Every so often, a film comes along that takes you completely by surprise for its sheer uniqueness, and utter wow/ shock factor and divisive audience reaction. The Substance, the new film from Coralie Fargeat, the French filmmaker behind 2017’s Revenge, is one of those movies. A body-horror cum Hollywood satire, Fargeat’s film is sick-inducing from the opening moments through to its gory, glorious end.
Before reading on, and while there are no major spoilers in this review, it must be said that The Substance is best seen knowing as little as possible about what plays out.
Demi Moore is Elizabeth Sparkles, a fading Hollywood star who has just been released from her long-running TV show. She’s now in her fifties and seen as a has-been, and a much younger replacement is to be sought to fill her breakfast fitness TV spot. Dennis Quaid is her sleazy boss, Harvey, the kind of guy who eats with his mouth open and fails to wash his hands after taking a toilet break. A disgusting creature, more so than the monstrous content that follows, the screen veteran is brilliantly over the top in every scene.
With Elizabeth doubting her image despite having a clearly successful career behind her, she finds herself presented with a mysterious USB stick and a small note about a life-changing procedure known as ‘The Substance’. The self-administering medicine allows the best, youthful version of yourself to hatch from within the body and thus, Sue, played by Margaret Qualley, is born. The only catch with the body-altering procedure is that you can only inhabit each body for one week at a time before having to swap back to regenerate, and chaos immediately ensues when the simple rules about using ‘The Substance’ start to be abused.
The Substance is The Assistant meets Cronenberg by way of Society and Eric Prydz’s ‘Call On Me’ music video
Depending on where you sit with the body horror sub-genre will dictate how you’ll ingest this. Multiple close-ups of needles piercing skin, fingernails hanging off, teeth being pulled out and other sickening moments are very much on the menu, and our screening here at the Cannes Film Festival, where it plays in competition, saw multiple walkouts throughout. However, it’s not just the horror that shocks – but also the satirical beats that bubble in the background, and many metaphors about self-image presented through the main plot device as this falling star becomes another name to fade away due to the behaviour of certain people in a very male-dominated industry.
Fargeat doesn’t take it all too seriously though, the characters are crafted to be over-the-top and very much on the nose, hammed up by the likes of Quaid and co. Demi Moore is breathtakingly fearless and possibly gives the best performance of her career as Sparkles and if Qualley hadn’t already arrived with her roles in the likes of Once Upon A Time In Hollywood and last year’s Poor Things, she’s certainly showing off her star quality here. She is excellent.
A film that is sure to be divisive, The Substance is The Assistant meets Cronenberg by way of Society and Eric Prydz’s ‘Call On Me’ music video, and make no mistake, whatever your stance or interest in the genre, this feature, if you’re planning to see it, is one that has to be seen with an audience.
Strap in for one of the best and most sickening cinema experiences of the year. It is glorious.
The Substance was reviewed at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival. It will be released by MUBI later in the year.
The Substance
Summary
One of the most sickening and unique films of 2024 will shock audiences with its graphic body horror and a career-best performance by Hollywood icon, Demi Moore.
