“The Substance” — 5 Things I Loved/Learned

Adrian Todd Zuniga
4 min readSep 15, 2024

As a writer evolving into a writer/director, the stories I want to tell on screen live across two genres: social horror and dramedy. While those might seem like opposites, for me they’re closely aligned. And Coralie Fargeat’s THE SUBSTANCE, a horrific, outrageous and wildly funny film shows just how far you can go, and how closely humor and horror are aligned. SPOILERS AHEAD.

Dennis Quaid is incredible — in every scene he plays “Harvey” in an extraordinarily villainous way.

LEARNED: Viscerality is a Weapon

Early on, Dennis Quaid’s going hard on a bowl of shrimp in a grotesque and visceral way that will challenge your stomach not to turn. The extreme close-up, the slop and crunch of sound, him slathering his meal in aioli — it all adds up to a revolting, tone-setting scene that prepares you (or tries to) for the ascending levels of revulsion you’re going to feel.

While I can’t imagine I’ll ever go as hard as Fargeat, who dares viewers to keep their eyes on the screen throughout (I had to look away often), I did learn that matching the disgusting things a character is saying with close-up shots of disgusting, visceral action is a smart, fast way to unsettle the audience. And tell them what world the film is taking place in.

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Adrian Todd Zuniga
Adrian Todd Zuniga

Written by Adrian Todd Zuniga

is an award-nominated author (Collision Theory), award-winning director/screenwriter (HOLD ME, DON'T TOUCH ME) and the creator and host of Literary Death Match.