Underneath the Surface of Coralie Fargeat's The Substance
- Selin Bozer
- Feb 16
- 8 min read
Updated: Feb 18
In an interview with Rue Morgue about The Substance, Coralie Fargeat states “The movie is all about women’s bodies, like how our bodies can be seen from the outside, all the expectations that society can project on them, and how we can tyrannise our bodies to fit these expectations. And also, how the external gaze can shape our own relationship to our body.” In other words, The Substance brilliantly exposes what lies inside Hollywood's and society’s ageist and sexist view of women’s bodies—both figuratively and literally.
PS: This review contains SPOILERS. I recommend watching the movie before reading this if you want to fully experience Fargeat’s impressive work yourself. Although, the movie is seriously graphic, so maybe you should stick to the reviews if you are not good with body horror.
Before I start the review, I would like to say that I will discuss this movie in two parts. The first part will be about the visual aspects of the movie and the second about the meaning of the movie, the message it conveys, and how relative it is in today’s society.
The Substance, in a visual sense, is a fantastic horror movie filled with bold references and subtle tributes to classic horror films. With its iconic visuals, eerie audio elements, and vivid use of color, Coralie Fargeat’s film delivers a rich and rewarding experience for horror fans. Some of the films acknowledged in The Substance include Psycho, The Shining (which happens to be this author’s favorite horror movie), 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Elephant Man, The Fly, and Carrie.
Here’s a rundown of some of the references I have noticed:
First, Psycho. As this movie has paid homage to some of the most classic horror movies, it seems obvious that Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho, especially the shower scene, is included in the references. The direct visual parallels between The Substance and Psycho are unmistakable, as can be seen in the image below. The shower head, the reaching hand, and the final moment of stillness all evoke Psycho’s most famous shower sequence as the eye scene creates a juxtaposition between the voyeur and the watched.
Hitchcock’s Psycho revolutionized horror by portraying violence in an unexpectedly raw and psychological manner. The famous shower scene remains one of the most shocking deaths in film history, not just for its brutality but for how suddenly and unexpectedly it happens. The Substance seems to borrow this sense of abrupt violence and vulnerability, perhaps as a commentary on how women’s bodies have historically been exposed, exploited, and subjected to fear in cinema (please tell me if I’m pushing it too far). By recreating these key images, the film emphasizes themes of loss of control and the inherent horror of being subject to voyeurism. Unfortunately, these concepts seem to resonate with modern audiences just as much as they did in 1960.
Next, and maybe the most obvious, The Shining. From the red carpet to the bathroom, from the bloody hall to the old and rotting lady in the bathroom, this movie was full of striking references to The Shining, which are particularly prominent in the color palette, set design, and unsettling atmosphere. The image comparison below highlights direct parallels which evokes the familiar sense of unease from The Shining and mirrors Kubrick’s use of space and color.
The use of The Shining’s visuals in The Substance is significant because Kubrick’s film is deeply tied to themes of psychological deterioration, isolation, and the horrors of transformation and these ideas are also central to Fargeat’s film. The famous red bathroom, which was the original spot where Jack Torrance spoke to Delbert Grady and thus birthed the idea to massacre his family, seems to serve a somewhat similar purpose in The Substance, as it was the location in which Elizabeth’s dilemma first started. Additionally, the decayed, aging woman in the bathtub also strikes quite a resemblance to one of Elizabeth’s decayed forms, possibly to emphasize the fear of losing youthness.
As much as I would like to expand more on every single movie referenced in The Substance, I understand that if I were to do so, this entry would never end. So I have no choice but to move on to the cinematography of the movie. At this point I would like to give a shout-out to both the director Coralie Fargeat and the cinematographer Benjamin Kračun, they both did such a beautiful job together in creating the dream-like, or should I say nightmare fuel, vibe to this movie.
The film’s vivid and abstract color palette plays a crucial role in building its unsettling atmosphere. The use of red evokes a sense of danger and violence, and a lot of blood, appearing in key moments to heighten tension. Sharp contrasts between light and shadow create an oppressive mood, adding layers of depth to the storytelling. The vibrant and clashing warm and cool tones reflect Elizabeth’s psychological journey and how she is split between two choices.
Sound design plays an equally significant role in the film’s unsettling atmosphere. Moments of high tension are punctuated by jarring sound effects and abrupt quiet, keeping the audience on edge. The grotesque and visceral auditory elements enhance the horror of bodily transformation, making the film’s terrifying moments feel almost tangible. Also, the popular soundtrack, which I’m sure that you must have come across at some point on social media, seamlessly blends eerie melodies with dissonant noises, reinforcing the plot’s descent into madness.
Now, the second part of this review: what does The Substance mean? At its core, the film explores themes of identity, self-perception, and the dangers of unattainable perfection in the eyes of society. In today’s world, where social media and beauty standards place immense pressure on individuals, specifically women, to conform to unrealistic ideals, The Substance serves as a powerful example for the dangers of losing yourself in the pursuit of perfection.
The film also raises questions about agency and control and critiques how society commodifies and dehumanizes women and turns them into products to be consumed rather than people with autonomy. This message is eerily relevant in today’s age, as women continue to fight for equality and lose more and more of their bodily autonomy, especially in the US at the time this review is being written... But let’s steer back to the movie.
Despite the fact that the movie contains a half-hour’s worth of body horror and gore, the scene that disturbed me the most is not one of the bloody scenes. It is the scene where Elizabeth gets ready for her date, but sees her reflections and goes manic about her appearance. It was truly heartbreaking to see how a woman as gorgeous as Demi Moore still punished and hated herself for not looking better, and even more saddening because it was relatable. The movie and Moore’s acting worked together to perfectly portray how it feels not to be perfect and not to have an appearance that fits society’s endless and unachievable expectations.
The real terror here is not in the blood but in the brutal reality of self-loathing, a feeling that so many experience but rarely see reflected in such a raw and unfiltered way. Watching Elizabeth, a woman who by all conventional measures is stunning, break down over perceived imperfections is terrifying because it reflects the way beauty standards distort reality. The fear of aging, of being undesirable, of losing the respect that came with being the pretty, young, and perfect woman are all anxieties that society casts upon women as unhealthy motivations to fit to the desires and expectations of the men that run that society. However, it was never really respect that women gained from fitting into the “ideal woman” mold, it was attention and desire, and those things die out almost as quickly as time steals youth from women.
This theme runs throughout the film, using body horror as an exaggerated metaphor for the way society treats aging, especially for women. The obsession with perfection becomes something grotesque, consuming Elizabeth’s mind long before it consumes her body. The film suggests that the true horror isn’t just physical deterioration, but the way society weaponizes beauty, making women feel as though their worth is inherently tied to their appearance. In that sense, The Substance isn’t just a horror film, it’s a tragic reflection of real-world struggles with self-image, beauty culture, and the unattainable expectations that can drive people to desperate and even self-destructive measures.
Duality is another central theme in The Substance, shaping both its narrative and its visual symbolism. The film explores the conflict between identity and self-perception, the idealized self versus the real self, and the impossibility of leading a life of pure perfection alone. This duality is expressed in both abstract and literal ways, particularly through the recurring presence of the number two.
Here are a few ways that the number 2 is displayed visually. The most prominent one is, of course, the egg scene at the beginning of the movie. After testing the substance on the egg, the previously one egg birthed another, smaller version of itself. This strikes a similarity to how women create a more “ideal” and superficial version of themselves for the public eye after being subject to society’s expectations. Other appearances of the number two are in the skylights of Elizabeth’s apartment, the two windows in Elizabeth’s kitchen where one looking at the big portrait of her and the other looking at the idealized Sue who often appears on her TV, the bathroom doors, and the carpet pattern in the studio hallway. Additionally, the number 503 assigned to Elizabeth is a reference to the 503A and 503B FDA compounding provisions which “restrict compounding drug products that are essentially a copy of a commercially available drug product (section 503A) or an approved drug product (section 503B)” (U.S. Food and Drug Administration).
All of these motifs emphasize this idea of the split self: the deeper and more human self and the idealized, modified and shrunk duplicate of the self. This movie highlights how the “perfect” people you see on social media or TV are never really the true selves of those people and are only the superficial front they present.
The use of color also subtly reinforces this duality. Red and blue frequently appear as opposing forces, symbolizing warmth and coldness, passion and control, or even life, as blood and liveliness, and decay, as cold-bloodedness and frozenness. The interplay of these colors in key scenes—such as the climax scene—suggests the intense struggle of Elizabeth who is losing her youthfulness and decaying.
No matter how much I talk about this movie, there seems to be so much more left to mention, so I will be giving up here and leaving the rest to you, dear reader. Don’t hesitate to leave a comment on anything you found in the movie that I haven’t covered or if you want another addition to this review. Ultimately, The Substance is not just a visually stunning horror film but also a thought-provoking reflection on contemporary struggles that women face about their identity and the pressure society puts on them. By weaving together references to classic horror while presenting a modern and effective narrative, Coralie Fargeat has crafted a film that is both a tribute to the genre and a bold statement on the modern condition. Whether through its beautiful cinematography, haunting sound design, or relevant social commentary, The Substance stands as a remarkable and deeply unsettling cinematic achievement. So yes, I do recommend you watch The Substance.
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