By JJ Ledewitz, Arts & Culture Editor
The Substance, directed by Coralie Fargeat, is a horror film which was first shown in theaters on September 20, 2024, but was recently re-released on the big screen thanks to the large following it garnered since its digital release (and its many surprising Oscar nominations).
The story follows a fading, aging celebrity named Elizabeth Sparkle (Demi Moore) who uses an experimental black market drug to create a younger version of herself (Margaret Qualley), who, because of Hollywood’s twisted norms, becomes the new big celebrity. But, when Sparkle misuses the drug, it produces undesirable side effects and consequences. Then, everything goes horribly wrong.
This film touches on a whole slew of cultural problems, but it most prominently discusses feminine beauty standards. The entire storyline revolves around how far one woman will go to be seen as young and beautiful. But, it also incorporates how everyone thinks and believes she “should be.” It journeys into the mind of a woman to show how she is forced to view herself and judge her looks. Driving this point home, Harvey (Dennis Quaid), Elizabeth’s TV show director, says within her earshot that he needs someone young and beautiful for his show, and that Elizabeth just isn’t good enough anymore.
When Elizabeth learns about the drug (known as “the Substance”), she procures and uses it, creating a second, far younger and more attractive body. The thought that she can now be what everyone wants her to be quickly consumes her. But the instructions that came with the Substance clearly state that she must always switch her consciousness back to the main body, the body of Elizabeth Sparkle, every seven days for a full week with no exceptions, or it would result in dire consequences.
And in horror movies, the dire consequences are always bad. Horrifically bad. This is not just a horror movie, but a body horror movie. So it is really bad. Bones break, skin morphs, teeth crack, toes twist and so much worse.
There are some moments when the special effects are so strange and grotesque that you’ll feel like throwing up. It’s disgusting at times. But, what is more disgusting is the feeling that everyone is always watching you, judging you by the way you look and the way everyone wants you to look. That’s the point of the film, to get you to think about what you do with your eyes and how you judge people.
Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley play their parts spectacularly in the most bonkers way possible, which is exactly what the film calls for. Their performance is enhanced by the beautiful cinematography, which seems inspired by Kubrick and Hitchcock, and intensifies the eerie nature of the film as well as its theme of the dark side of visual beauty.
All of that aside, this film is not for everyone. Don’t like horror? Do NOT watch this. Had lunch recently? Do NOT watch this. But those who do decide to watch it will either love it or hate it as there is no middle ground. It’s either a disgusting, contrived mess or a well-shot, horrifically beautiful film.
It just depends on how you judge it.