We are currently in a new era of feminist thought. With the dawn of the realization that many of the beauty standards we have come to see as normal are actually deeply rooted in patriarchal standards, a lot of woman-identifying people are starting to see through the facade of the beauty products, the botox, the things that are designed to keep us looking young and wrinkle-free. Women haven’t been allowed to age gracefully or even just exist as they are without some kind of pushback, and our recent media reflects that, namely in films like The Substance (2024) and The Ugly Stepsister (2025). Horror is a great avenue for feminine rage, and both of these films fit the bill.
These two recent releases are a direct commentary on the toxic beauty standards and dangerous plastic surgery trends that are pervading our culture. The Substance details a woman in media falling from grace after approaching fifty, and the lengths she will go to maintain her youth and popularity, while The Ugly Stepsister is a retelling of Cinderella from the ugly stepsister’s point of view, a very normal teenage girl who will do whatever it takes to win the affection of the prince. Both concern dangerous beauty treatments, not unlike some of the injectables and trends that are widely spread within our culture, but brought to horrific heights, with just the right amount of satire.
“No matter what age you are, if you are in a woman’s body, you will be judged.”
Elisabeth Sparkle is the heroine of The Substance. Played to perfection by Demi Moore, she is a former starlet who finds validation from her followers and the men who employ her. When her critics and employers feel she has aged out of being beautiful after turning fifty, Sparkle takes an experimental drug known only as The Substance , which splits her body into two people- herself and the much younger-looking Sue. Eventually, Sue replaces Elisabeth on her morning show and rises to new heights, causing Elisabeth to stop respecting the balance between the two and spend more and more time as Sue, causing her to age rapidly. Eventually, the two merge into one monstrous being and experience public humiliation and death, caused by Elisabeth’s desperate attempts to have it all.
Meanwhile, Elvira is the central character of The Ugly Stepsister, a very normal, if a bit awkward, teenage girl, played with startling sincerity by Lea Myren, who is not comfortable in her own skin. Desperate to go to the famous ball and have the prince fall in love with her, Elvira looks past his degeneracy and blatant misogyny and starts trying to do whatever she can to become beautiful and win his love, with the help of her mother. It starts with getting her braces off, before being subjected to barbaric, antiquated beauty treatments like having her nose broken and having false eyelashes sewn into her eyelids. She goes so far as to swallow a tapeworm to keep her figure trim, despite the negative health effects it has on her body. Eventually, the story of Cinderella plays out, and Elvira is not chosen, causing a massive breakdown that causes her whole body and her whole facade to come crashing down.
