The Substance (2024)

​“The Substance” stars Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley, Dennis Quaid, Hugo Diego Garcia, Phillip Schurer, Joseph Balderrama, Tom Morton, and Robin Greer.  Released on September 20, 2024, the film has a celebrity using a black-market drug to make herself younger.

The film was written and directed by Coralie Fargeat, who’s known for directing the 2017 action thriller “Revenge”.  Everyone wants a piece of fame, but there’s no denying that there’s always a price to pay to achieve it.  Even if you do achieve it, there’s an even bigger price to pay to maintain it, especially when it involves your life.  It’s a tried-and-true tale about the consequences of popularity and fame that almost everyone seems to have forgotten recently, leading to their downfall or worse.  Unsurprisingly, one particular celebrity is no exception.  This sums up the latest addition to September’s House of Horrors, which depicts a woman’s rise and chaotic downfall in the industry caused by a mysterious serum.  From the trailers alone, it seemed to have been doing its job of warning people about the dangers of taking illegal drugs amid their popularity.  But does it also deliver on its chaotic premise regarding the story and direction, or are we better off staying sober?  Let’s find out.

The story centers on Elisabeth Sparkle (Moore), a fleeting celebrity and the main star of a popular aerobics television show.  On her 50th birthday, however, her popularity immediately faded when she was fired from the show due to her age.  What a way to celebrate a birthday: with a dose of ageism.  After being hospitalized from a car crash, Elisabeth was given a flash drive with the title “The Substance”, detailing an invention by a mysterious supplier.  The invention is a serum that can create a younger and “perfect” version of the user upon injection.  Elisabeth orders it and uses it on herself, creating a younger version of herself named Sue (Qualley).  As she ascends to new heights of fame and admiration as Sue, Elisabeth begins to ignore the serum’s requirements and misuse it, unknowingly giving herself frightening side effects that’ll cost her more than just her stardom. 

I didn’t think I would be able to watch “The Substance” despite the movie receiving great word of mouth.  Plus, I thought that its distributor, Mubi, was another streaming service, and it’s another movie that’s getting a limited theatrical run before going straight to its website.  You know, like how Apple TV+ is doing with their own original films.  As it turns out, it is a streaming service/production company that showcases its deep appreciation for cinema akin to A24.  It’s too bad that it costs money to become a member.  After watching the trailer a few times and knowing that my cinema is playing it, I figured I would give it a shot.  After all, it’s got body horror with a mix of absurdity and gross-out gore, which could either make or break the film depending on people’s expectations, including mine.  

Body horror has the benefits of providing gasp-inducing and sickly deranged moments to terrify audiences, but it’s obviously not for everyone.  Those with sensitive stomachs will not be able to survive more than ten minutes without puking their guts out from watching people’s bodies get deformed.  Fortunately, my stomach is made of steel when it comes to these movies.  I sometimes get squeamish whenever I see bits of gore, but not enough to vomit out my snacks.  So, you can say that I am slightly immune to gross-out content.  Unsurprisingly, “The Substance” is another example of the genre, offering plenty of insanity and wickedly disgusting grindhouse aesthetics that’ll have you steer clear of any suspicious drugs.  It delivered exactly what you expected from a body horror movie, but what really shocked me was how effective and nightmarishly kinetic it used those elements.

I rarely find a movie, let alone a body horror film, that leaves me shaken to the core after the credits roll.  The last time I felt actual discomfort was when I saw Robert Eggers’ “The Lighthouse” in 2019.  After that, I was concerned that I might never get to recapture that similar feeling again.  That is until I saw “The Substance”, the perfect blend of satire, body horror, and grindhouse-style madness that’ll remain stuck in my head far longer than anticipated.  Most of the time, horror movies that receive this type of praise tend to set people up for failure when they see it for themselves, not living up to the expectations set by those who saw it earlier.  Thankfully, “The Substance” didn’t fall into that crowd, as it managed to meet and even surpass my expectations of an absurdly chaotic, seductive, and unsettling one-of-a-kind experience.

While the film succeeds in its genre elements, the storytelling is what glued them together.  Guided by Coralie Fargeat, “The Substance” functions as a cautionary tale of Elisabeth’s obsession with youth and beauty in a Hollywood-esque world where celebrities’ careers are affected by ageism and beauty standards.  Her desire to remain young and gorgeous leads her into a downward spiral of addiction, abuse, and temptation that assumes control of her actions, resulting in her becoming the thing she fears the most.  It’s a tried-and-true tale illustrating the consequences of not following the guidelines and refusing to embrace what you already have.  However, Fargeat’s screenplay provided a satirically unique approach to the topic, resembling and mildly poking fun at the functionalities of beauty standards with stellar results.

Fortunately, it retained the nightmarish horror and realism amid its satirical, kinetic vibe, mainly due to Fargeat’s direction.  This was my first experience with her filmmaking style, as I hadn’t watched her debut film, “Revenge”, before watching “The Substance”.  After watching the movie, I may have to find the right time to do so.  Fargeat’s gonzo and horrifically violent style fit perfectly with her take on body horror and symbolism, offering a series of distorted, dream-like scenarios that were irresistibly surreal and nerve-wracking.  The movie was surprisingly over two hours long, but the constant build-up to Elisabeth’s downfall and shockingly audacious imagery helped maintain its pacing until the very end.  The best example of the latter was the movie’s third act, where things start to get very hectic and bloody for the right reasons.  Her approach to the presentation, combined wonderfully with Benjamin Kracun’s cinematography and sublime sound editing, makes Fargeat a worthy addition to a lineup of indie horror filmmakers who fully understand the genre. 

The film also benefited enormously from its cast, mainly the main leads, who elevated its sickly compelling concept through their performances.  Demi Moore has been falling off the grid with her waning star power following the mid-1990s.  However, she has been maintaining some interest from her fans through her recent smaller roles, even though most of her projects didn’t catch everyone’s attention.  Now, Moore is back in full swing with a starring role that may be seen as a career comeback for her.  After witnessing her performance, I can understand why.  Demi Moore was an absolute beast in capturing Elisabeth’s psychological breakdown and descent into addiction and insanity.  It’s unnerving, frightening, and ultimately compelling.  Here’s hoping it’ll mean big things to come for Moore’s career.  Margaret Qualley was also a fantastic standout regarding her career-best performance as Sue, reflecting her raw and seductive personality, and I do mean “seductive”.  After viewing this and “Drive-Away Dolls”, I’ll gladly point out that Qualley is another young actress worth watching.  I was also quite surprised at Dennis Quaid’s portrayal of Harvey, a sleazy yet charismatic businessman leading Sue to fame.  It’s over-the-top and cheesy, but it’s in a way that fits the movie’s bonkers tone and absurd satire instead of being out of place.

The movie also offered plenty of practical effects that heightened the experience rather than degraded it.  Despite a couple of instances of CGI, the practical effects sublimely created a level of discomfort and grossness that resembles a grindhouse exploitation film.  The make-up designs and prosthetics effectively emphasized the dangers and horrors of exceeding beauty standards, especially in the third act.  Without spoiling anything, the prosthetic team deserves a huge raise for what they created.  I was also really impressed with the film’s musical score by Benjamin Stefanski, aka “Raffertie”.  Its dubstep/electronic music succeeded in matching its kinetically absurd and horror vibes without overpowering its narrative gravitas.

Overall, “The Substance” is a body horror drug that’s highly addictive and absurdly bonkers without the concerning side effects.  Regarding its topic, it’s certainly not for everyone due to its squeamish sequences, and its two-hour-plus runtime can be a bit too much for people with weak stomachs to handle.  However, those willing to brave through those mild setbacks will be treated with a cautionary and satirically insane roller coaster that balances its tragic themes with a horrifically fun aesthetic.  Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley delivered their career-best performances as a celebrity on the brink of self-destruction.  But the real star is Coralie Fargeat, whose energetic and sickly compelling presentation and well-written screenplay should catapult her into indie horror stardom.  The movie, which also benefitted from its fantastic practical effects and riveting score, is body horror at its finest, making it one of the best, if not the best, horror movies of the year.  For fans of the genre, this drug is definitely worth trying out.

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