The Substance ★★★½

It might not be the best idea to call a phone number on the back of a USB drive that has been placed into your coat pocket. It probably isn’t the best idea to acquire a neon green fluid in a sketchy alleyway after calling the number. It certainly isn’t the best idea to inject this fluid into your bloodstream.

But that is what Elisabeth Sparkle (Demi Moore) has done. It is out of desperation. Elisabeth is an aging actress. We see the setting of her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and its desecration as the seasons change, the terrazzo cracks, and food is spilled and mixed with dirt that has settled over the years. This is where The Substance begins. It is years after Elisabeth’s career has propelled her to the top and she finds herself falling out of the limelight as she is fired promptly on her fiftieth birthday (The Substance is anything but subtle).

Following a car accident, Elisabeth finds a USB drive that was placed in her coat pocket for The Substance. Once home, she watches the video advertisement loaded onto the drive that explains The Substance. The advertisement is provocative in its narration and illustrates that with a few simple rules a second Elisabeth could be created from Elisabeth’s cells through an activator. The second Elisabeth would be younger, “better”, and able to pick up Elisabeth’s career from where she left off – successful, beloved, and desired. To Elisabeth, trying The Substance at this point in her life is a no-brainer though there’s some implicit warnings that the advertisement smoothes over – each version of Elisabeth must alternate weeks while the non-active version is resting and connected to IV feeding. As the new Elisabeth – known as “Sue” (Margaret Qualley) – with perfect, sexy proportions and a breakout career mirroring Elisabeth’s past becomes an increasingly addicting persona for Elisabeth, returning to her middle-age homebody in the twilight of her career becomes a repulsive idea.

There are consequences once Elisabeth disobeys the recommendations for use of The Substance, and these consequences rapidly progress and merit heaping praise for the makeup & prosthetic team for this film. The Substance represents body horror at its most disgusting and provides a cautionary tale that warns that ugliness on the inside can quickly turn to the outside. Negative self-perception isn’t harmless and it drives Elisabeth to try The Substance. Its use amplifies Elisabeth’s self-disgust as she experiences youthful success as Sue every other week while deciding to remain shut-in and gorge herself with food during her weeks as Elisabeth. Even after Elisabeth runs into an old classmate who expresses how beautiful she is and is enamored by her, she cannot bring herself to meet him for dinner and enjoy her life as Elisabeth. This scene is one of the most upsetting in the film as we see Elisabeth prepare for the evening and know that she is comparing herself with Sue as she gets dressed and puts on makeup. If Demi Moore is to receive an Academy Award nomination for this film, it is because of this scene.

Outside of Elisabeth, The Substance is interested in exploring the causes of Elisabeth’s desperation and it places a large portion of blame on the film and television industry. Near the start of the film, we are introduced to Harvey (Dennis Quaid) through close-ups of his frantic, disgusting eating as he fires Elisabeth and of his forehead as he urinates in the men’s room. Harvey is also shown cozying up to executives, and this exemplifies Harvey’s view of Elisabeth as a product rather than a person. The film and television industry is shown as fickle in The Substance and it is this working environment that amplifies Elisabeth’s insecurities and leads her to try out The Substance against her better judgment. 

This comes with what can only be described as the most gratuitous of consequences. People with fear of needles, squeamish at the sight of blood, or affected by scenes of self-harm will find this film utterly terrifying and disgusting. This film will not appeal to everyone, and even seasoned horror audiences will find The Substance to be extreme in its violence and its copious nudity and sexualized shots. Still, there’s something to be said for the reckless abandon in director Coralie Fargeat’s approach to body horror and portraying a misuse of biotechnology that would make David Cronenberg smile. As I noted earlier, The Substance is anything but subtle though this plays to the film’s advantage as the film leans into its camp and dreadful Substance wholeheartedly. Fargeat, like Elisabeth, throws caution to the wind and unleashes something with The Substance that you won’t be soon to forget.