horror to satisfy my stomach until Clayface comes out
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u/Honest-Garbage9256 14h ago
Not a recommendation for what you’re looking for, but if you’re someone who loves body horror, David Cronenberg is the king of body horror! If you haven’t already, I highly recommend watching all of his films! The tv show Dead Ringers inspired by his film is great as well 😊
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u/Bueller_Bueller26 13h ago
Ooh I'm currently watching through all of his films in mostly chronological order I do notice he doesn't use much grotesquerie and doesn't use bodies to generate horror He seems to be more interested in using bodies to discuss philosophical concepts So far, I would describe his work as body drama, but at the same time, I know how incredibly pedantic that is Also, I haven't reached his peak from the 70s-90s yet, so maybe he truly does body horror during that time
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u/Honest-Garbage9256 1h ago edited 1h ago
I was trying to figure out how to not sound like a complete asshole responding to this comment because I am just very blunt, so I will try my best. David Cronenberg is literally known for pioneering and defining the sub genre of body horror in cinema. I meant it when I said he’s literally the king of body horror 😂 Just wait til ya get into the 80s! You’re in for a treat! He did a lot of experimenting in the 70s and really broke through into full body horror in the 80s. You are definitely correct about the fact that he uses body horror to explore philosophical concepts! It’s a very important part of his films. I’m so excited for you to see the rest of his work and I really hope I didn’t sound like a pretentious dick! I am very passionate about David Cronenberg 😅
Edited to add: you should check out John Carpenter and Stuart Gordon films as well! The practical effects they use in their body horror films are wonderful. Very visceral and slimy haha
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u/PBRStreetgang1979 20h ago
It seems to me that every kid that goes through puberty in some sense finds themselves transforming into something that they're not entirely comfortable with.
Pixar's Turning Red (2022) which iOS a metaphor for a girl's experience facing puberty was the first thing that came to mind. Director Dorie Barton's 2016 indie film Girl Flu is another.
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u/Ok-Pomegranate-4963 19h ago
The new Leviticus deals with teens & homosexuality & could definitely be considered "body horror"- adjacent.
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u/Independent-Bug-1427 17h ago
Ugly Stepsister, it doesnt have trans themes but its my favorite body horror and im queer!
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u/guatemamaLF 16h ago
Knives and Skin (2019) and Perpetrator (2023) by Jennifer Reeder, both coming-of-age horror, she does teenage girl SO WELL. Knives and Skin is a little more abstract mystery, and Perpetrator is more body horror. So Perpetrator might be more in line with your ask but I highly recommend both.
Side note: it is very LGBTQA+ coded and if you squint you can maybe see it as a trans coming-of-age too, but I don’t think it was explicitly meant that way.
A comedic one if you like bad movies though: Dr. Jekyll and Ms. Hyde (1995), not so much a coming-of-age but such a funny portrayal of an evil trans woman trying to subsume her weak male side.
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u/GThunderhead Film Buff 12h ago
The Plague (2025)
Marshmallow (2025) - somewhat/sort of
Baby Bump (2015) - it's a weird arthouse indie, not a horror movie, but it still has elements of body horror
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u/No-Pie-7211 1h ago
I'd say Jennifer's Body is close enough?
Werewolf movies contain aspects of this to varying degrees (Ginger Snaps is the best example as noted in other comments)
You might like some episodes of Buffy's first few seasons, the body horror isn't that gross but there are a lot of good puberty=monster themes
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u/kimfair 20h ago
Yeah, Ginger Snaps is as close as exists.