Review of The Substance
The Substance (2024) Dir. Coralie Fargeat
The Substance is director Coralie Fargeat's sophomore film and after the success of Revenge (2017) she sets her sights on tackling beauty standards and Hollywood industry in a very brutalist way. It is a remarkably unique body horror from the outset, and one which reflects the vast lengths people go to in order to keep their beauty and fame. And it doesn't shy to giving us the grossest entertainment possible along the way.
The film tells the cautionary tale of Elisabeth Sparkle (Demi Moore), a washed-up celebrity who turns to the mysterious 'substance' to try reliving her glory days - but by doing so, she goes through a sadistic living nightmare, as a younger version of herself (Margaret Qualley) splits from her body.
Body horror is this film's most interesting draw. With a mix of practical and CGI it manages to pull off some beautifully gory scenes that will make even the strongest willed people's jaw drop. Furthermore, it gets increasingly bonkers throughout and just when you think you have seen it all, something else makes us question how Fargeat is getting away with putting this on screen.
But that itself is only one small element of what makes this film so disgusting. Its sound design and camera work makes the watcher feel unnerved and uncomfortable, and by using ultra close-ups and exaggerated pleonastic sounds it delivers a truly horrific experience.
The performances from Demi Moore and Margret Qualley are some career bests too. Moore is heartbreaking as she descends a slippery slope, and even when it takes a turn into more surrealist territory, she still provides the emotional heart. Qualley solidifies herself again as a rising star, proving she can go toe to toe with career veterans like Moore. And she accomplishes this with an innocently sinister portrayal of her character Sue, but make her empathetic too.
Sadly, the final act did lose me. Without spoilers, something happens towards the end of the film I think completely derails the movie's tone. Until this point I felt the movie had a sincere heart to it - and even though it was one of the craziest movies I have ever seen, the message it conveyed was important.
But the ending feels like it abandons its sincerity in favour of shock factor. It’s especially disappointing because there were so many natural endings it could have taken without going to the absolute full extreme. While I understand the reason they did it, it doesn't gel well with the rest.
The Substance's themes hoewever are entirely relevant in today's society. Plastic surgery, Ozempic misuse and extreme surgeries are on the rise. And this film goes from one extreme to another to display the true horrors this can cause. By the end, it provides an interestingly unique experience and it very much feels like the film industry just doesn’t make too many films like this anymore, so I encourage all to support it.
★★★★
4 / 5
Jacob Holmes
