Directed and written by: Coralie Fargeat
Starring: Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley, and Dennis Quaid
Runtime: 141 minutes
Moore and Qualley are the perfect ingredients for ‘The Substance’, Fargeat’s wild body horror social commentary
“It changed my life.”
Elisabeth Sparkle (Demi Moore) is a successful, Oscar-winning actress and proudly has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. These days, she shines on the small screen as a fitness instructor for a television show that looks like a throwback to the 1980s and 1990s, the “:20 Minute Workout” meets “Getting Fit with Denise Austin”. However, her exercise gig suffers a career-ending injury when her misogynistic boss, Harvey (Dennis Quaid), fires her due to her age and on her 50th birthday to boot.
Later that day, feeling blue and the effects of Father Time, someone introduces The Substance, a fountain-of-youth solution, to Elisabeth and utters the aforementioned quote. After watching director/writer Coralie Fargeat’s (“The Revenge” (2017)) “The Substance”, a wild and gruesome mad-scientist flick, it might change your life too.
“The Substance” is a shocking experience that excels by riding along a few vital parallel tracks.
Fargeat’s film is a cautionary tale about trusting a stranger/product/system without proper vetting, but desperate times call for desperate measures. Elisabeth has digested the impossible beauty standards that society has placed on women for decades (or possibly forever), and she suffers the consequences of these unfair ideals through her brand-new unemployment.
How far is she willing to go to change the narrative?
Far enough to inject a mysterious green liquid with a needle that could double as an 11-century steel lance. Well, it’s not that large, but Elisabeth’s strange journey to secure The Substance in a questionable Los Angeles neighborhood builds plenty of tension with what-will-happen-next vibes when she eventually presses the needle’s tip on her skin.
That scene and the rest of the 141-minute movie (which flew by in no time) clearly and effectively convey the obsession and desire for eternal youth and surface-level splendor.
From this perspective, “The Substance” is an important film, not just a random horror movie.
To communicate her point, Fargeat and a stellar special effects team gorge on gore, which will delight horror fans and force others to believe that the apocalypse has begun. This movie is not for the squeamish, but covering one’s eyes is always an option. This critic is not a special effects expert when deciphering CGI versus practical effects. Still, the effects look practical – similar to John Carpenter’s “The Thing” (1982) – and Margaret Qualley (who becomes Elisabeth’s 20-something self after Demi’s Elisabeth injects the green goo) remarked during the September 5th Toronto International Film Festival screening that she indeed donned practical effects on her person.
Demi does, as well.
Both Demi and Margaret properly garner Elisabeth’s stress and desperation to maintain everlasting gorgeous looks to keep up with the culture’s expectations and embrace the benefits, including satisfying one’s lust and pursuing fame, which Sue (Qualley) can accomplish by simply walking into a room.
Of course, everything has a price, but in this case, Elisabeth and Sue need to follow The Substance’s rules. See also “Gremlins” (1984). You know that drill from that 80s classic. “Don’t get them wet. Don’t feed them after midnight.”
No, Elisabeth and Sue can swim and eat at Denny’s at 1 a.m., but other specifics must be followed. Dear Elisabeth and Sue: For the love of God, please follow the rules!
“The Substance” certainly breaks conventions through its wonderfully horrific plot thread, although the film itself took a similar awards’ turn as Julia Ducournau’s “Titane” (2021).
“Titane”, a twisted body horror picture, won the Cannes 2021 Palme d’Or, and Fargeat won the Cannes 2024 Best Screenplay honors.
Ducournau’s vision is a dark, sicko journey that resembles David Cronenberg’s gloomier work, while “The Substance” takes a somewhat campy approach while also divulging the most disturbing images that I’ve seen this year.
Meanwhile, the film’s Demi-Margaret dynamic duo is an explosive combination where Elisabeth and Sue need to cooperate to maintain harmony, and Fargeat features the women as physically vulnerable, sexualized, and under harmful distress. For my money, Elisabeth is Moore’s most memorable role, which tops her turns in “Ghost” (1990) and “Disclosure” (1994), and Qualley – who has chosen some terrific jobs, like “Novitiate” (2017) and “Kinds of Kindness” (2024) - bends herself into pretzels to communicate that Sue is the object of the male gaze.
As gory as some of Demi and Margaret’s moments are, Dennis’ Harvey delivers one of the most nauseating scenes over a contentious lunch.
For those hungry for something unexpected, “The Substance” is your film, especially if you can embrace the gore or, for more delicate audiences, negotiate with it. However, at its core, Fargeat holds up a maddening mirror to our current state of affairs, and Moore and Qualley are the perfect ingredients for “The Substance”, both inside and out.
Jeff’s ranking
3.5/4 stars
