Writer-director Coralie Fargeat, whose latest film The Substance has become one of the highest-rated horror releases of the year on Letterboxd, shares the iconic films that shaped her storytelling. (Spoiler warning.)

Fargeat’s ion for genres outside reality—from body horror to science fiction—brought depth to her own monster creation in The Substance. “I wanted a monster with a monstrous appearance, but for which we’re going to have so much empathy,” she explains.

Fargeat’s influences are iconic and diverse: she recalls the tender empathy of The Elephant Man, the visceral metamorphosis in The Fly, and the fearsome transformations in The Thing. Each, in its own way, inspired her vision. “The freak figure really talks to our humanity,” she says, highlighting how these influences helped her explore themes of fear, love and judgment.

Watch the full video interview to discover how films like Carrie, The Shining and even Star Wars fed Fargeat’s imagination and vision for The Substance.