To call Coralie Fargeat’s The Substance bat**** crazy would be completely accurate if not a bit of an understatement. The director’s sophomore feature film is a riptide of desire, chaos, the vain reality of Hollywood, and outwardly grotesque body horror. It’s also one of the most shocking and impactful genre films of 2024, spearheaded by a pair of unflinching performances.
The Substance concerns aging starlet Elisabeth Sparkle (Demi Moore), an aerobics instructor for a network TV show in ’80s-era Hollywood. Upon being fired in favor of a younger, prettier personality, Elisabeth happens across a black-market drug called The Substance. The drug is a cell-replicating serum that creates a perfect “other,” though both versions of the user are still one. Disheartened by her age and declining beauty—and subsequently her diminishing career—Elisabeth injects herself with The Substance and creates Sue (Margaret Qualley).
Courtesy of Mubi
Naturally, this morbid tale of self-reflection and hedonism has rules that must be broken for the story and its protagonist to spiral. In this case, each “self” produced by the illicit drug can only remain active for a week at a time before switching back to the other, and the active version must inject itself with spinal fluid from the dormant one to “stabilize.” When Sue decides to bend the rules to flaunt her youthful exuberance and looks for longer periods, The Substance bites back.
This Cronenberg-esque ruleset melds with Lynchian anarchy to craft an exhilarating probe of the female psyche, particularly of the rich and famous. The Substance does this primarily on the surface, through interactions between Elisabeth/Sue and the world around her: a dressed-up, glitzy, and occasionally silly version of Hollywood. Everybody patronizes Elisabeth and fawns after the brazen and attractive Sue, most of all Harvey (Dennis Quaid), the network head who gives Elisabeth the boot.
Courtesy of Mubi
There are moments where the movie’s themes could demand a deeper level of exploration, but The Substance really is about the proverbial eye of the beholder, and its actions tell the story and expand on its themes well enough on their own. The more Elisabeth slips into a jealous frenzy and Sue indulges in the luxury of youth at Elisabeth’s expense, we plainly see the effects of an environment that values image above all and the consequences of vanity.
The Substance captures these moments within a striking style, occasionally employing extreme close-ups of uncomfortable features or disgusting organisms, and at times focusing on nearly every crevice of the female body with a glammed-up commercial aesthetic. The audio design in these scenes is equally excellent. This sound and cinematographic dichotomy does an excellent job of supporting the action in exploring the movie’s themes.
Speaking of the cinematography, Benjamin Kracun’s camerawork is electric all the way through, which aids the movie’s frenetic pacing tremendously. There is an argument to be made regarding the film’s final act, a popular point of discussion and critique. It serves to provide a clever subtext that shall not be mentioned to avoid spoilers, but it may not have been completely necessary in hindsight, despite featuring the film’s most breathtaking and outlandish sequence.
Courtesy of Mubi
Of course, the most discussed factor of The Substance is the insanity and body horror, and there is certainly plenty of it. It starts tame and gradually devolves into the realms of monstrosity, and Fargeat includes many vile effects not intended for the squeamish. The Substance will undoubtedly leave you gasping, squirming, and saying, “What the **** just happened?” Much credit is due to the entire effects department for seemingly achieving much of this naturally and ensuring that the computer-generated terrors appear seamless.
Finally, Moore and Qualley are both fantastic in slightly different ways, particularly Moore, who delivers her finest performance in many years. Her descent into green-eyed madness is volatile and compelling, and Qualley acts as the perfect foil, carrying an air of confidence befitting a commercially appealing up-and-coming star. The Substance contains plenty of complexity amidst the gore and depravity if you only dare to look for it. Regardless, it is a feverishly bold thrill ride that works on many levels, and would understandably go down as 2024’s most shocking mainstream title if nothing else dethrones it.
The Substance is now playing in theaters nationwide.
Missed any our latest reviews? Read them under Reviews & Insights now!
Very excited for this one.
Great review sounds interesting and exciting.
Kelly and I are going to see The Substances tomorrow.
This looks really interesting!
This has been getting a lot of Oscar talk. It’s on my list.
I been wanting to see this since I saw the trailer and when you said it was kinda disturbing and gross but in a good way I really wanted to check it out especially being a fan of horror and the terrifier
There’s no way anything in the near future is going to match this grotesque masterwork. Fucking scarred me in the best way. The beginning montage of her star getting laid could be nominated for an Oscar for short film if it was released as such I’d argue. What a beast of a film this was. I don’t think we’re going to get anything on its level for years to come. Instant cult hit.
Way way way over the top body horror film. Some very cringey moments had me looking away, especially any scene involving needles!!!! Film looks great- great cinematography and set decoration. Unfortunately, the film completely goes off the rails at the end. Great makeup work as well. 2.5 of 4 stars
Wow – that was intense…There was some good there but I also thought they overdid things in some places. Grade B
Absolutely loved this movie and review. On point and accurate!
Slight spoiler alert here: I was prepared to hate this but i mostly thought it was very good — the creation of the plasticky world where practically everything is a fake meta-version of what it once was is strongly conveyed in both the central character but also in the entire Hollywood and entertainment machine. The gore stuff simply went on too long — first, an endless battle between Elisabeth and Sue, and then the finale with Monstro, but the final minute is a coup. Quite funny, quite interesting, quite recommended!
On my list to see this weekend. Awesome review.