Rob Munday
Body horror has experienced a renewed surge of attention in recent years, with films such as Julia Ducournau’s Titane and Coralie Fargeat’s The Substance earning critical acclaim. More recently, Ryan Murphy’s new series The Beauty has brought the sub-genre further into the mainstream, using gore-filled social commentary to critique unrealistic beauty standards. Yet, as is often the case, short films have been exploring and expanding the possibilities of body horror long before its wider resurgence – telling unsettling stories of bodies sprouting mushrooms, skincare routines spiralling out of control, and physical forms merging and mutating. In Prends Chair, French animator Armin Assadipour draws on this tradition, employing body horror to craft a deeply personal narrative about a young man struggling with his weight.
Inspired by his own experiences as an overweight teenager – when he saw his body as “a parasite” he “wanted to cut off” – Assadipour’s short follows young adult Venance as relentless comments about his appearance and his own low self-esteem begin to manifest as a grotesque, fleshy monster. As this internal creature demands release and threatens to consume those around him, Venance is forced into a battle that mirrors the emotional and psychological toll of body shame. The film’s horror is rooted not in spectacle alone, but in its recognition of a struggle that many experience when grappling with body image and self-acceptance.
Visually striking and energetically paced, Prends Chair makes full use of animation’s expressive freedom, featuring bold shot choices and dynamic camera movements that heighten its impact. The result is an engaging and memorable short that sits comfortably alongside the strongest examples of the sub-genre, demonstrating the enduring power of body horror as a storytelling tool. Alongside his own films, Assadipour has contributed to shorts such as Maman pleut des cordes and The Boob Fairy, and was part of the animation team on Jérémy Clapin’s acclaimed debut feature I Lost My Body.
If Prends Chair is an example of all he can achieve as director, we look forward to more of his work in the future.