‘The Substance’ review: Demi Moore Triumphs as Beauty Comes at a Price

Demi Moore triumphs in an overhwelming body horror about women’s never-ending search for youth.

Amelia Harvey

Published

September 10, 2024

Mubi

By Amelia Harvey

Amelia Harvey is an English film and TV writer and critic. She's been a freelance entertainment writer for over a decade and loves to write about female-led and LGBTQ stories.

Amelia Harvey is an English film and TV writer and critic. She's been a freelance entertainment writer for…

Demi Moore plays Elisabeth Sparkle, an Oscar-winning actress in her middle age who has resulted in appearing in a dated workout show. The woman with a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and her face on the cover of every magazine now has to make a living doing aerobics in a leotard and legwarmers. Elisabeth is already self-conscious about her fading star when sleazy TV exec Harvey decides she should be replaced by someone younger and fires her.

A solution to Elisabeth’s problem lands on her lap in the way of a magical substance. The grainy marketing tape explains it can help you unlock a better version of yourself, but you must never forget you are the same person. A mysterious phone call and a trip to a post box in a seedy part of town and a box of neon green elixir is in Elisabeth’s hands. But like all good things in horror films, it’s not without its rules and warnings.

The Substance gets to the concept quickly, and it doesn’t waste time on exposition. It presents a very familiar world of aging Hollywood starlets, sleazy older men in power, and the fading light of stardom. The magic elixir arrives with big bold lettering, explaining to Elisabeth and the audience the expected result and why the instructions should always be followed. If audiences overthink the minor details and the rules of the substance, it might all fall apart, but the concept is smart and creative enough to go along with the ride.

When Elisabeth injects the substance, her back gorily splits open, and births a younger, better version of herself pops out. This younger counterpart, Sue (Margaret Qualley), can walk the earth for seven days at a time while Elisabeth is forced to live in a hibernated-like state naked on the bathroom floor with a drip. After these seven days, they must swap over, or grisly consequences will happen.

When Elisabeth is in control, she mostly spends her days in front of the television, mourning her old life. When Sue is in control, she takes on Elisabeth’s old role in a new, pumped-up, sexed-up version of her workout show. She is everything men like Harvey (Dennis Quad) want: the perfect body and curves in all the right places, yet a sweet naivety that lets the all-male production team think they are in control.

‘The Substance review

Elisabeth awakens to a massive billboard of Sue in her metallic little leotard and lithe, perky body. She slowly develops a love-hate relationship of with her younger, more famous counterpart. Sue becomes frustrated that she must share her life with her older, less successful self. The younger woman slowly tests how long she can take control of life until the consequences start to catch up with her. Think The Fly meets The Picture of Dorian Grey.

The Substance has a lot to say about women pumping their bodies with unregulated substances in search of the fountain of youth. The film wears its message on its sleeve but never at the cost of making an enjoyable movie. Despite the gruesome body horror, the story of feeling inferior in your body and worried about meeting modern beauty standards is a relatable one.

On the surface, The Substance is glossy and favors style over substance. Much of the movie takes place in Elisabeth’s shiny, modern apartment, the glossy billboard of Sue overlooking her living room. Sue’s workout show is voyeuristically sexual, all close-up shots of perk breasts and smooth buttocks. At times, it’s uncomfortable to watch, seeing someone portrayed as young and innocent thrusting in front of a room of male onlookers. The slick aesthetics of the first act only make the gruesome later scenes more impactful. The Substance showcases that you can’t have the fantasy without the hardship it takes to achieve it.

If the audience thinks the film is getting repetitive and has nowhere else to go, The Substance really pulls out the stops in the finale act. Despite the 140-minute runtime, which never feels like it drags out, the last 45 minutes take the narrative in an even bolder and zanier direction. The final act takes on an almost Giallo form, turning the shock and body horror up to 11. It could be argued that the finale lacks creativity and results in horror cliches rather than giving the women the ending they deserve.

The Substance could have easily been a satirical yet shallow tale about finding youth at the bottom of a vial, but writer-director Coralie Fargeat wants her film to be much more visceral. The movie proudly shows skin being ripped apart, fluids being drained and blood pouring out of wounds. But the world of sex, fame, and adoration almost seems worth it for Elisabeth/ Sue. It’s uncomfortable to watch beautiful women being ripped apart and ripping each other apart to meet society’s invested standards of femininity.

Demi Moore delivers one of her best performances in years, never afraid to get ugly in the role. As The Substance progresses, her physicality changes as Sue begins to suck life from her, both metaphorically and physically. The actress is unafraid to reveal her body, using nudity as a powerful narrative tool. Moore doesn’t hold back for a second, committing to every second of glamor, gore, and body horror. The Substance is more powerful because the lead is played by a woman as beautiful as Demi. It’s proving that no matter how stereotypically physically attractive you are, once you have hit 50, the industry will likely turn its back on you.

Margaret Qualley’s plays Sue was a sickening sweetness that can easily be picked away to reveal something more manipulative. Quaid, in a role originally set to be played by Ray Liotta, is disgustingly sleazy as Harvey. He’s filmed from awkwardly close angles, biting the head off prawns with slop running down his face and standing at the urinal, making sexist business calls as he shakes his g*nitals.

Writer-director Coralie Fargeat brought a similar confrontation tone to her 2018 debut Revenge. Fargeat directs the hell out of The Substance, perhaps overly so, using dramatic camera angles in even the most throwaway moments. From a camera at the bottom of the trash can to a cleaner distractingly in focus in the background of a shot, Fargeat is always looking for ways of distracting the audience’s eye.

The Substance will leave you feeling queasy, and overwhelmed but also angry. Scratch away the guts and gore and what is left is a movie about two gorgeous women pitted against each other to impress old men in suits who control the industry with their own self-imposed rules. You will likely walk away feeling overwhelmed, having witnessed over two hours of blood, sex, boobs, teeth, and every other bodily fluid you can think of, all soundtracked to headache-inducing music. But it’s what women are prepared to do to keep themselves feeling young and relevant.