If you’ve watched the extremely intense, unsettling, and high-frequency Demi Moore film, don’t step away from your screen. We continue with divisive movies to watch after The Substance.
Young and old. Beautiful and ugly. Successful and inadequate. The list can go on and on. However, as you would agree, life is far too complex to explain with sharp distinctions like “good” and “bad.” We learned long ago that we can’t label everything as black or white. But growing up in societies where being seen and approved requires fitting into a mold means sometimes forgetting what we’ve learned. It means wanting to be beautiful in the way we are admired from the outside, successful in the measure we are approved, and flawless to the extent required.
Ultimately, when these desires turn into obsessions, it means missing out on the gray, uncertain, sometimes weird, joyful, or sad moments that nourish one’s relationship with oneself and getting trapped or even suffocating in those molds.
French director Coralie Fargeat, following her film Revenge (2017), points to the life-threatening consequences of these societal pressures in her second feature film, The Substance. In the movie, former Hollywood star and now popular TV aerobics instructor Elizabeth Sparkle is fired by her bullying manager on her 50th birthday. She finds herself facing the fact that she is no longer seen as beautiful and radiant as she once was in the eyes of those who once loved her. The spotlight has moved away from her in just one day.
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Elizabeth, who has long evaluated herself by the one-dimensional standards of television and show business, is pushed to the edge of a cliff by what slips from her hands. At that very moment, the film offers her a hand promising to create a better version of herself through an anti-aging treatment. But it’s not a friendly hand. Although Elizabeth hesitates at first, the feeling of being an old toy wherever she looks and whoever she talks to leads her to throw herself into the treatment in panic. This becomes the beginning of an inevitable end. The younger and more beautiful version of herself, Sue, starts devouring Elizabeth like a parasite, until she completely consumes her.
The film, distributed by Mubi, has been at the center of many discussions since its first screening in Turkey at Filmekimi. Like every film that manages to get its message across, it has both fans and critics. But one thing is for sure: Fargeat has created a lasting, conversation-worthy work. Essentially, it’s not an entirely new concept. Films questioning beauty and social norms have certainly been made before. The Substance perhaps finds its unique place in its unapologetic approach to conveying its message.
Moreover, considering horror cinema built around female fertility and bodies that male directors have historically dominated, Fargeat offers a different perspective here as well. She brings life to the cruelty women direct towards themselves and the resulting chaos from a female standpoint, especially when fertility ends. With all its openness and brutality, the film shouts what people are capable of doing to themselves under society’s command. And it doesn’t stop there; Demi Moore (as Elizabeth Sparkle) and Margaret Qualley (as Sue) deliver perhaps the most raw and striking performances of their careers, turning this shout into a scream.
According to an interview with director Coralie Fargeat, as a woman in her 40s, she wanted to express what life often made her feel, with the same intensity. This bold approach, combined with strong directing, gives birth to The Substance. The balance of violence, blood, and body-related horror elements is delicately measured. We don’t feel disgusted by what we see on screen but instead captivated by the absurd manifestation of the unease we all occasionally feel about our need for validation.
In the film, there’s only one rule for the drug Elizabeth takes: her young and old versions must swap places every seven days. Otherwise, the one stealing days from the other also steals from their body. As Sue, caught up in the allure of youth and fame, increasingly steals more days, Elizabeth’s body is left to decay. Doesn’t this say a lot about the present day? Creams that promise youth, anti-aging supplements, surgeries that create a “better” version of ourselves…
At this point, the film’s critical arrows are not directed at the system but at the individual. What a person does to themselves can be far more ruthless than what the world imposes on them. In an era where beauty is reduced to a single definition, The Substance draws a dangerous portrait of what can happen when we fail to meet that definition—only if we allow it.
The film creates a monster before our eyes from the first scene to the last frame, and it’s worth asking who the real monster is. Should we strive for society’s approval that blames the natural cycle of life, or should we make peace with our inner world? It’s something to think about.
5 Films To Watch After The Substance
The Fly – David Cronenberg (1986)
IMDB: 7.6
Known for pushing the boundaries of the human body and overturning established value judgments, master director David Cronenberg’s iconic 1986 film The Fly is also among the inspirations for The Substance. The film tells the story of scientist Seth Brundle and the physical and psychological transformation he undergoes after merging with a fly during a teleportation experiment. It is a striking work that questions the concept of beauty through biological deformation and the inner transformation of a person.
Toni Erdmann – Maren Ade (2016)
IMDB: 7.3
The German film Toni Erdmann, written and directed by Maren Ade, received some of the best reviews in the history of the Cannes Film Festival. It tells the story of a young woman who approaches life with seriousness, unable to exist without her tight-fitting business suits and high heels, and her father, who has a stale sense of humor and embarrasses himself and his daughter wherever he goes with his odd outfits. This father-daughter story challenges societal expectations and norms about appearance, balancing a tone that is both humorous and emotional. It is an unusual yet poignant comedy.
Eraserhead – David Lynch (1977)
IMDB: 7.3
David Lynch, known for films that navigate the boundaries between dreams and reality and often explore the far reaches of human consciousness, is undoubtedly one of the directors that inspired The Substance. Lynch’s first feature film, Eraserhead (1977), is one of the most disturbing and surreal horror films ever made. It presents family, personal fears, and social critique in a unique narrative that breaks the conventions of its genre.
Enter the Void – Gaspar Noé (2009)
IMDB: 7.2
When it comes to breaking molds, it’s impossible not to mention the eccentric director Gaspar Noé. His 2009 film Enter the Void is, in his words, “a psychedelic melodrama.” It follows the journey of a drug dealer living in Japan with his sister as he experiences the afterlife, moving through his past and the neon-lit nightlife of Tokyo. The film defies all known storytelling and cinematic rules, exploring modern existentialism not only through its story but also on a visual level.
Sick of Myself – Kristoffer Borgli (2022)
IMDB: 7.1
The Substance shares significant stylistic similarities with Sick of Myself, one of the most unsettling recent examples of cinema. The main character, Signe, begins to feel overshadowed by her boyfriend, who gains fame as a contemporary artist. In her struggle to be recognized and loved by Oslo’s elite society, she fights to the point of deforming her own body. This struggle for acceptance in the context of social, psychological, and cultural differences escalates to grotesque and extreme levels.
