Warning: Contains SPOILERS for The Substance!
The Substance is one of the best horror movies of 2024, and here are 10 other films to watch if you like Coralie Fargeat’s terrifying thriller. The Substance‘s body horror is some of the best that has been seen on the big screen in years, with it calling back to some of the body horror greats like David Cronenberg. The Substance‘s mix of gore, comedy, and social commentary makes it a wholly unique experience that is deserving of praise, with its style making it stand out among the many horror movies that have been released in recent years.
The Substance follows Demi Moore’s Elisabeth Sparkle, an aging actress and model who wants nothing more than to be as beautiful as she believes she once was. Elisabeth signs up to test out a new drug called The Substance that promises to create a new her, with it only having a few rules regarding its usage. The Substance causes the seemingly perfect version of Elisabeth to emerge from her body, but things quickly turn horrific when Elisabeth and her counterpart Sue begin to butt heads over who gets to be in control. So, here are the best movies like The Substance.
10 Revenge
2017
One of the best parts of The Substance was its direction, with Coralie Fargeat crafting The Substance in a way that makes it feel wholly unique. Luckily, The Substance isn’t Fargeat’s first film, with her also being behind the cult 2017 hit Revenge. Revenge follows a girl named Jen who goes on a getaway with her boyfriend, although two of his friends interrupt the occasion. Things turn violent and lead to Jen getting badly beaten, but after she survives the attack, she sets out on a quest to get revenge on her assailants.
Not only does Revenge see many of the same directing techniques as The Substance, but it also features another element that made The Substance great: the shocking violence. Revenge is incredibly bloody, and while it may not rely on body horror as much as Fargeat’s 2024 film, it is another fun outlet for viewers to see some blood splatters and gore.
9 The Babadook
2014
Although many of the horror movies on this list are older, there are some more recent ones that may be of interest to fans of The Substance. Jennifer Kent’s 2014 film The Babadook is one of these examples, and while it may not initially seem like it has a lot in common with Coralie Fargeat’s body horror film, there is one big parallel. One of the best parts of The Substance is its thematic storytelling, with all kinds of points being made by the film. Viewers can pick apart the central dramatic argument of The Substance for hours, and the same can be said for The Babadook.
The Babadook is also a thematically rich film that uses its horror to highlight ideas, with The Babadook mostly focusing on how grief can affect a person. While The Substance‘s themes of envy, obsession, and self-loathing are different, the idea of a monster representing these internal feelings is apparent in both films.
8 Dead Ringers
The works of David Cronenburg are clearly an inspiration for The Substance, and one of the director’s films that is most similar to the 2024 movie is 1988’s Dead Ringers. Dead Ringers stars Jeremy Irons as twin gynecologists, with one often getting into sexual relationships with his patients before he switches with his twin brother without the patients knowing.
Much like The Substance, Dead Ringers manages to combine body horror with incredibly sexual content, creating a unique feeling that leaves viewers incredibly uncomfortable. The twin storyline is also incredibly similar to The Substance‘s clone storyline, with both sets of protagonists sharing a similar dynamic. Dead Ringers also had a TV miniseries remake in 2023, with this being another great pick for fans of The Substance.
7 Death Becomes Her
1992
The Substance is undoubtedly a horror film, and while Death Becomes Her shares an incredibly similar story to the 2024 thriller, it actually puts a more comedic spin on the premise. In Death Becomes Her, two women are attempting to get with the same man, with this man discovering that they have taken a potion that grants them everlasting life. While this potion allows them to maintain their beauty, it also has disastrous consequences, something that can also be found in The Substance.
Related
The Substance Ending Explained
The ending of The Substance underscores the themes of the film and highlights the dangerous double standard that exists in Hollywood.
Robert Zemeckis’ 1992 horror comedy shows both of these characters becoming horribly disfigured as their conflict grows, with this being a major parallel to The Substance. While Death Becoms Her isn’t nearly as horrifying as The Substance, the similar themes and story details make them great companion pieces that can be enjoyed by the same audience.
6 Little Shop Of Horrors
1986
Much like The Substance, 1986’s film adaptation of Little Shop of Horrors is an incredibly dark film that also has comedic elements, although the musical does rely on its comedy more heavily than the 2024 thriller. Elisabeth Sparkle and Seymour Krelborne are similar protagonists, with their use of a mysterious new object allowing them to obtain massive wealth and influence. While the deadly consequences of these products’ continued use is apparent, it isn’t enough to stop the protagonists from benefiting from them, leading to their downfall.
The biggest difference between the two films is that Frank Oz’ Little Shop of Horrors is a musical, as it is an adaptation of a play of the same name. However, this doesn’t take away from the thematic similarities that both films share, with thier commentary on wealth, fame, and capitalism making them perfect examples of how horror stories should work.
5 Titane
2021
In the 2020s, body horror has become a more rare genre than it once was at the peak of David Cronenburg’s popularity in the 1980s and 1990s. However, one of the most notable body horror films of the 2020s before The Substance was the 2021 French film Titane. Titane follows a murderous woman with a metal plate in her head who has a sexual fascination with cars, with her pretending to be an aged-up missing child in an attempt to hide after another murder. The bizarre film is fully of some truly uncomfortable moments, many of which perfectly fit in line with the scares from The Substance.
Similarly to The Substance, Titane‘s performance at film festivals caused its critical reception to launch the film into the public eye. Titane was nominated for all kinds of awards and is considered to be one of the best movies of 2021, meaning that it had a similar trajectory to The Substance.
4 Men
2022
Body horror can often be a controversial genre, as is seen in the performance of Alex Garland’s 2022 film Men. After the death of her husband, Harper (Jessie Buckley) goes on a vacation in the countryside in an attempt to get away from life for a while. However, she soon realizes that something is off in the town that she is staying in, with each of the eerie men living there being played by Rory Kinnear.
While Men did receive acclaim for its performances and visuals, the film’s themes were the main point of controversy, with it using body horror to make an incredibly specific thematic point. Some viewers loved this while others didn’t, with the controversy surrounding the film making it such an interesting watch. The horror of Men is incredibly similar to that of The Substance, making it a great pick after having seen the 2024 film.
3 Alien
1979
Of all of the psychosexual horror films with feminist themes, Ridley Scott’s 1979 masterpiece Alien is the most famous one. Alien perfectly blends together the horror and sci-fi genres, with the film being considered one of the best horror movies of all time. While most of the films in the Alien franchise are good, the 1979 original is obviously the place to start, with it being the closest to The Substance in terms of scale and thematic purpose.
While Alien is not technically a body horror movie, the design of the Xenomorph definitely envokes the same feelings that The Substance‘s body horror does. The incredibly sexual design of the titular extra terrestrial is key to the film’s central dramatic argument, even if it isn’t quite as sexual as The Substance.
2 Videodrome
1983
Going back to director David Cronenberg’s films, another one of his best body horror movies is Videodrome. The 1983 horror film stars James Woods as Max Renn, the president of a TV channel who comes across a snuff film TV show while attempting to find new programming. His obsession with the incredibly sexual and violent program only becomes greater as the film goes on, with his curiosity and continued investigation into the show leading him down a dark path.
Videodrome and The Substance have a lot of parallels, with both films utilizing body horror as a means to explore themes of capitalism and fame. Max Renn and Elisabeth Sparkle are both tragic characters whose greed leads to thier downfall, and Renn’s TV channel president is also incredibly similar to Dennis Quaid’s character in The Substance.
1 The Fly
1986
For fans of The Substance, there is no follow up more perfect than Cronenberg’s 1986 remake of The Fly. The iconic film follows Jeff Goldblum as Seth Brundle, a scientist who has finally invented a successful teleportation machine. Upon testing the device, however, a fly enters the teleportation pod with Brundle, leading to thier DNA becoming stitched together during the process. The Fly chronicles Brundle’s painful transformation into the Brundlefly, highlighting Brundle’s deteriorating mental state and its affect on those who surround him along the way.
The Substance‘s parallels to The Fly are immense, with their narratives, characters, thematic points, and body horror being incredibly similar. The Fly is a must-see for viewers looking for an experience similar to The Substance, with it making Cronenberg’s 1986 film even more relevant today.
