Beauty & Gore: The Substance movie analysis from a beauty writer
Does horror make it easier to articulate the detrimental effects of beauty standards?
As an analyst of beauty issues and trends, I felt The Substance call to me. But I didn’t expect the wild ride it took me on. In the cinema, I found myself looking away from the screen for certain scenes, shifting in my seat constantly, and when the movie ended, I felt gobsmacked in the best way.
The movie depicts the main character (Demi Moore) chasing a younger version of themselves. It’s a path to perfection that ultimately goes wrong, displayed through gore, body horror, violence, and the thrilling spectacle of chasing vanity. It is an unforgettable movie with a message that gets under your skin.
Here’s the trailer if you haven’t seen it already:
The movie has a clear motive: It’s a social commentary on beauty standards and aging; here, let’s navigate the themes that relate to the beauty industry.
Self-hatred: “You can’t escape from yourself”
Would you hate yourself if you weren’t beautiful? The Substance explores the dangers of self-hate when unable to achieve beauty standards. It reminds us to embrace all parts of ourselves—both the aspects we love and the ones that make us uncomfortable.
The suspense of the main characters not abiding by each other slowly turns into a spiral of resentment. They compare each other by projecting their own insecurities as their reflection of self-hatred. We see this through the jaw-dropping route the movie takes. The characters are slipping, losing the ability to control themselves, following a destructive path and leading to pure rage ampliefied through body horror.
“Remember, you are one” seems like such an easy rule to follow, yet self-acceptance can be hard to apply in real life. We talk and degrade ourselves so easily on aspects of ourselves that we feel we can’t control - like aging.
The horror of unattainable beauty standards
This movie is a punch to the face of the obsession with beauty and body image. It shows people wishing for the perfect body and trying to achieve the unrealistic standard of being the best version of themselves. The dark truth is that it’s completely unattainable, yet it’s what we have set the standard to.
The Substance almost mirrors the modern obsession of Ozempic, celebrities changing their bodies at alarming proportions based of trends and standards. The visually heavy scenes show the grotesque and twisted state of what body dysmorphia can be, as the movie uses horror to show that for some people, aging is the true horror.
Gendered Ageism
Society weaponises ageism against women. Many actresses in Hollywood deal with being replaced by younger, more youthful people in their careers. In fact, Demi Moore herself has spoken about the effects of ageism in Hollywood. These portrayals show a society that equals success with being young and hot, where a woman’s value is diminished as we age.
Demi Moore’s character is unable to leave the house because of hatred, and she compares herself to the younger version of herself that she’s created, feeling mocked. It’s a reminder of what society values most: youth.
The male gaze and how this affects beauty standards
Dennis Quaid did a remarkable job of playing such a disgusting, snotty-nosed character because I can assure you that many women know some guy who speaks in such a way about women - as an object, a fantasy and something to control. Take a look at the comments of any Instagram post, full of berating women’s looks and appearances.
This theme in The Substance is about dirty men in top jobs forcing misogynistic standards upon women in media. This is made clear by focusing on the lens of the male gaze: the camera pointed at breasts, and the slow-mo movements. It’s less about looking good and staying relevant but more about the standards that are placed and who is placing them.
Last thoughts:
I’m not a fan of body horror/gore but for this movie it was a shocking way to grasp the audience on the themes of The Substance.
Demi Moore deserves all the awards for this.
I don’t recommend eating during this movie.