The Substance (2024)

When one sees a tagline that a movie is "absolutely insane," whether or not it includes modification from the universal adjective, one has to take it with a grain of salt.  What mainstream critics and studios consider insane is usually something that those of us who enjoy the fringes of cinema are familiar with.  It is familiar territory for writer and director Coralie Fargeat who has an unquestionable knowledge of horror.  This was obvious in Revenge, which took inspiration from past exploitation films such as I Spit on Your Grave, but put an angry feminist spin on it. 

The Substance finds Fargeat doing the same for body horror.  The obvious go-to on this is David Cronenberg, and the influence is there, particularly from The Fly.  What The Substance most resembles, however, is Brian Yuzna's cult favorite Society.  Her movie is full of practical effects that recall those of Screaming Mad George.  It also has that same satire of a specific niche of our culture that seems inaccessible by most, to the point where a lot of the general public believes some of the strangest things about celebrities the same as they do about the super rich.  There is, of course, the whole point of how women are treated by the entertainment industry and by the general public as they age.

Elisabeth Sparkle (Demi Moore) is a former actress who is currently hosting an exercise show for an unnamed television network in the mornings.  As she is turning 50 her boss Harvey (Dennis Quaid) has decided she is too old for the gig and has decided to fire her and look for a younger woman to fill the spot.  When Elisabeth gets in a car accident she is given information about a product called The Substance, which is supposed to give the user a "brand new you."

It turns out that slogan is literal, as an activator causes a new person to be instantly born from the old.  The only problem is that both versions are dependent on each other and the two must switch every seven days to stay stabilized.  Elisabeth's double, who takes on the name of Sue (Margaret Qualley) successfully obtains Elisabeth's role on the morning exercise program and rises through the ranks of the studio.  Unfortunately, she also begins to resent Elisabeth and the times that they have to switch, leading to decisions that ultimately have consequences for both of them. 

The thing about subtext is that it is supposed to be subtle.  In both Revenge and The Substance it is obvious that subtlety is not a thing for Coralie Fargeat.  She has legitimate gripes about the way women are treated, the former movie having its protagonist raped and left for dead by a rich guy and his hunting buddies, while this one finds Elisabeth tossed out and forgotten once she has hit a certain age.  This is driven home further by having Demi Moore come out of retirement to play the role, as she gradually moved out of the spotlight as she got older and decided to concentrate on things other than acting.  The problem is that these are wrongs that anyone seeing films like this are going to agree are wrong.  Fargeat is not saying anything new about these issues but is instead doing the equivalent of a protester screaming into a random person's face.

The surface horror elements are also pure homage in the Tarantino sense.  A lesser director would be called out for lifting entire scenes from The Shining or Carrie, although I do give it to her that she finds creative ways of using those scenes to her advantage.  Where her skills lie is in visual storytelling, and that is what makes a good portion of The Substance successful.  Both Moore and Qualley have to tell the story pretty much through pantomime and physical acting, and they both pull it off wonderfully.  Dennis Quaid even manages to make Harvey more than just a sexist stereotype, playing him so over-the-top that he comes across as a fantasy character.  

Despite borrowing heavily from previous films and having the subtlety of a flying mallet about 80 percent of The Substance works.  What doesn't is the ending.  One can see where events are headed and, despite it only ending in one way, I was hoping for something wild at the end that had some major impact and brought the whole thing to a roaring conclusion.  Instead, the movie goes on 20 minutes longer than it should.  The final creature designs are great, but the way it is used is not.  I have said in the past that the French need to always try to make it clear that the movie they are making is art and not merely entertainment, and that derails so many Gallic movies, even classics, for me.  In an effort not to spoil too much I will just say that Fargeat forgets at some point that pushing the blood and guts too far shoves the movie into the realm of old school Sam Raimi or Peter Jackson, where the overkill ends up being hilarious instead of nauseating or frightening.  It is a jarring contrast to the earlier "birthing" scenes in the film.

I would still recommend The Substance for the performances of Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley alone.  When the comedy is intentional it works and I admire Fargeat's commitment to practical effects whenever possible.  I just hope in the future she concentrates more on her talent as an artist rather than forcing the "artistic" aspects of the movie or spoon feeding the audience a social agenda.  She's obviously better than that and has quite a bit to offer if some of her wilder ambitions are tempered a bit. 

The Substance (2024)

Time: 141 minutes

Starring: Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley, Dennis Quaid

Director: Coralie Fargeat