The Substance

The Substance delivers an intense, visually mesmerizing commentary on the entertainment industry's obsession with youth and outward beauty. Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley offer remarkable, maybe even career-best performances, with Dennis Quaid excelling in his role as well. Coralie Fargeat explores how aging stars, particularly women, are discarded when they no longer meet the industry's strict beauty standards. Moore's character, haunted by the memory of her former fame and beauty, goes down a dark path in pursuit of a "better" version of herself. The story is also a sharp critique of power dynamics, with white men controlling who's in front of the spotlight, while women are pitted against one another for validation.

The film's product...

For a film thats laser-focused on the human body, its gloriously on point that THE SUBSTANCE begins with a freshly cracked, bright yellow egg yolk.

Eggs are the giver of life, right? Theyre the origin of all of us. Gleaming and plump, the yolk suddenly gets pricked not by a fork, but a syringe.

Thats the first juicy visual metaphor of many in this meaningfully bonkers body horror, for which French filmmaker Coralie Fargeat picked up the prestigious Best Screenplay prize at this years Cannes Film Festival.

To call the film bold is a weapons-grade understatement. Its an audacious, jaw-dropping examination of what screens & billboards demand of women (especially as they age), and how laughably impossible it is to meet those demands....

Demi Moore's performance in The Substance is so potent that it's hard to tell what's more intoxicating; her inevitable Best Actress win or Coralie Fargeat's razor-sharp screenplay that's already got the Oscar in the bag.

Theres a big difference between being funny and being laughable, yet the latest from writer-director Coralie Fargeat has somehow found a way to be both. After amassing a considerable amount of largely well-earned cinematic goodwill in the films opening segments, the picture mercilessly squanders that support in the final act with an overlong, meandering, disgustingly gratuitous and grotesque exhibition of utterly bad taste. This story of an aging actress (Demi Moore) who seeks to revive her career by retrieving some of her lost youth with the aid of an enigmatic injectable follows her grand misadventures when the mysterious substance prompts the emergence of a younger doppelganger (Margaret Qualley), who becomes a Hollywood sex kitten sensa...

This takes a logical step on from Coralie Fargeat's earlier "Reality+" (2014) drama, only this time it takes a much more substantial swipe at all things vain. "Elisabeth" (Demi Moore) has been at the top of her fitness game for many a year when her boss "Harvey" (Dennis Quaid) decides that she's now too old and that a younger model is needed to present those programmes we all saw on the television of gorgeous, fit and healthy, people showing us how to exercise on a mat in from of our televisions each morning. Distracted by her imminent removal, she is involved in a car accident that introduces her to an handsome young nurse (Robin Grear) and then to a curious invitation to test out a mysterious fluid that can essentially give her her cake a...

Certainly an experience!

'The Substance' is <b>a lot</b>. It's one of those sorta movies that I needed to let settle in my mind before I even started to think about reviewing it. I'm not even sure where to start. It's insane from pretty much the beginning to the very end of its 140 minute run time, some scenes are particularly rough to watch unfold!

I think the only body horror flick I've seen up until this point is David Cronenberg's 'Crimes of the Future' from 2022, which I found to be solid enough but it came across, at least to me, as a bit too forced for shock value. This 2024 release has plenty of that, if not more, but it somehow feels totally at home with what surrounds it.

The story itself is fascinating, even taking out a...

I love French comedic films, and this one is no different. Coralie Fargeat crafted a seemingly simple story on the subject of Hollywood's obsession with youth and beauty, and then directed it right into the status of cult, horror, midnight, grade B (the good kind) movie genre. Brilliant!

While on the face, this movie is about aging out of Hollywood's graces, the script is also laced with interesting subplots: having a proxy that ages for you a la Oscar Wilde's Dorian Gray, and the subject of shallow self-hate and self-love, along with that "needy for applause" character that so many actors have and must either learn to deal, or fail at life.

Demi Moore is nothing short of awesome here. Dennis Quaid and Margaret Qualley are right up th...

The Substance (2024) A Visceral Exploration of Youth Obsession and the Fear of Time

"The Substance" is a bold cinematic experience that masterfully resurrects the practical effects of 1980s horror, delivering a visual and auditory feast that is both nostalgic and groundbreaking. Directed with a keen eye for detail, the film delves deep into society's obsession with youth and the inevitable passage of time, offering a thought-provoking commentary wrapped in visceral horror. The film follows a renowned actress, portrayed by Demi Moore, who grapples with the fear of aging and losing her fame. In a desperate attempt to reclaim her youth, she becomes entangled with a mysterious substance that promises vitality but comes with horrifying ...

"The Substance" is something of a cinematic mash up.

First off, this story is somewhat reminiscent of "Death Becomes Her". The 1992 film starring Meryl Streep, Goldie Hawn and Bruce Willis.

The notion of the fatal conceit in the search for eternal youth amongst the ageing Hollywood set is very much central to the story in both films.

That said, the handling is distinctly different. This film is a lot louder, gaudier, brasher, cruder and ruder, than its 90's counterpart by a country mile. There are elements I'd typically associate with Lovecraft too, that are grotesque, monstrous and disturbing.

This work is also more a visually clever, as opposed to narrative experience. Its messages are conveyed, like Hollywood itself, thro...

A disaster. It's an insult to the illustrious careers of Demi Moore and Dennis Quaid, who both deserve far better.

The film focuses too heavily on the body of Margaret Qualley's character, Sue, at the expense of delivering a meaningful story or message. The gratuitous gore towards the end seems to be an attempt to align with current trends, but it falls flat.

Ultimately, Coralie Fargeat failed to deliver a coherent message, making the movie a missed opportunity for everyone involved.