The Substance Review – A true treat for horror fans, but a questionable execution of its aim

Written by Julia Hargitai

Demi Moore shines in Coralie Fargeat's new gory satire as a Hollywood actress whose professional career is questioned due to her ageing body, and who is offered a new, unapproved medical procedure that alters her life for the worse.

Moore plays Elisabeth Sparkle, a Hollywood superstar who stars in a home fitness TV show reminiscent of the 1980s VHS tapes in our mothers’ and grandmothers’ movie cabinets. Until, one day, she finds the ladies washroom out of order. Instead, she detours into a male lavatory, where in true film fashion she overhears that she is being forced into retirement by her producer because her middle-aged body is no longer ‘sellable’. Soon, in a doctor’s office, a young physician mysteriously offers her a piece of paper, the key to a new medical procedure called ‘The Substance’. Upon acquiring this new drug, a gorgeously perfect and younger alter ego, Sue, is born from Elisabeth’s spine. The instructions are simple: they can each remain ‘active’ for strictly one week before switching back and forth. The alter must stabilise herself each day from the matrix’s spinal fluid to avoid any uncomfortable circumstances. The two identities, however, do not share a consciousness – they have no memories of what the other has done while they were inactive during the week. The dynamic soon turns into a Jekyll and Hyde twistedness, as Sue, played by Margaret Qualley, begins to let her new-found fame as Elisabeth’s replacement get to her head. She starts to disrespect the balance which inevitably leads to both of their demises. The Substance is a gory but fun tale of women’s insecurities in a world that screams impossible body standards, yet it does not execute its message without flaws.

The film’s strength lies in its visually striking presentation, and a cast of actors who deliver their very best performances. Fargeat flashes multiple references to cult classics in her shots, amongst them the red bathrooms that draw a connection to The Shining (1980), or the spectacle of the ending with the merged body that uses blood as a symbol for women’s suffering, reminiscent of Carrie (1972). She uses beautifully vibrant colours, such as the vibrancy of the blood-red, the neon green of the liquid, and the blues of Elisabeth’s apartment; the visuals of this film are certainly remarkable to the eye. All of the actors deliver their rather one-dimensional characters very promisingly. A notable nod must go to Dennis Quaid, who plays Harvey, the neurotic and perverted executive of Elisabeth’s TV show, with great humour and devotion. Moore carries the film’s emotional weight as the central actress, and certainly gives an authentic performance as a middle-aged woman in the entertainment industry herself. Of course, Qualley’s role as the bombshell should not be overlooked either – she perfectly embodies the nonchalant, seemingly innocent but rather empty personality of Sue. It is exactly these exaggerated character types that remind us of the satirical humour of the film, and while it is flawed overall, this aspect excels.

Demi Moore starring in The Substance. The Substance (2024). Directed by Coralie Fargeat. United Kingdom: Working Title Films. Image taken from: IMDb.

Despite the brilliant acting, great cinematography, and the generally thought-provoking story about the female form, The Substance falls short in utilising body horror as a way of creating a political narrative. While it flashes scenes that feel all too familiar to many women, such as Elisabeth standing in front of the mirror wiping her makeup off and being so dissatisfied with herself that she ends up missing a date, the message feels shallow due to the simplistic characterisations and the resistance to show the female form as anything other than a spectacle, an object of display. Though a trope of horror as a genre is indeed to utilise the feminine as monstrous to symbolise patriarchal power structures, due to the lack of critical discourse in its script, the grotesque body of the merged identities does not feel as impactful as in the previous films The Substance pays homage to. Instead of tackling femininity as a threat to the masculine ego and asking the question of why ageing is so scary for women, it is more preoccupied with Elisabeth’s reflection on the weight of patriarchal expectations. Inevitably, whether it was the aim or not, this denies viewers the chance to see the women on screen (and by extension women in our world) as anything other than helpless victims of the system. To further strengthen the confusing argument of the film, both women become archetypes that lack nuance: Sue as the textbook definition of the sexualised male fantasy and Elisabeth as the rotten old maid who spends her days sulking in her apartment. They lack personality and do not add anything new to the conversation around the impossible expectations of the female form.

Regardless of these flaws, The Substance has come at a perfect time, in which quick fixes are wildly available, and weight loss medications or plastic surgery are the standard. It is a wild ride of exaggerated character types, humour, and a good share of body horror. While it cannot quite answer its problems or represent them seamlessly, it still opens up questions about body positivity (or body neutrality), the expectations of the entertainment business, and the potentially narcissistic preoccupation we have with our bodies. The Substance just missed the mark on hypersexualising its female characters, making the body a spectacle which unfortunately feels like a replica of the very exploitation that it tries to critique.