The Substance is a body horror masterpiece about womanhood
Theatrical Movie Review - Horror/Satire
As I finished watching Coralie Fargeat’s new body horror masterpiece, The Substance, I couldn’t help but ask myself the following questions. Why did I smile when the man at Walmart told me that I'd be prettier if I smiled? Why did the opinion of an absolute stranger make me change my behavior when I just wanted to buy my groceries in peace?
The film wastes no time laying out its thesis. Elisabeth Sparkle (Demi Moore) is an aging Hollywood starlet turned television aerobics instructor. However, when she turns fifty, her boss, Harvey (Dennis Quaid), takes her to lunch and fires her. At her lowest point, a young man approaches her and offers her access to a black-market drug that will allow her to access a better version of herself.
She calls the number and finds herself with a box full of syringes, tubes, liquid food, and a vial filled with a neon yellow liquid called The Substance. When Elisabeth injects herself, her back splits open, and Sue (Margaret Qualley) emerges. The rules going forward are clear - each entity gets seven days to live out in the world, and then they must switch. Anything that is taken cannot be restored. And most of all, the two are one. From there, the fight to see who will win is underway with some genuinely horrifying, not to mention darkly hilarious results.
Fargeat delivers a blistering denunciation of the way that Hollywood specifically and society generally look at youth and aging with regard to women. Elisabeth and Sue have a hatred of one another while needing one another at the same time. And through all of that, both are subject to the same objectifying gaze.
The performances in this are exquisite. Qualley is spectacular as the young, nubile Sue, just trying to make a name for herself in an industry where so many have a short shelf life. Quaid is hilarious and disgusting as the aptly named TV executive Harvey. But the undisputed star is Moore, who gives an absolutely stellar performance as Elisabeth. There is a scene where she is doing makeup in front of a mirror, which is one of the best things I’ve watched this year. This film is ridiculously demanding of its cast, and they step up at every turn.
The horror elements in this are some of the most ambitious I have ever seen. The sound design takes some already bonkers visuals and dials them up to an eleven, creating a visceral discomfort for the audience. This movie is not for the faint of heart. This is one that will stretch the constitution of even the most seasoned horror fan.
But as much as this movie wears its theme on its sleeve, The Substance will also likely spark a lot of discussion about those themes. Why do we feel okay commenting on people’s bodies? Why do we pit the young and the old against one another? And why do we smile when a stranger tells us to?
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Note: All images in this are responses to me about a tweet I made (and eventually deleted) about the film Miller’s Girl. I thought they made the point that the movie makes better than the actual images from the film. They were super hurtful, but it was a while ago, and I’m fine, I promise.
This review originally appeared in The Dominion Post on September 22, 2024.
Damn those tweets were brutal. I wish I wasn't so squinish about body horror because The Substance's story sounds amazing. Maybe I will attempt a watch ðŸ«