The Substance (2024)

Director (and writer): Coralie Fargeat

Cast: Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley, Dennis Quaid

A fading celebrity takes a black-market drug: a cell-replicating substance that temporarily creates a younger, better version of herself. – IMDB

Body horror is an interesting subgenre. While its supposed to explore the physical horror of deformation and transformation, it also sometimes easily falls into a world of inconsistency especially when facing how far the actual stomach-churning disgusting horror it can get to. If anything, there are very few body horrors that manage to deliver it to its full extent in recent years. The Substance delivers the body horror subgenre in spades as it embraces a story that while takes some familiar turns, also takes some unexpected ones.

While we’re not about spoilers here, the story is essentially split up in three acts of the three characters that the transformations at different levels we’re about to encounter. The story revolves around an aging fitness guru Elisabeth Sparkle when she loses her job for the studio to find someone younger to replace her with something more fresh when she is introduced to The Substance, a black market drug which births a younger second her. The rules of the drugs are exact and the dealer and users are strictly on a number basis and not on a name basis. The procedure itself is presented cold, much like the process of getting the drug and refills are equally demeaning. However, it feels like this is the sacrifice of bending down to get something she desires in return.

As with anything with rules, they are only meant to be broken and this is where the story heads expectedly but what director and writer Coralie Fargeat does is to deliver the unexpected not in the general path but in the details which highlights the lengths and struggles aging and beauty standards brings in this cruel world that makes her spiral. At the depth of it, it uses the world of fitness celebrities and aging as a take on the cruel beauty standards and the diminishing value it puts on its main character. The strength of the film lies in Elisabeth Sparkle’s character played brilliantly by Demi Moore, a role that fits her incredibly well. Demi Moore’s Elisabeth Sparkle builds a love-hate relationship with both herself and her second self, Sue (Margaret Qualley) as she spirals down as she loses the confidence, starts to doubt her beauty and shuts herself off from the world. The spiral that Demi Moore takes is not so much horrific as it is dreadful as her transformation is one that falls out of her control as the two loathe each other’s existence even if they are meant to be one.

Of course, a film like this can’t be without her second self Sue played well by Margaret Qualley who plays a shallow character as this new self replaces Elisabeth but also despises her “alpha”. The two only crossing paths while the other is unconscious and she also falls through a path of expected outcomes of wanting to be the alpha which has its expected consequences. Sue’s story is shallow as its meant to be as it dives into a youth thrown in fame and beauty and becoming full of herself that she wants to be the only one in the world. While its not a deep role and more expected, it does make a lot of sense for her character.

At the same time, Dennis Quaid does an exceptional job in a rather unexpected role for him as he plays the producer that is literally in your face all the time. The camera work makes sure that his disgusting actions and words are all over the top to emphasize his representation of his push for those beauty standards and the money that it brings in. Also highlighting a great point that as important as this man believes himself to be, class really can’t be bought. Its a pretty unique role for Dennis Quaid’s acting career.

While horror and body horror specifically doesn’t normally associate with a lot of depth (at least in my shallow experience), The Substance delivers some great character transformations from both a physical and psychological element. Demi Moore delivers a great performance and Coralie Fargeat shows that she is a director with a great vision and voice. The story has some expected plot points but also goes down some extreme cinema especially in its third act. I measure body horror by how much queasiness it can make me fell and for myself, that third act really did it. Its been a while, probably since my viewing of Raw a few years ago from another French director that I’ve felt this way and the first time in 20 years that I’ve taken off my headphones to not listen to the disgusting sound effects.

There is a sad reality of beauty standards and its sacrifices wrapped up in this film and a depth in story and performances that I wasn’t expected and I do love to be surprised. I might not be revisiting The Substance because of its final act and my lack of desire to throw up since thinking about it now still makes me nauseous but its a film well worth watching.