It’s been a while since I saw a new horror film that genuinely shocked me. I would consider myself a bit of a nerd when it comes to the genre, so it’s rather difficult to phase me anymore. It’s long been a trend for horror movies to market themselves by saying that people walked out and even fainted during showings, but typically after seeing these movies, I can only roll my eyes at the thought of someone having such an extreme reaction to such a tame film. “The Substance” is a different story entirely. I believe that people will walk out, lose their lunch and yes, even faint, during the run time of this spectacularly disgusting flick, and I can’t even blame them.
‘The Substance’ was directed by Coralie Fargeat, a French director also known for her work on the 2017 feminist thriller “Revenge”, and it stars Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley.
The film concerns Elisabeth Sparkle, a fading Hollywood star who gets fired from her own aerobics show once she turns 50, an age that her studio executive, unsubtly named Harvey, insists is the end of the line for women. Rather than be relegated to the background of society, Elisabeth chooses to try an experimental drug called “The Substance”, which promises to create a younger, fresher, new and improved version of herself. The only rules are that she has to switch between her own body and this new body every seven days, with absolutely no exceptions. Sue, the name of her Substance alter-ego, takes Elisabeth’s old job on the aerobics show and seems poised for the kind of success and recognition that Elisabeth once enjoyed. However, when Elisabeth and Sue start to play fast and loose with the drug’s rules, they begin to face horrific and grotesque consequences that only escalate as the film goes on.
“The Substance” is unconcerned with realism entirely, and the cinematography reflects this. Every shot seems to be composed to disgust the viewer as much as possible, so even the “normal” parts of the movie are revolting. The colors are bright, the close-ups are bizarre and the camera treats bodies like hunks of meat. This movie plays around quite a bit with the idea of “the male gaze”, and it does so by really leaning into the objectification of women’s bodies to the point that I imagine there will be many debates about whether this film is commenting about this exploitation or is exploitative itself. There is a specific emphasis on food and eating throughout this movie, so I would recommend skipping that bag of popcorn for this one. Eating is portrayed as disgusting, messy and destructive. Elisabeth uses food as both a form of comfort but also as punishment for her body. This aspect of the film really stuck with me because it made me think about just how complex most women’s relationships with food really are and I think that one can definitely draw connections between Sue and Elisabeth’s dynamic and a binge/purge type eating disorder. “The Substance” is mainly focused on aging, but its themes can really be applied to any kind of body dysmorphia.
Demi Moore’s performance is a tour de force throughout the entire film and I really hope to see her in more horror movies in the future. She expertly lands both the heightened, dramatic moments of the movie, as well as the rare but essential moments of genuine vulnerability. I managed to relate to Elisabeth during many moments in the film, especially in one standout scene where Elisabeth’s body image issues get the better of her in a way that I imagine will feel all too real for so many people. I desperately wanted to reach through the screen and tell Elizabeth that she is gorgeous, that she doesn’t need to do this to herself, but I realized that I would only be playing into the problem by putting an emphasis on the fact that she is “still beautiful.” Demi Moore is stunning, of course, but even if she wasn’t, this wouldn’t be a fate that I would wish upon anyone.
Margaret Qualley is also fantastic, continuing her trend of being in some of my favorite “weird” movies. She perfectly embodies the young, hot, sinister character of Sue. I understood why getting to exist as her every other week would be a tempting offer. Dennis Quaid was similarly spot-on as Elisabeth and Sue’s creepy and overly enthusiastic boss, who helps represent ageism and misogyny in Hollywood.
In general, these characters exist more as archetypes than anything, which lends a fable or fairytale-esque quality to the movie. “The Substance” is about as subtle as a punch to the nose when it comes to depicting its themes, but I think this bluntness helps keep the film on track and makes its more bloody sections feel purposeful and deliberate. And although the message about aging and misogyny may seem quite simple, there is still a lot of complexity and messiness when it comes to the depiction of these themes in the movie. For instance, the viewer is still asked to delight in Sue’s young body and recoil from Elisabeth’s, deliberately making the camera another agent of ageism. Elisabeth is also not a passive victim of society. She is the main participant in her own destruction, and the film doesn’t shy away from showing the horrors that we choose to inflict on ourselves as women and people. Coralie Fargeat, 48, has talked about how the film reflects her own feelings about passing the age of 40, and these feelings are depicted in a way that feels real and raw. It’s not feeding the audience a straightforwardly “empowering” message. Instead, it bravely explores the uncomfortable and unspoken beliefs about women’s bodies that so many of us internalize despite our best efforts.
During its final thirty minutes, “The Substance” gets so gory that you can’t help but gawk at the screen and laugh out of pure shock. One audience member in my theater exclaimed to their partner, “That’s too much!” It feels like a complete descent into chaos and madness, a stunning display of everything that body horror can do. The practical effects and prosthetics are just magnificent to behold, and the wildness of it all is strangely liberating. Is it excessive? Yes, it certainly is. Is it too “too much”? I’d say so. I loved it anyway. Elevated horror has been in vogue for a while now, and while I certainly enjoy a stirring, subtle psychological horror, I have been craving a true, messy, dirty body horror for a while now. I like my blood by the buckets, you know? ‘The Substance’ harkens back to some of my favorite Cronenberg and Yuzna films, and I was definitely tempted to rise out of my seat and proclaim “Long Live the New Flesh!”
I suspect that this film will be incredibly divisive. Just looking at ‘Letterboxd,’ I noticed some reviewers calling it the worst movie that they’d ever seen. Honestly, I think it’s impressive when a movie can get such polarized responses. So, I suppose the question is, do I recommend “The Substance”? Will you like it? Well, first things first, I would definitely recommend it, partially because I think it’s a really interesting piece of art and partially because I get strange glee from having people watching absolutely bizarre horror films. As for whether you will like it, I think it depends on your propensity for body horror. Due to the film’s extreme nature, I think that it could be quite a shock to the system for anyone who has no interest in or previous experience with the genre. “The Substance” is a body horror’s body horror, with no holds barred. It’s not afraid to be a true genre film, without any concern for what’s considered “good taste” and approachable to general audiences. And you know what? I think that’s really beautiful.
