Dir. Chad Archibald | Now Streaming On: Tubi | Rating: 4/5

I don’t love body horror. It’s never something that I gravitate toward and it takes a lot for this subgenre to impress me. I streamed Bite as part of a watchlist challenge and found myself pleasantly surprised, and thoroughly disgusted. ⁠
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Like most body horror, Bite seeks to address the ugliness within our own identity, as we struggle to come to terms with the parts of ourselves we don’t like. Our main character Casey is grappling with doubt around her engagement and quickly discovers she is unable to trust those closest to her. As her transformation begins, we see an interesting take on isolation and giving in to the darkest parts of ourselves. ⁠
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As the story unravels, Bite can also be viewed as a revenge horror, which is an interpretation I particularly appreciate. I’m on the fence about the apparent commentary on the feminine experience of carrying children, giving birth, and the subsequent responsibility to those offspring. I don’t want to spoil any of the major twists here – but since this film is written, produced, and directed by men, Casey’s transformation could also be interpreted as the horrific and disgusting side of womanhood that men tend to be repulsed by. (Think periods, mucus plugs, discharge, etc.)⁠
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The body horror elements in this are top tier. There is so much goo, slime, oozing, it’s stomach churning. The lighting and staging of the film changes as the transformation progresses, turning the scenes a truly putrid looking yellow, brown, and black. I recently changed the fly paper in my house – my thumb got stuck to the sticky part of the strip and I was instantly transported back to my viewing of Bite. ⁠
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Though imperfect in its character building and questionable in its intent with female sexuality, Bite stands as an impressive and sickening body horror flick – and if you can brave it, definitely worth a watch. ⁠

Know Before You Watch: Features imagery of bugs, extreme body horror, gore, blood, death, sex, rape. ⁠