Runner up - The Substance
Oscar Tidbit: Rightfully snagged the 2025 Oscar for Best Makeup and Hairstyling. It was also nominated in four major categories—Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Actress.
Women have faced unrealistic beauty standards for centuries—especially as we age. The Substance dives headfirst into this brutal truth, using body horror, dark comedy, and unhinged storytelling to expose how deeply ingrained these expectations are. Men are portrayed as pigs, while the woman at the center—Elizabeth Star—is consumed by self-hatred, society’s cruelty, and an obsessive need to stay young.
Unquestionably, Demi Moore delivers a powerhouse performance. She should have won the Oscar. #SheGotRobbed. One of the most haunting scenes shows her standing in front of a mirror, violently smearing lipstick across her face and hitting herself again and again, unable to recognize her own beauty. It's devastating, raw, and unforgettable.
Visually, the movie is stunning. The use of color and cinematography pulls you in completely. Every frame feels deliberate, immersive, and sometimes surreal. Yet, much of the criticism levelled at the film seems to miss director Coralie Fargeat’s use of satire. Some scenes lean into parody, others are laced with pitch-black humor—but all of it is purposeful. And whether or not the tone lands for every viewer, the message should: there is no “better” version of you hiding inside. There is only you.
The plot follows Elizabeth Star (Moore), a former daytime fitness star who’s just been fired for being “too old.” Soon after, she’s introduced to a mysterious drug called “The Substance,” a miracle cure promising to unleash a new and improved version of herself. Enter Sue (Margaret Qualley), the younger, shinier double. But as Sue becomes more dominant, the two versions spiral into a violent battle for control—one that ends in a blood bath.
This film was made by women, for women. It never lets you forget how often we’re expected to mold ourselves for the male gaze. The graphic scenes, especially in the final act, are so over-the-top that they become almost absurd—but that’s the point. The horror isn’t meant to feel comfortable. It’s meant to reflect how grotesque and delusional these beauty expectations really are. What The Substance leaves us with isn’t just blood and satire—it’s a war cry. The real message is one of radical self-love and rebellion: fuck society’s rules. Women of all ages need to stop being pitted against each other. We’re not rivals. We’re sisters. And the only way we win is together.
