The Substance is a new body horror film released on September 20th that has viewers jaws dropping in theaters. The film stars Margaret Qualley and Demi Moore in what critics are calling their best roles yet and I certainly agree.
The film is a commentary on feminine beauty standards and just how far people will go to reach them. Demi Moore plays an aging movie star named Elisabeth Sparkle who was recently fired from her TV job and facing personal trouble due to not being new and exciting. She finds out about “the substance,” a drug that can separate her into 2 beings, her older self and a younger, elevated version of herself which alternate weekly. The younger version, Sue, played by Margaret Qualley, takes over Elisabeth’s old job and grows greedy with the one week balance. For each second spent over a week as Sue, Elisabeth’s body shows evidence of decay and the time stolen from her. It gets to a point where Elisabeth no longer looks human and tries to terminate her other half which leads to Sue retaliating. Sue quickly discovers the adverse effects of killing her other half when she starts physically declining. As a last resort, she attempts to reuse the substance and ends up becoming a monster combination of Elisabeth and Sue and dies on Elisabeth Sparkles Hollywood Star of Fame.
The special effects and cinematography in this film are truly spectacular. The camera angles used are extremely effective at making the audience feel uncomfortable and conveying the intense tone in most of the scenes. Specifically the up close shots of the men in the industry in this film really make the audience feel as repulsed by them as Elisabeth does. The shots showing off the gruesome special effects are also incredibly well done although the SFXs are what really shine. The makeup for Sue ripping through Elisabeth’s back looks so realistic that you can practically feel the pain she’s experiencing through the screen. Elisabeth’s decrepit makeup is taken way farther than what you’d typically picture elderly people makeup which is what makes it so impressive. The monster at the end of the movie is the star of the show though. The design of it perfectly expresses the gross, ridiculous, and exaggerated tone it’s going for.
The overarching theme of the value of beauty is very explicit, but that’s part of what makes it impactful. Elisabeth sparkles slowly losing her body’s external beauty due to the vanity of Sue is a great way of physically displaying how chasing beauty can make you ugly on the inside. Additionally, the fact that Elizabeth’s sparkly self image is so bad that she’s still willing to go into Sue’s body even after experiencing the negative effects shows how far people are willing to go in exchange for what they deem beautiful. The conclusion wraps up this message by demonstrating how not only did she end up destroying herself in the end, but also receiving the rejection of all the people she sought approval from. This film brilliantly displays the dramatic influence of today’s beauty standards directly in the face of viewers.
One popular complaint of the film is the disturbing nature of the special effects and the amount of nudity, but I felt that none of it was gratuitous. The scenes focusing on the girls’ bodies are included to compare how they are viewed by the public. The camera lingering more on Sue than Elisabeth aims to convey that she’s more desirable. The gruesome body horror had the purpose of showing how chasing beauty can quite literally tear you apart. Without going to the extreme measures that they did, the message wouldn’t be as powerful. Also the body horror is just all around interesting to look at and incredibly impressive. These elements are what add to the unique quality of this film.
All in all I would definitely recommend this film to anyone who can stomach the horror aspects. Not only does it convey a prevalent message in a fresh way, but it’s also incredibly visually entertaining.
