The Substance: 5 key references to better understand Coralie Fargeat's movie

Coralie Fargeat’s The Substance has stirred up plenty of buzz since its release, not least because of its daring feminist take on body horror. Bold, grotesque, and unapologetically critical of contemporary beauty standards, the film has drawn on a wealth of cinematic and literary inspiration. To fully appreciate its layered narrative and shocking visuals, here are five key references that shaped Fargeat’s dark vision.

1. Society (1989)

Brian Yuzna’s cult classic Society is a natural touchpoint for The Substance. Both films are social satires that descend into grotesque body horror in their climaxes. While Society skewers the hypocrisies of the American upper class, The Substance turns its lens on the impossible beauty standards that consume and distort.

Yuzna’s exaggerated take on the artificiality of wealth mirrors Fargeat’s hyper-stylized depiction of Hollywood’s male gaze. In Society, a literal melding of flesh represents the elite’s disturbing exclusivity. Similarly, The Substance embraces visual absurdity, portraying bodies deformed and reassembled according to the whims of beauty norms. The two films share a sharp sense of satire wrapped in the unnervingly grotesque, delivering commentary that lingers long after the credits roll.

2. Death Becomes Her (1992)

Robert Zemeckis’s Death Becomes Her serves as another clear inspiration for Fargeat’s film. Both movies delve into humanity’s obsession with youth and perfection, with the pursuit of eternal beauty leading to darkly comedic consequences.

In Death Becomes Her, a magical potion promises immortality, but at a cost: the body begins to crumble under the strain of artificial preservation. Fargeat echoes this idea in The Substance, where characters push their bodies beyond natural limits, turning themselves into exaggerated, grotesque versions of idealized beauty.

While Zemeckis leans into humor, Fargeat sharpens her satire into a blade. Her film explores the violent toll beauty standards take, presenting the body as a battlefield. The parallels are undeniable: both films use their protagonists’ transformations to critique societal values, though Fargeat replaces farce with unnerving horror.

3. The Shining (1980)

Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining casts a long shadow over The Substance. Fargeat borrows liberally from Kubrick’s meticulous visual style, filling her film with symmetrical shots, ominously sterile interiors, and richly patterned carpets. The aesthetic similarities are undeniable, but the thematic resonance runs even deeper.

In both films, beauty and perfection mask underlying dread. Kubrick’s Overlook Hotel, with its eerie symmetry and pristine decor, feels like a trap, much like the artificial environments in The Substance. Both directors use visual perfection to unsettle, suggesting that what looks ideal on the surface often hides rot beneath.

Additionally, Fargeat channels the madness etched into Jack Nicholson’s face in The Shining into the unhinged expressions of her characters, pushing the tension of her body horror to Kubrickian extremes.

4. The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945)

Oscar Wilde’s classic tale of vanity and corruption finds its cinematic echo in Albert Lewin’s The Picture of Dorian Gray and, more recently, in The Substance. In Wilde’s story, Dorian’s pursuit of eternal beauty comes at a moral cost, with his sins reflected in a hidden, decaying portrait. Fargeat modernizes this metaphor, transforming her characters into living embodiments of self-destruction.

Like Dorian, the protagonists of The Substance are consumed by their obsession with perfection, paying the price with their bodies. Fargeat heightens the horror by making these changes visible, blending body horror with the psychological toll of impossible ideals. It’s a stark reminder that the pursuit of beauty often exacts a heavy cost, both physical and spiritual.

5. The Body Horror of David Cronenberg

No discussion of The Substance would be complete without acknowledging the influence of David Cronenberg, the undisputed master of body horror. Fargeat’s work channels Cronenberg’s fascination with the grotesque, from the visceral transformations in The Fly to the psychological disintegration in Videodrome.

Like Cronenberg, Fargeat connects body and mind, showing how physical changes reflect deeper societal pressures. Her characters unravel under the weight of external expectations, mirroring Cronenberg’s commentary on how technology, society, and identity reshape humanity.

Fargeat’s nods to Cronenberg are deliberate, but she carves her own path by framing her horror in the context of feminist critique. Where Cronenberg often explores the body as a site of technological evolution, Fargeat uses it to interrogate societal constructs of beauty and the toll they take on women.

A Layered Nightmare Worth Exploring

The Substance is far more than a shock fest—it’s a dense, thought-provoking exploration of beauty, identity, and societal expectation. By drawing from these rich influences, Coralie Fargeat crafts a film that is as visually stunning as it is deeply unsettling. Understanding these references adds depth to the viewing experience, proving that Fargeat’s film is more than just horror—it’s a cinematic statement.

The Substance: 5 key references to better understand Coralie Fargeat’s movie