“THE SUBSTANCE”: BODY HORROR VS. AGEISM AND SEXISM
Abstract
This article critically analyzes the main features of the latest body horror film “The Substance” (2024) by the famous modern French screenwriter and director Coralie Fargeat in the philosophical and anthropological aspects. The focus is on the manifestation and perception of the phenomenon of horror in all its components: fear, panic, horror, trembling, disgust, ugliness, etc. First, the main stages of the emergence and development of films in the body horror subgenre from the beginnings to the present are briefly indicated. Further, the peculiarities of the development of horror film themes in general (in particular, in the works on the films of David Cronenberg, David Lynch, Ridley Scott, Katsuhiro Otomo) are briefly considered. Particular attention is paid to the study of the phenomenon of horror in the context of body horror films in the latest foreign publications (David Huckvale, Billie Walker, Alison Pierce, Barbara Creed and others).
The main part first provides an overview of the storyline of the film “The Substance”, as well as the main technical characteristics of this film. Then individual scenes of the film are analyzed, where first of all, attention is focused on the general manifestations of the horror phenomenon and its constituent parts. The role of corporeality and “corporeal consciousness” / “das leibliche Bewusstsein” (Martin Seel) in viewers' perception of the phenomenon of horror is also emphasized. After that, in a gender context, attention is focused on various manifestations of ageism and sexism, which, in particular, encourages the main character of this film to search for the elixir of youth and acquire a magical “substance”. The conclusions highlight the importance of the feminist view of body horror, which was skillfully embodied by the writer and director and both main female characters of this film, emphasizing the relevance of the contemporary debate on discrimination against women and the objectification of the female body (sexism, ageism, etc.).
Downloads
References
Horror movie. Horror / edited by: Ursula Vossen, Volodymyr Voitenko; Transl. from German by Ihor Andrushchenko (2008). Kyiv: KINO-KOLO. (In Ukrainian).
Bullins, J. (2024). Sound in the American horror film. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers.
Creed, B. (2024). The monstrous-feminine : film, feminism, psychoanalysis. Second Edition. London; New York : Routledge.
Diffrient, D. S. (2023). Body Genre: Anatomy of the Horror Film. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi.
Hahn, R. M. (2002). Das neue Lexikon des Horrorfilms: alles über die dunkle Seite des Kinos: mehr als 1800 Horrorfilme mit Inhaltsangaben, Filmografien und Kritiken / Ronald M. Hahn & Rolf Giesen. Berlin: Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf.
Hentschel, F. (2011). Töne der Angst: die Musik im Horrorfilm. Berlin: Bertz + Fischer.
Huckvale, D. (2020). Terrors of the flesh: the philosophy of body horror in film. Jefferson: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers.
Keesey, D. (2017). Twenty First Century Horror Films. Harpenden: Kamera Books.
Lowenstein, A. (2022). Horror film and otherness. New York: Columbia University Press.
Podrez, P. (2020). Der Horrorfilm. Handbuch Filmgenre. Geschichte – Ästhetik – Theorie. Hg. von Marcus Stiglegger. (S. 539–556). Berlin u.a.: Springer.
Seel, M. (2013). Die Künste des Kinos. Frankfurt am Main: S. Fischer Verlag.
Šekrst, K. (2022). David Huckvale (2020). Terrors of the Flesh: The Philosophy of Body Horror in Film. Film-Philosophy. Vol 26, Iss 2, pp. 280–283. https://doi.org/10.3366/film.2022.0201
Thacker, E. (2011). In the Dust of This Planet. (Horror of Philosophy Vol. 1). Winchester, UK ; Washington, USA: zero books.
Thacker, E. (2015a). Starry Speculative Corpse (Horror of Philosophy Vol. 2). Winchester, UK ; Washington, USA: zero books.
Thacker, E. (2015b). Tentacles Longer Than Night (Horror of Philosophy Vol. 3). Winchester, UK ; Washington, USA: zero books.
The Substance. Wikipedia. URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Substance
Vossen, U. (2004). Filmgenres. Horrorfilm. Stuttgart: Reclam.
Walker, B. (2023). Is Body Horror the New Intimacy? Hyperallergic. (January 9, 2023). URL: https://hyperallergic.com/790028/is-body-horror-the-new-intimacy/
Women make horror: filmmaking, feminism, genre. Edited by Alison Peirse (2020). New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press.
Copyright (c) 2025 Ульяна Абашнік
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication of this work under the terms of a license Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0).
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.
3.gif){kind=logo}
