When I first heard about The Substance with Demi Moore I knew I was going to get something completely different, after all she haven't had any hits in the last 10 years or so. It's not your typical Hollywood fare, it's a grotesque, in your face look at the aging, fame and the absolute crazy lengths people will go to stay relevant. A body horror spectacle, part social media comment, part nightmare and simply unforgettable.
The movie is about Elisabeth Sparkle played by Demi Moore, a 50 year old fitness show host on the verge of getting kicked from Hollywood so she had to do something to stay relevant, this gets her going to the extreme, it was all in for her. Her boss Harvey, played by Dennis Quaid, a sleazy TV executive decides she's too old to keep her spot and as a result, Elisabeth instead finds a bizarrely efficient solution to her age problem involving a mysterious drug called "The Substance" exactly in the most ungraceful possible way, this is not your run of the mill anti aging treatment, put a mask on and wake up younger type, it creates a younger version of herself called Sue, played by Margaret Qualley, basically a surrogate, reminds me of the Bruce Wills movie Surrogates (2009) to be exact.
- IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt17526714/
- Platform: MUBI
Rottentomatoes Rating
The plot is wild, Elisabeth and Sue have to switch places every seven days and in effect one of them has to be put into storage while the other lives her life. There are strict rules to this not so traditional, becoming younger start, Sue has to inject Elisabeth's original body with daily doses and they must swap exactly every seven days, so its just obvious everything will go to hell at some point when you have to be so strict, and things go completely off the rails pretty quickly.
There's nothing wrong with Demi Moore's performance, in fact they both Demi and Margaret did an exceptional job playing their roles, in my opinion probably Demi Moore best performance ever but I'm not from when she made other movies so its just me. Elisabeth is broken to be hones, she is so vulnerable you can’t ignore it and I think there’s this absolutely nuts scene where she’s putting on makeup and getting ready for a date and she’s becoming more and more frustrated with her appearance, but this has nothing to do with looks, it seems that she hates herself to the core. The woman looks amazing but you could feel her self hatred on the screen, makes you think it is so precise, capture of an aging woman’s internal struggle in an industry where youth is the most prized commodity that it’s almost painful to watch.
Margaret Qualley is as intense as Moore as Sue,s not just that Elisabeth is younger, she’s a completely different character, its evident that she has way more ambition and a bloodthirsty lust for staying in the limelight. Qualley is magnetic as Sue, both at once seductive and terrifying, at the end the relationship between the two versions of the same person is terribly complex and disturbing, you might think they just cant coexist together.
Definitely a love it or hate it kind of movie, with some people who get too blown away by its audacity, others consider it too grotesque to handle, while I don't, yes might be a bit strange and creepy at times but not to the point makes you sick. It cant be denied that this movie takes a different point of view on how to become and stay young, its bold approach to body horror and social commentary, but I know this is not for everyone, if you’re a ewwee person then you might want to skip this one.
I consider this movie a masterpiece of controlled chaos, like a perfectly constructed time bomb. Director Coralie Fargeat has made something that is a all in one package, a critique of Hollywood's treatment of women, body horror nightmare and dark comedy. The visual style is incredible and every shot feels like it’s been carefully crafted, but also really uncomfortable and beautiful
This is not your classic horror movie body transformation, in fact its a separate body but it's Elisabeth's original body that breaks down completely in horrifying ways as a result of Sue's obsession with keeping her youth, the drama ends so over the top that it’s almost funny, but there’s a deep sadness lurking in the grotesque scenery.
The Substance is so unique because it uses body horror as a metaphor for the pressures of society, this is not just a movie about a magical youth drug but about how women are forever being made to re invent themselves, how they are forever being forced to stay young and to be perfect, all this to keep a place within society, probably one of the most extreme logical conclusion of the concept of self improvement, and so shows how these expectations can be so destructive.
I got to admit that the makeup and practical effects will make your skin crawl, from what I could find online about the movie the effects of the body horror is practical effects that look horribly real, there’s very little CGI here, very well crafted kind of old school techniques.
This is more than a movie, it’s an experience at the same time for them an experiment on how horror movies can change a bit to be less gory but steel make you twist in your seat from the horrifying visuals. It’s the sort of film with scenes that even after you leave the theater keep hammering down the same horrifying images. If you’re looking for something completely different, something that’s going to shock you, make you laugh and maybe make you sick, The Substance is definitely worth your time.
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