The Substance, a review

Mostly spoiler-free, but also... not.

Earlier this year I downloaded Demi Moore’s memoir, Inside Out, on audio using the Libby app. I got to hear the icon herself softly speak into my ear as she broke down the highest highs and the lowest lows of her life and career. A transformational experience, truly.

This isn’t a book review, though I do recommend everybody read it… Immediately! I’m not playing. Go out and get yourself a copy! I bring this book up to say that reading Demi’s memoir certified me as an admirer of hers. An enthusiast, really. Any interview she does, I am the first one to watch. Any press tour look she delivers upon, I am quick to repost. As soon as I returned the audiobook to the Libby app: The Substance, written and directed by Coralie Fargeat, was added to my Letterboxd watchlist. I was going to be seated for mother regardless.

I open with that context to say: I’m not someone who’s usually seated for any type of body horror, like, ever. I don’t get squeamish seeing blood and guts, that’s not my problem - I love the horror genre. Body horror just gives me a specific type of ick that I struggle putting my finger on explaining. It’s not a logical or critical issue, it just doesn’t tend to be my cup of tea. So, I grew more concerned the more I learned about this film. Would I… like it? I wasn’t so sure! The trailer did appeal to my tastes aesthetically, so… it still remained on my radar up until its wide release. The fact I heard good things became the cherry on top, I was (reluctantly) sold on it.

I pre-ordered my tickets as soon as I saw it playing at my local movie theater. What I didn’t expect was for this movie to wind up quite easily in my top 3 of 2024 so far! That’s not to say it’s perfect, but this stuck with me in a way that I just had to delve into longer form thoughts. It’s many things, but if I had to come up with one major, all-encompassing adjective to use, it’d be… visceral. I can’t hold in my thoughts or else I will literally combust.

A Disclaimer: I usually try to see every movie I write about at least twice before I write a full-length “review,” however I did not get the chance to do so with The Substance. I work full-time on top of being a full-time student - allotting what winds up being a 3-hour timeslot in my schedule is an uphill battle to say the least. Plus, I wanted to get my thoughts out sooner rather than later in hopes the movie would still be mostly fresh in my mind. Having said that, if I slip up on some details, please go eeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaasssyyy on meeee. Word to Adele.

I’ll try to refrain from spoiling what I consider to be major plot points. I will give a general overview synopsis, but not a plot beat-for-beat recap. I intend for this to be a recommendation piece for those who are considering seeing it but are unsure rather than a plot breakdown. I will discuss the general plot details and also give some warnings for those who are like me, not usually body-horror girlies. If you want to go in COMPLETELY blind, I’d say now is the time to exit out of this page. I’ll point you to my Letterboxd review for a completely spoiler-free, mostly glowing recommendation. Do I love everything about the script? Maybe not, but I respect it for its commitment to its theme. Everything it set out to do, it successfully conveyed. I’d say at the expense of subtlety, but not everything is TRYING to be subtle, least of all this film.

A QUICK…ish PLOT SET-UP. If you are totally unaware about what this film is, I’d be surprised! You have clicked onto this review and have gotten this far in reading my thoughts without knowing any context whatsoever? That’s crazy. Anyways, The Substance is a satirical body horror film that follows Elisabeth Sparkle (my Queen, played by my real-life queen Demi Moore) a TV-and-film star who’s actively being aged out by the patriarchal executives of her television show. She gets fired from her show, in no uncertain terms due to her age. After getting in an accident that lands her in the hospital, she’s mysteriously given a flash-drive attaching a video promoting “The Substance” - a serum that creates a younger, “better” version of yourself, who you have to switch places with every seven days. One will remain comatose, while the other roams free, then they have to switch. Unfortunately, she ends up taking the substance. Although two beings, they are One. The younger version - Sue - hatches out of Elisabeth’s body. They share one mind, but live individual lives. “Sue” gets the job that Elisabeth had previously lost and ascends to stardom, seemingly overnight. She is treated differently by everyone she encounters. The more time spent as Sue, the less she wants to go back to being Elisabeth. She becomes addicted to the substance and what it gives her. When she does switch after abusing the substance, her body as Elisabeth starts to deteriorate in different ways - more drastically the more time she spends as Sue over the limit. That might be giving away too much, but I did warn you I wouldn’t be completely spoiler-free!

THE THEME. Everything in this movie is very symbolic, if you haven’t caught that already. The dialogue, the visual storytelling. Every frame, every shot, everything going on is a part of the message. The very opening scene of the film, before dialogue is said, you get an understanding of The Point through a visual medium alone. Women over the age of 50 (50 is already pushing it) aren’t “palatable” to people on a wide scale. The hoops women jump through to present as young as possible, to fit in a specific box that people in this patriarchal society will approve of. On that matter, the casting of Demi Moore is not lost on me. The character in this narrative can be seen as a mirror of Demi. Back in the early 2000s, she was already fighting a battle against ageism. She was being judged in tabloids for how she presented while at her age, for… anything she did, actually. Mind you, back in the early 2000s she was only just entering her 40s. Now she is 61. She’s experienced how the industry treats successful women after their patriarchally imposed “expiration date” better than anybody. She’s seen how the industry moves towards women. I can imagine getting to play this part carries a sense of catharsis for her, and it might play into why her performance feels all the more personal.

The idea of there being a deadline on women in the industry is a concept this film is not shy in exploring. The beauty standards placed on women that causes them to do drastic things is the major idea showcased in the last 20 minutes. Beforehand, the way people speak to Elisabeth on the street, how her neighbors talk to her in comparison to how they talked to Sue. Sometimes in very passive aggressive ways, and others… near violent! There are moments that are exaggerated, it is a satire, after all, but ageism impacts all women in a way it doesn’t necessarily impact men: another bit of commentary this film effectively conveys from quite early on. See: the men, older than Elisabeth, being the ones to make the decision to terminate her position on her birthday. These men, once again, older than Elisabeth, are the most antagonistic and aggressive in their vocal disgust towards her for not being 30 anymore.

(Pictured Above: Demi Moore and Pilaf, source: W Magazine, James Devaney/GC Images/Getty Images)

THE ACTING. What makes this film work, above all else, is Demi Moore’s committed performance as Elisabeth Sparkle. I love this diva so bad. She has an immediately magnetic energy that invests you in her journey as soon as you meet her. As she becomes haunted by what is literally herself - when she can’t leave the house without feeling a deep sense of shame, when she sabotages Sue by eating when she’s not supposed to, leaving messes in her living room and kitchen - there’s such a consistent grounding and human force in what can otherwise become over-the-top. To be sure, she rises to the occasion in the extreme moments as well, but the strong control she has over her character is what makes the film work in the long run. Margaret Qualley as Sue is mesmerizing in this as well. It’s impossible to look away when she is on screen, she has the true essence of a star.

THE PRODUCTION OF IT ALL. The visual design of everything is just marvelous. The costuming is stunning, everything the girls wore… just so very fab. I love Demi’s coat fashion in this. Very strong coat game from Demi. Every single thing Margaret had on as well. The styling all around couldn’t have been better. Everything on screen was either stunning or so insane that it matched the energy of what was going on to a scientific degree. I also have nowhere else to fit this in, but for a 2 hour and 20-minute runtime, this never took a second to slog. This was consistently captivating; no time was wasted.

I have not seen Revenge yet, though it has been on my list for a while now, but Coralie Fargeat’s direction of this film has created a fan out of me. She knew what she was doing every second of the runtime, and she conveyed everything with such a boldness. 10s where 10s are due.

HOW GORY IS IT, EXACTLY? As I have made clear before, I do not enjoy body horror. I can’t explain why. I’m not a squeamish person who just can’t stand the sight of blood. It might just be a psychological thing. Slasher movies have blood, guts, gore, but it isn’t always the sole purpose of a slasher movie to focus on the bodily trauma being done to a person… there’s a difference in spirit. Maybe these distinctions don’t actually make sense, maybe to an outsider looking in there is no distinction to be made, but my tolerance for body horror isn’t quite as high as my tolerance for your run-of-the-mill horror movie. I’m going to make some claims about how I feel about the body horror element of The Substance, but I want to make clear that I’m not implying that they are unique to it… I couldn’t do that if I tried, because I tend to avoid all other movies in this sub-genre. My take is just that everything on screen in this movie serves a purpose. The gross-out aspects on display here aren’t too egregious for comfort. A lot of the more extreme body horror moments become so over-the-top, especially in the third act, that it made me feel less discomfort towards what I was watching. I cringed on a few occasions. I can imagine why others who don’t like horror would be grossed out by the entire thing, but I think the descent into total hysteria worked in its favor. By the last shot, my theater could not believe what they were watching… but we were all having a collectively FUN time with it! I love fun. If you can’t handle gore or body horror whatsoever, it won’t be the film for you… but if you can get past it, you might end up having some fun with even those elements.

IN CONCLUSION… I feel like I lost the plot somewhere in this review. I hope you got something out of my scatter-brained thoughts on The Substance. If you haven’t seen it yet, I hope I’ve helped you decide whether or not you want to! I recommend it! Unless you think you’d hate it. You probably have enough information to make a judgment call. If you like bright colors, on-the-nose commentary, occasionally campy horror, polarizing third acts and Demi Moore, and you also have 3 hours to spare in your week… see it! Immediately! Pick up Demi Moore’s memoir while you’re at it! If none of that appeals to you… perhaps, it can wait for streaming.

The Substance gets 4 not j*ss points out of 5 not j*ss points. I think Demi Moore should EGOT.