What makes a successful horror film? Is it just blood and mayhem or is there more to it?
The Substance, written and directed by Coralie Fargeat, is a master class in how to do a great horror movie, one with tragic resonance, and power.
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<h3>Background</h3>
&nbsp;
An aging actress, Elisabeth Sparkle (Demi Moore) who is a world standard for beauty and desirability, overhears the producer of her hit workout show on the phone talking about how old she is and directing the person on the phone to find someone younger. In our youth-obsessed culture this hits hard and causes Elisabeth to panic. In desperation, she decides to partake of the mysterious ‘substance’ which will create a younger self, separate but never really separate, from her current self.
Let the mayhem begin.
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<div id="attachment_48514" style="width: 781px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-48514" class="wp-image-48514 " src="https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Coralie-Fargeat-2153826230-1024x576.jpg" alt="Creative Screenwriting Magazine" width="771" height="434" srcset="https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Coralie-Fargeat-2153826230-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Coralie-Fargeat-2153826230-150x84.jpg 150w, https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Coralie-Fargeat-2153826230-250x141.jpg 250w, https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Coralie-Fargeat-2153826230-768x432.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 771px) 100vw, 771px" />Coralie Fargeat. Photo by Rocco Spaziani</div>
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<h3>Rules</h3>
&nbsp;
Good horror &#8211; any story really &#8211; functions under a set of rules to create suspense. In this case, there are some creepy, odd ones and violating them leads to horrific (of course) consequences.
Elisabeth is informed:
At the bottom of the box, a small white note card with
instructions and icons:
«YOU ACTIVATE» &#8211; only once (intravenous)
«YOU STABILIZE» &#8211; everyday (intramuscular)
«YOU SWITCH» &#8211; every 7 days without exception. 
She turns the card over and reads the inscription on it:
REMEMBER YOU ARE ONE
She’s also given special food for herself and &#8220;The Other.&#8221; 
Notice the use of “The Other”, an alien/supernatural reference. Ms Fargeat never misses a chance to infuse/ overlay this film with sly references that surround the storyline. There are many nods to classic horror films in this one.
Once Elisabeth makes the decision to do this, a second her, much younger, explodes out of her back. Once born, Sue (Margaret Qualley) sews up the back of the unconscious Elisabeth and hides her in a secret room.
&nbsp;
<h3>Solid Narrative Thread</h3>
&nbsp;
The Substance has a compelling story as Sue becomes the new face of the workout show. It’s a slow ascension to superstardom and also a slow burn to upping the stakes as it goes.
Sue falls in love with the glamor and power (how can you not?) as Elisabeth increasingly becomes bothered by the fact that her younger self is on the ascendancy of stardom. Part of this is the lack of love the older Elisabeth is given which taps into the character’s ego. She’s yesterday’s dried up meal; an afterthought at this point. No one is calling her, offering her jobs, or telling her she’s the prettiest girl in the world &#8211; that’s now all Sue’s. And Elisabeth can’t handle it. A giant billboard outside her window of Sue mocks her constantly.
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<div id="attachment_48513" style="width: 781px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-48513" class="wp-image-48513 " src="https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/the-substance-4-ht-gmh-240815_1723755592497_hpEmbed_31x16-1024x529.jpg" alt="Creative Screenwriting Magazine " width="771" height="398" srcset="https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/the-substance-4-ht-gmh-240815_1723755592497_hpEmbed_31x16-1024x529.jpg 1024w, https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/the-substance-4-ht-gmh-240815_1723755592497_hpEmbed_31x16-150x77.jpg 150w, https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/the-substance-4-ht-gmh-240815_1723755592497_hpEmbed_31x16-250x129.jpg 250w, https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/the-substance-4-ht-gmh-240815_1723755592497_hpEmbed_31x16-768x397.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 771px) 100vw, 771px" />Harvey (Dennis Quaid) Photo courtesy of TUBI</div>
This allows for a constant drumbeat of resentment to build in the storyline until it reaches and goes wildly beyond a climax.
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<h3>Theme</h3>
&nbsp;
The themes in this movie could encompass an entire book itself. But let’s focus on two:
Ego: Without a doubt the strongest theme in the literary universe. Frankenstein, Alien, The Thing, The Fly, etc. All focus on the folly of humankind’s unholy but human desires. Here it’s obvious, almost a cliché of Hollywood &#8211; aging means less of everything. 
Plastic surgery, weight-loss drugs, even recreational drugs infect every aspect of our lives in an attempt to modify our lives and Hollywood is even more so. Move aside, the industry seems to always say, we want the next, better, younger version.
Internal Horror:  Although Hollywood is probably the worst offender and we can say to ourselves, “that wouldn’t be me” that nagging voice in our heads warns us that younger versions of the workforce, any workforce, seems to value youth against experience. The latest 19-yr-old suddenly appears at the desk next to yours and the writing on the wall is clear. 
Good horror films thematically reflect both society and our own internal fears.
&nbsp;
<h3>Satire</h3>
&nbsp;
Hand-in-hand with the thematic overlays in The Substance is the world vision. 
Satire, which exaggerates a situation for effect, is a tried and true sub-genre to include outrageous moments. Fargeat knows and embraces this story-telling method with masterful glee to create some of the most challenging moments in film. 
Pushing limits, which satire does very well, is deeply infused in the DNA of this movie. Besides the obvious gross and bloody moments, the in-your-face shots of Sue’s lower body parts, for example, are just a small part of Fargeat’s satirical delivery.
Thin WAISTS and PELVISES sway suggestively.
SUPER HIGH CUT flashy leotards, reveal perfectly waxed groins
underneath &#8211;
Firm and BOUNCY BOSOMS compressed inside the Lycra.
Close up shots of Harvey, Dennis Quaid’s character’s disgusting eating (symbolic of corporate greed) and his consistently overly-exaggerated demeanor continue to bolster the satirical nature of the film.
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<div id="attachment_48516" style="width: 779px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-48516" class="wp-image-48516 " src="https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/The-Substance-Demi-Moore-e-Margaret-Qualley-nel-nuovo-trailer-italiano-del-film-1024x576.jpg" alt="Creative Screenwriting Magazine" width="769" height="433" srcset="https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/The-Substance-Demi-Moore-e-Margaret-Qualley-nel-nuovo-trailer-italiano-del-film-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/The-Substance-Demi-Moore-e-Margaret-Qualley-nel-nuovo-trailer-italiano-del-film-150x84.jpg 150w, https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/The-Substance-Demi-Moore-e-Margaret-Qualley-nel-nuovo-trailer-italiano-del-film-250x141.jpg 250w, https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/The-Substance-Demi-Moore-e-Margaret-Qualley-nel-nuovo-trailer-italiano-del-film-768x432.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 769px) 100vw, 769px" />Sue Sparkle (Demi Moore) Photo courtesy of TUBI</div>
&nbsp;
<h3>Sexuality</h3>
&nbsp;
Sex is universal. Solid horror gives the audience one of the tropes it craves in horror &#8211; nudity. Yes, okay, not every horror film has nudity, but many of them do. We&#8217;re exposed and vulnerable. It’s part of the peek-through-the-keyhole, voyeuristic nature of the genre. Fargeat knows this and delivers.
Fargeat takes the nudity one thematic step further as part of the body-image theme that infuses the storyline. We are our own worst critic, and in one scene a naked Elisabeth studies herself in the mirror focusing on any minor flaws or imperfections. It’s motivation for the character and speaks loudly without dialogue to her inner thoughts. 
We, the audience, have to be as critical of Elisabeth’s body as much as the main character herself in order to understand her motivations but we’re also following the camera as it scans her, judging. How many of us look in the mirror and wish we saw something different, better? The nudity allows us to relate to this scene on many levels.
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<h3>Gore</h3>
&nbsp;
Blood, blood, and more blood. Fargeat puts Rob Zombie to shame with her use of grotesquerie and blood effects.
The moments of the Sue creature evolving into something horrible, the disgusting sounds Dennis Quaid’s character makes while eating, Sue’s horrifying loss of teeth and nails, Elisabeth’s binging food &#8211; there isn’t a point where you’re free from visual, auditory, or intellectual gore which suffuses the entire film with constant tension and repellent moments.
In an ending scene, the twisted creature that MonstroElisaSue has become sprays an audience with massive amounts of blood. 
Everyone is sprayed with the blood now gushing out of her arm
stump, like a snow canon.
She sprays blood in every direction, like a lawn hose, while
spinning around in her princess dress.
Of this scene, which took 36,000 gallons of fake blood, Fargeat says, &#8220;All the violence that you project on me, the monster, at some points, it’s projected back on the audience, which is all of us.&#8221;
The final creature is a disgusting masterpiece of mismatched body parts like a breast attached to an optic nerve that falls out of an eye socket. But, again, it has purpose. Beyond any beauty standard, the creature MonstroElisaSue at this point is finally free from judgment.
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<h3>Violence</h3>
&nbsp;
The movie delivers in all aspects like any traditional horror film. There’s emotional, mental, physical, and societal violence aplenty to keep this delivering constantly on gut-churning tension. 
A fight scene between Elisabeth and Sue is as violent as any John Wick film.
&nbsp;
<h3>Suspense</h3>
&nbsp;
Likewise, the suspense is ever-present and always building. The film never relaxes because there’s this body in the hidden room &#8211; sometimes Sue, sometimes Elisabeth &#8211; that may at any moment spring out at us. Like a Frankenstein monster, reflecting the creator’s flaws, the Other is there and will always be an unknown element.
Plus, technique-wise, there is a perfect pacing to the building of this suspense and violence. The story narrative supports the success of every three-act structure which, despite the trendy criticism against it, is perfect to push a story along certain pathways to deliver on maximum suspense.
&nbsp;
<h3>Ending</h3>
&nbsp;
The MonstroElisaSue created in the last act is reminiscent of the movie The Elephant Man. You can almost hear John Merrick (John Hurt) shouting , “I am a man not a monster!” as she looks out over an audience there to see Sue twinkle as the latest ascending star. 
But she’s horrible. A pastiche of two bodies slap-hazardously melded together, leaking fluids, twisted into a barely recognizable human shape. The pathos is throat catching, palpable. This is powerfully emotional and visceral.
Monsters dying in the end of horror tales is appropriate. Feeling sorry for them is rare indeed. The Frankenstein monster’s ending in the original book is one of emotional pain and isolation. The best of the best in horror makes you feel similarly sorry for the creature who just moments ago was wreaking havoc on the population.
As MonstroElisaSue sprays blood on the audience and then drags herself up Hollywood Blvd to die on her star, we cringe at her horrible appearance but as she dies our hearts elevate a little because she’s finally free of the true horror of this film &#8211; the unrealistic beauty standards we’ve enforced on ourselves.

Breaking Down The Main Elements Of “The Substance”

<div class="seriesmeta">This entry is part 2 of 2 in the series <a href="https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/Best Of 2020/high-school-movies/" class="series-4373" title="High School Movies">High School Movies</a></div><div class="seriesbox"><div class="center"> <a href="https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/Best Of 2020/high-school-movies/" class="series-4373" title="High School Movies">High School Movies</a></div><ul class="serieslist-ul"><li class="serieslist-li"><a href="https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/what-makes-high-school-movies-work-part-1/" title="What Makes High School Movies Work? (Part 1)">What Makes High School Movies Work? (Part 1)</a></li><li class="serieslist-li-current">What Makes High School Movies Work? (Part 2)</li></ul></div><h3>Archetypes</h3>
&nbsp;
Parents (good and bad), teachers (good and bad), friends, teammates, and classmates (good and bad), and siblings all form the basis of an archetypal character set.
In The Edge of Seventeen:
Nadine’s mother: a bit unraveled and trying to cope with her own life as well as her two children. Nadine’s father is dead and that’s a deep hole in her life.
Nadine’s brother: Darian is tall, athletic, handsome, and popular. Most things Nadine isn’t which has created this huge gap between them.
Mr. Bruner: An acerbic but understanding teacher who Nadine feels comfortable confessing to. It’s my contention that he was created in this sarcastic mold to deliberately reflect back Nadine’s melodrama, and also to act as a sort of oracle, the wise teacher living above it all so Nadine could talk to him without much judgment from him.
Krista: Friend, friend, friend… betrayer. Because Krista and Darian hook up (yes in the sexual sense) Nadine feels isolated and strikes out at both. This situation is used as a way to transition Nadine to a more adult attitude about the way forward in life. Life is change. Nadine must accept that.
Nick (Alexander Calvert): The unattainable hottie who stands for values that the main character thinks they want but are really false given who they really are. This causes a learnable moment in the character’s storyline as the inevitable rejection occurs.
The rival, Shannon (Nesta Cooper): films like Mean Girls, Heathers, and of course Edge Of Seventeen have a cliquey group led by a particularly nasty rival who is meant to embarrass and cause grief for the main character. No strength or growth without conflict is the reason.
Erwin: The lovable boy friend who becomes a boyfriend. This particular trope is used extensively in many high school movies and TV series. Again, this is a growth scenario so the character can see with clearer eyes what is really important as they transition to adulthood.
&nbsp;
<h3>Tone</h3>
&nbsp;
One of the joys of high school movies and TV is the ridiculously vast tonal motifs available. Everything from the fun and silly Superbad or Project, to the somber Palo Alto and challenging, powerful “he Hate U Give (which was criminally under-represented at the 2018 Academy Awards).
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<div id="attachment_48270" style="width: 783px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-48270" class="wp-image-48270 " src="https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Hate-You-Give-Still-2-1024x682.jpg" alt="Creative Screenwriting Magazine" width="773" height="515" srcset="https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Hate-You-Give-Still-2-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Hate-You-Give-Still-2-150x100.jpg 150w, https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Hate-You-Give-Still-2-250x167.jpg 250w, https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Hate-You-Give-Still-2-768x512.jpg 768w, https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Hate-You-Give-Still-2.jpg 1501w" sizes="(max-width: 773px) 100vw, 773px" />Key cast in The Hate U Give. Photo courtesy of 20th Century Films</div>
&nbsp;
Edge Of Seventeen splits the difference as a serio-comic dramedy.
An example is this hard-to-watch, but funny moment where Mr. Bruner reads the text Nadine accidentally sent to Nick, her crush.
&nbsp;
Nadine storms into Mr. Bruner’ classroom. 
Without explanation, she hands Bruner her phone.
BRUNER 
(reading) 
&#8220;You&#8217;re complicated and simple. And I just feel this 
connection between us. I feel like I already know you.&#8221;
(beat)
This is kind of sweet. I think you&#8217;re overreacting. 
&#8220;I just wanna be with you. I wanna give you&#8230; head. 
I want you to put your&#8230; 
We can do it in the Petland stockroom.&#8221;
Bruner frowns, thinking.
NADINE 
Say something. Oh, my god, say something, please. 
Help me.
He thinks. Finally &#8211;
BRUNER 
You need to watch out for run-on sentences.
NADINE 
(freaking out) 
But can&#8217;t you just do something? Can&#8217;t you&#8230; 
can&#8217;t you just do something? 
You gotta be able to do something.
(even more frantic)
If you get his address and you confiscate his phone, great. 
Get his address. You give it to me. I&#8217;m gonna go there. 
And I&#8217;m gonna, um&#8230;
She’s losing it.
&nbsp;
Later, Nadine and the object of the email (Nick) go out on a date.
It begins to get amorous. Too amorous for Nadine.
&nbsp;
Nick parks the car. Nadine smiles as Nick looks over at her.
NADINE 
I can&#8217;t believe this is happening. There&#8217;s so much that I&#8217;ve 
wanted to tell you and ask you, and I just can&#8217;t believe this&#8230;
He moves toward her, lowers the seat until it reclines.
NADINE 
Um&#8230; Oh, wow. It just keeps going back, doesn&#8217;t it?
Nick’s hands begin to roam over Nadine’s body. The panic she now feels is clearly reflected on her face as she realizes that Nick is taking her email literally and is wanting to have sex with her.
NADINE 
Yeah… I don&#8217;t know if I should…
He reaches to remove her panties. She goes into full panic mode, pushes him away.
NADINE 
Get off! Get off! Off!
A confused Nick rolls off her.
NICK 
Okay. What the hell?
&nbsp;
Earlier Nadine had teased her buddy Erwin about hooking up and it insulted and hurt him. She still doesn’t get that actions have consequences, especially when it comes to sexual matters. With Nick she is shown that again. All part of her growth and illustrating some of the more serious themes here. There was real fear that Nick wouldn’t stop his advances.
Of course, as stated, movies like The Hate U Give have a completely different tonal palette as friends are killed and families are threatened. The main character, Starr (Amandia Stenberg ) lives in two worlds: her challenging home neighborhood and the upper-middle class private school she attends. She even calls herself Starr One and Starr Two to differentiate the different people she is when at each location.
Her lesson is from a Tupac Shakur quote and forms both the title and theme of the movie.
The range in high school movies is truly immense. 13: The Musical is sweet and uplifting. 13 explores a young girl’s train wreck of a life as she speaks to herself via TikTok videos. Kids is shocking and bleak, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl is painful, Bottoms strike a goofy blow for the LGBTQ+ community. Project X is just insane. Elephant based in the Columbine shootings is plain scary.
The gamut is huge and the range almost unlimited for anyone wanting to write a high school film or television series.
&nbsp;
<h3>Techniques/ Motifs</h3>
&nbsp;
Some would call these cliches. And done badly, they are. They are also strong motifs/tropes, and techniques that define a genre and can be elevated beyond the cliches they’ve become.
<ul>
<li>The Outsider &#8211; typically the main character. It’s rare that any popular kid is used as a main character because it’s not as dramatic a catharsis as the person who is alienated from their peers.</li>
<li>Sex &#8211; losing one’s virginity seems to pop up a lot even in today’s woke world. If the quest comes with insight it can be very illuminating. In 13: The Musical with its underage protagonists it’s a first kiss that becomes the goal.</li>
<li>The Crush &#8211; the unattainable love interest is always a good motor to keep the story running strong. It offers many opportunities for funny/serious moments and I doubt any of us hasn’t been on one end or the other of this.</li>
<li>“Slut Shaming” &#8211; male or female. This goes hand in hand with bullying. Easy A is probably one of the best examples of this, but Mean Girls also pushes this really hard to good effect.</li>
<li>Social climbing &#8211; you can see this explored  in Heathers and The Edge of Seventeen as well as Mean Girls. Social climbing is a very strong motif in almost all high school movies.</li>
<li> True Friends &#8211; Book Smart shows the value of real friends, those who have your back in any circumstance. Most times this is connected to social climbing where the central character or their old friend goes rogue with the ‘cool kids’.</li>
<li>The Lunch Table &#8211; how many scenes have we seen where the cafeteria is segregated by groups (Geeks, Nerds, Jocks, Plastics, Cheerleaders, etc.) and this segregation serves as a way to show social movement when a character is invited to the ‘cool’ table and abandons their normal table of friends.</li>
<li>Bullying &#8211; Glee has slushies, others have the evil Jocks/ Cheerleaders/ Gangsters who rule the school. Even in today’s woke world, this motif still resonates strongly. “Dope” has shoe-stealing gangsters who don’t steal lunch money, they steal Jordans.</li>
<li>Clueless Parents &#8211; well, duh. Every generation of stories, and I do mean every gen uses this motif because it’s so reliably relatable. Who hasn’t thought their parents out of touch and unreasonable? Even if the characters truly love their parents, they rail against the restrictions placed on them, and that’s usually the job of mom and dad.
<ul>
<li>A side slice of this is the missing parent through abandonment or divorce. This creates a backstory that has real impact.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Graduation &#8211; many stories use this as a plot engine to tie the other stories together. That diploma is an outsized achievement and many times of super importance.</li>
<li>Tutoring &#8211; nothing gets two disparate people together like tutoring where the smart kid helps the underachiever to pass the next test. Words On A Bathroom Wall utilizes this to good effect.</li>
<li>Social Media &#8211; not much moves us in today’s world like social media. Texting, TikTok(ing), SnapChat, inadvertent Send Alls are a part of everyone’s life and most especially youth which has embraced these mediums like extension of their bodies.</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;
<h3>In Conclusion</h3>
&nbsp;
Bob Dylan has a lyric, “Oh, but I was so much older then, I’m much younger than that now.” High school movies succeed and thrive across many generations because of the seriousness of that time of life. Sure, getting older is hard as we matriculate to college and adulthood, but there’s nothing quite as difficult as high school. Writing about it brings insight and the persistent themes of growing into our skins make that script universal.
<fieldset><legend>Series Navigation</legend><a href="https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/what-makes-high-school-movies-work-part-1/" title="&lt;&lt; What Makes High School Movies Work? (Part 1)">&lt;&lt; What Makes High School Movies Work? (Part 1)</a></fieldset>

What Makes High School Movies Work? (Part 2)

<div class="seriesmeta">This entry is part 1 of 2 in the series <a href="https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/Best Of 2020/high-school-movies/" class="series-4373" title="High School Movies">High School Movies</a></div><div class="seriesbox"><div class="center"> <a href="https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/Best Of 2020/high-school-movies/" class="series-4373" title="High School Movies">High School Movies</a></div><ul class="serieslist-ul"><li class="serieslist-li-current">What Makes High School Movies Work? (Part 1)</li><li class="serieslist-li"><a href="https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/what-makes-high-school-movies-work-part-2/" title="What Makes High School Movies Work? (Part 2)">What Makes High School Movies Work? (Part 2)</a></li></ul></div>High school movies span decades. There are thousands covering most of film and TV history. This is mainly for one reason: the themes in them are universal.
The stories of high school are the stories of life. Of joy, sadness, yearning, accomplishment, and all things in-between.
On The Edge of Seventeen is a prime example of the comedy and tragedy of being trapped in four years of constantly shifting realities.
&nbsp;
<h3>We Can Relate</h3>
&nbsp;
Who doesn’t know the anguish of unrequited love? It’s exhilarating and crushing all at once. Or the clueless parent(s)? The love/ hate relationship we have with siblings? Or the feelings of being on train going the wrong way that pursue you throughout those confusing teen years?
Through archetypal characters and motifs of which we’re familiar, we experience seventeen-year-old Nadine Franklin’s (Hailee Steinfeld) life at a point in time. 
She basically has one true friend, Krista (Haley Lu Richardson). She lives with her mother, Mona, and her very popular brother, Darian, (Blake Jenner). Mona (Kyra Sedgwick) is raising the kids alone because her husband died of a heart attack. This was a father that Nadine adored and his death created a huge vacuum in her life and basically drove her inward. Currently, Nadine is nearing graduation and things are only getting worse.
In a truly funny turn, Woody Harrelson plays one of her teachers, Mr. Bruner, who is her adult-confessor when things spiral out of control, which happens on a pretty regular basis. His sarcastic tone when dealing with her puts her teen, melodramatic antics in context.
&nbsp;
Nadine bursts into Mr. Bruner’s classroom, sits at a desk opposite of Bruner’s desk. She’s obviously distressed.
NADINE 
(to Bruner)
Look, I don&#8217;t wanna take up a ton of your time&#8230; 
But I&#8217;m gonna kill myself. I just thought that someone 
should know. 
(beat)
I don&#8217;t know how this works. 
I&#8217;m probably gonna jump off an overpass in 
front of a semi, so&#8230;Or a U-Haul. Not a bus. 
I&#8217;m not gonna be a dick and make people watch. 
But it has to be big. It&#8217;s gotta be so big 
that it just&#8230;Done. Kills me. Lights out. 
&#8216;Cause if it just maims me and I&#8217;m like&#8230; 
well, how&#8217;s that good for anyone? 
Then I gotta find a nurse to smother me. 
How am I gonna get across &#8220;smothering&#8221; if I&#8217;m&#8230;
(beat)
We don&#8217;t need to get caught up in the minutia. 
I just  thought that an adult&#8230; you should know.
MR. BRUNER 
(sincere)
Wow. This is, uh, a lot to take in, Nadine. 
I&#8230; I wish I knew what to say.
(thinking)
Well, I was actually just drafting my own 
suicide note just now.
(picking up a sheet of paper)
&#8220;Dear everybody. As some of you know, I have thirty-two 
fleeting minutes of happiness per school day during lunch, 
which has been eaten up again and again by the same&#8230;especially 
badly dressed student, and I finally thought, you know what? 
I would rather have the dark, empty nothingness. 
I really would. It sounds&#8230; relaxing. Have a nice life.&#8221;
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This is from a transcript. An earlier version of the script called Besties is quite a bit different from the final movie and doesn’t appear to have a Bruner character in it. The addition is terrific and opens up Nadine’s circle of acquaintances wonderfully even extending to her ending up at his home with his wife and baby. Bruner acts as an oracle character, sarcastic but supportive and helpful.
In one scene, watching him play with his child you can see the yearning Nadine has for that sort of connection which emphasizes her lack of that in the present, presages her future, and touches back on her past when her father was alive and they were buds.
There’s also the lovable friend character who is in love with her, Erwin (Hayden Szeto), who she’s put in the ‘friend-zone.’
These solid archetypes and familiar situations create a solid base for a dramedy that delivers on the concepts that make a high school movie what it is and allows us to easily relate to it.
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<div id="attachment_48266" style="width: 781px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-48266" class="wp-image-48266 " src="https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/cheDSO3mYmsAFQlRM91o7MK6Wcc-1024x576.jpg" alt="Creative Screenwriting Magazine " width="771" height="433" srcset="https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/cheDSO3mYmsAFQlRM91o7MK6Wcc-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/cheDSO3mYmsAFQlRM91o7MK6Wcc-150x84.jpg 150w, https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/cheDSO3mYmsAFQlRM91o7MK6Wcc-250x141.jpg 250w, https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/cheDSO3mYmsAFQlRM91o7MK6Wcc-768x432.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 771px) 100vw, 771px" />Deanie Feldstein and Kaitlyn Deaver in Booksmart. Photo courtesy of Annapurna Pictures</div>
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<h3>Transition(s)</h3>
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Many high school films take place at a moment of transition. Upcoming graduation, sexual awareness, a contest, parents divorcing, etc. The way our educational system is set up, it’s a no-brainer. Each step to the senior class level is a time of growth and transition. 
Book Smart, for example, is based in the final few months of high school for the characters and it is emotionally wrought for pals played by Kaitlyn Dever and Beanie Feldstein whose close relationship as besties is about to undergo a radical change.
In On The Edge of Seventeen, the upcoming moment of change isn’t so much the impending graduation as much as it’s an emotional shift for Nadine’s friend, Krista, who begins dating Nadine’s brother, Darian. 
Nadine must learn to embrace the change in her friend which is causing them to drift apart. Nadine sees the dating of her brother as a betrayal. It’s growth, but not on Nadine’s part. And she can’t accept that her and Krista are no longer little girls (emotionally). She’s not ready to shed the preteen ‘skin’ she’s still living with, and the entire storyline gives us the painful confusion she’s experiencing. 
This is when she meets Krista as a child.
NADINE (V.O.) 
My childhood had become a raging dumpster fire, 
and I couldn&#8217;t take one more second of this 
intolerable, unliveable nightmare of a&#8230;
(beat)
And then, out of the clear blue, an angel appeared. 
She was dressed like a small, elderly gentleman. 
And her breath smelled of Sweetarts.
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That formed the basis of a years-long friendship. And as the old saying goes, misery loves company so Nadine found identity with Krista until Krista decided to push into adulthood leaving Nadine somewhat alone.
Nadine now feels even more isolated than she’s ever been and even the attempts by her mother to help don’t help.
This shock to the system that’s present in different forms in most high school films is what creates growth as Nadine begins to question the very nature of her life. She’s growing albeit painfully.
Nadine is having the same thoughts as Krista, but she’s resisting the change that’s on the horizon.
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NADINE (V.O.) 
He (Nick) works at Petland now. I should go 
in there and be like, excuse me, where are the beta fish? 
Also, could you put your penis inside me?
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(beat)
God. What if you actually did that? What if you 
lost your virginity in a Petland? I think it&#8217;d be kind of nice. 
All the little tropical fish watching. It&#8217;d be kind of spiritual.
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This, in part is what makes high school movies so compelling. The fear of growth, the push-pull to adulthood; standing on the edge of a cathartic experience and being scared silly about the outcome. It’s some of the most powerful drama you can write because it’s an exposed, raw nerve and pulls no punches.
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<div id="attachment_48267" style="width: 779px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-48267" class="wp-image-48267 " src="https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/mean-girls-14.jpg" alt="Creative Screenwriting Magazine " width="769" height="428" srcset="https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/mean-girls-14.jpg 980w, https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/mean-girls-14-150x84.jpg 150w, https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/mean-girls-14-250x139.jpg 250w, https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/mean-girls-14-768x428.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 769px) 100vw, 769px" />Main cast of Mean Girls. Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures</div>
<h3>Tribes</h3>
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These groups (cliques) popularized by The Breakfast Club are the “typical” ones which have remained basically the same forever, and form a social structure in any film or TV series. They are used for their effects on the main characters either by being accepted into one or rejected by one. Either result being potentially ultimately disastrous.
Being a reflection of real life where we tend to gravitate toward common interests for support and safety, the power of cliques (tribes) can’t be underestimated.
In Mean Girls, Cady (Lindsay Lohan) is warned not to join the mathletes &#8211; it’s social suicide, she’s told. She’d be embraced by that group (maybe) but rejected by others. Edge Of Seventeen has cliques, but Nadine is never successful in being part of one so she ends up with Mr. Bruner as her tribe of one &#8211; well, two &#8211; although he clearly is wary of her lack of peer socialization.
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<h3>Alienation</h3>
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Another powerful theme in any high school film (or TV show) is the terrible alienation felt by the characters. 
Glee utilizes this to solid effect in the first season as the Glee Club (geek tribe) members get Slushied by the ‘jocks’ on a daily basis. Bullying isn’t funny and is definitely a practice that shouldn’t occur but no school can really do away with it completely because of the cliques that form. Again, a microcosm of real life where people gravitate to shared interests and form relationships based on that mutuality.
Again, Nadine isn’t really in any clique which is also standard fare for these movies. She’s an outsider trying to rise above the nonsense she witnesses but it also creates a terribly alienated existence. When Krista finds a new relationship and Nadine can’t cope this allows the writer to show some pretty insightful and dramatic scenes of Nadine scrambling to find identity.
This all leads to eventual growth as the alienation she feels explodes and causes a breakdown. Really solid, if painful, drama.
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<h3>Rejection Of Values</h3>
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No teen in these movies apparently can like or tolerate their parents. Some scripts take pains to show what was and what is now. When we’re young we count on our parents. But that transition from preteen to teen is a rough one on parental and other relationships. Neither part of the equation knows how to handle it.
Nadine’s father died at a time in her life when she was vulnerable. There seems to be a consistent arc for characters like this who have been ‘betrayed’ by parents, friends, family (brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts) or society. This action forms a barrier to continued social development and causes the character to reject their foundational support which then extends to secondary tiers like different classmates, teachers, and other people.
You might think that Nadine is being overly-dramatic when she indicts and then rejects her friend Krista; but because of her severely limited social circle &#8211; Krista is her only real friend &#8211; she sees another person she loves abandoning her. Of course, we see this in all facets of life when one of our friends gets a significant other, and then doesn’t seem to have time for us.
This can also extend to other areas where an A-student suddenly begins failing or an athlete doesn’t show up for practices. In high school, the magnifying glass is focused so much more closely because there’s a set of rules specifically designed to promote achievement. People in general typically don’t watch you as much in college or in real life.
High school narrows the context so that a senior is being monitored by several sources and the failings, especially the scholastic or sports activities, set off alarms which then leads to some sort of confrontation.
In Edge Of Seventeen there isn’t this type of degradation of goals except in general as Nadine grows further and further away from her so-called normal life.
<fieldset><legend>Series Navigation</legend><a href="https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/what-makes-high-school-movies-work-part-2/" title="What Makes High School Movies Work? (Part 2) &gt;&gt;">What Makes High School Movies Work? (Part 2) &gt;&gt;</a></fieldset>

Breaking Down The Main Elements Of “The Substance”

What Makes High School Movies Work? (Part 2)

What Makes High School Movies Work? (Part 1)

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