REVIEW: The Substance is brilliant and grippingly grotesque

Writer-director Coralie Fargeat (Revenge) loves symbolism in her work.

In an interview with Inverse, she expresses her appreciation for minimal dialogues and for creating a visual world where the “immersive experience” makes the audience feel as though they’re truly part of the story.

Coralie takes this approach a step further in her latest film, The Substance.

Here, the French filmmaker dissects society’s distorted view of beauty with surgical precision, delivering a disturbing yet captivating tour de force that won Best Screenplay at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival.

The Substance stars Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley, and Dennis Quaid.

Critics have praised the film generously, with IndieWire calling it “an epic, audacious body horror masterpiece,” and with Variety describing it as “weirdly fun.”

THE SUBSTANCE: SYNOPSIS

The Substance follows Elisabeth Sparkle (Demi Moore), a former TV aerobics star who was dismissed from her show due to her age.

Network executive Harvey (Dennis Quaid) plans to revamp the show by bringing in a younger, more attractive host to draw viewers and boost its struggling ratings.

After a trip to the hospital following a car accident, Elisabeth discovers a product that claims to enable users to create a younger alter ego.

Still dejected and yearning for her lost glory, Elisabeth succumbs to “the substance,” betting on its promise to generate a “perfect” version of herself.

Elisabeth secures the product from a secluded storeroom and takes it home where she reluctantly injects the unknown formula simply labeled “Activator.”

From Elisabeth’s body—emerging from her back, to be precise— comes Sue (Margaret Qualley), a younger, beautiful woman out to fulfill the former’s lust for the limelight and public adulation.

Technically, Elisabeth and Sue, despite possessing different looks and having opposite lifestyles, are one person and rely on each other for survival.

However, achieving this balance is challenging, as they must adhere to a strict routine to prevent the process from failing, which could lead to devastating consequences.

But what if greed and envy consume both of them? How long can Elisabeth and Sue follow a complicated process that is unsustainable to begin with?

AN ENGROSSING FILM WITH A POINT

What’s striking about the film is its unapologetic message, which becomes increasingly contentious as the visuals become graphic and horrifying as the story goes on.

The message is clear: people are so trapped in their perception of beauty that they fear the reality of aging and the thought of it paves for dread and regret.

Elisabeth’s willingness to subject herself to a potentially hazardous procedure critiques the lengths to which people go for cosmetic surgeries and enhancements to meet their perceived beauty standards.

Of course, no industry illustrates this point better than show business, where everything—from physical appearance to trends and popularity—is fleeting.

Some observers have noted how Demi Moore fits the role, having once epitomized Hollywood’s idea of beauty and enjoyed immense adulation during her heyday, appearing in significant projects like Ghost (1990), A Few Good Men (1992), and Indecent Proposal (1993), to name some.

Now at 61, she is far removed from her peak, a typical trajectory for everyone in the entertainment scene.

Demi has been candid about her struggles with depression and substance abuse, which have led to feelings of never being good enough despite her success as an actress.

In portraying Elisabeth, Demi reveals the torment and self-doubt that plague an artist as they near the twilight of their careers, illustrating the difficulty of letting go of fame and power.

Coralie presents these messages in the most grotesque of ways.

A body horror film with elements of sci-fi and sarcasm, The Substance contains scenes of violence, nudity, piercing needles and incisions, blood, and hard-to-watch images that are the stuff of nightmares for the squeamish.

The process that Elisabeth and Sue take turns carrying out to achieve desired results is a fascinating freak show in itself that is worth watching.

Coralie uses close-up camera angles to emphasize intense, over-the-top emotions and magnify physical imperfections, adding another layer of unease for viewers.

The Substance is rich with symbolism, both subtle and overt.

The name “Harvey” itself can be seen as a nod to the disgraced Hollywood mogul and convicted sex offender Harvey Weinstein.

In one particularly awkward scene, Harvey is surrounded by network stakeholders—older men who gaze at the young and attractive Sue, who has become the company’s rising star.

The irony is that these same old men, who establish beauty standards, base their ideals on youth and stereotypical physical attributes.

The film’s climax is a bizarre series of sequences that escalates into an all-out bloodbath with freakish visuals, gore, and guts flying all over the place for extreme measure.

But make no mistake, the film presents valid points and a strong message with, pardon the pun, substance.

It mocks superficial perceptions of beauty and lambasts our misplaced need for validation, which is notoriously derived from social media nowadays.

As a writer, Coralie challenges the notion that a person’s value diminishes with age, confronting a society that often dismisses those considered past their prime and equates youth with beauty.

Entertaining, thought-provoking, hypnotic, and uncomfortable to watch, The Substance is like a horrifying car crash you can’t resist looking away from.

The Substance opens in Philippine cinemas on September 25.

Note: The advance screening attended by PEP.ph (Philippine Entertainment Portal) showed the movie’s R-18 version. Cinemas nationwide will exhibit the film’s R-16 version as rated by the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB).