Movie Research: The Substance (2024)

What conventions of the genre that you chose to base your final task on does this movie have? 

The Substance uses a lot of core thriller conventions like dark, moody lighting, harsh shadows, and muted color palettes during certain scenes that help to create an unsettling atmosphere. It uses close-ups, distorted angles, and tracking shots to help build tension. The sound design uses sharp stings, distorted whispers, and low-frequency drones, all of which heighten suspense.  

What conventions of the genre did the movie have that you liked and why? 

We especially liked how The Substance builds tension through psychological unease during certain parts. This is done through visual cues like flickering lights, claustrophobic framing, and tense body language. This approach would fit perfectly within our project because we want the audience to feel the presence of the stalker even if they aren’t fully seeing them. We also really liked the film’s sound design. The use of breathing, unsettling tones, and sudden audio shifts would be useful in our projects stalking scenario because it can communicate danger without it being fully visible.  

What conventions of the genre did the movie have that did not appeal to you and you are thinking of not filming for your final task? 

One convention in the movie that didn’t appeal to us is its use of graphic or intense imagery, especially some of the scenes that lean towards body horror. This convention works for the film’s tone, but it does not make sense for our style of project. The usage of weapons in The Substance is also something that we don’t want to include in our film. This is because we want our antagonist to feel more mysterious and less straightforwardly violent. The movies' extreme makeup and physical transformation is also not something we want to recreate, being that our project is more on subtle fear instead of dramatic visual effects.