The Substance movie review: Demi Moore goes for broke in stomach-churning body horror with jaw-dropping climax

It’s the kind of film that requires courage from everybody involved, including the caterers who were presumably tasked with preparing a menu that wouldn’t end up on the shooting floor everyday. It would be remarkable if nobody threw up while making this movie, because every moment of its incredible final act positively challenges you to keep your lunch in your stomach. But before Fargeat unleashes her final flourish, she sets up an increasingly absurd universe for Elizabeth to navigate.

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A still from Coralie Fargeat’s The Substance.

When we first meet her, Elizabeth is hosting an archaic aerobics show on television, sort of like the one Jane Fonda used to back in the day. We overhear that she’s an Academy Award winner, but someone quickly mentions that she was popular decades ago. This is one of the many ways in which The Substance seems like the perfect vehicle for Moore, someone whose heyday is long behind her. Not too long afterwards, Elizabeth’s smarmy boss — he’s named Harvey, by the way, and Fargeat films him with the sort of hatred that suggests she’s venting personal anger at the real guy — informs her that she’s being fired for the crime of being too old. Elizabeth is heartbroken, but the movie immediately presents her with a solution: a secret drug called The Substance.

With nothing to lose, Elizabeth signs on to the experiment, and receives a sort of care package in the mail with explicitly clear instructions. But this isn’t the botox injection that she’s probably already accustomed to; when she injects her body with the neon green fluid, a younger version of herself literally erupts from within her. This is only the first of the film’s many gory set-pieces, but it sets the tone for the further insanity to follow. The new Elizabeth is played by Margaret Qualley, whose digitally enhanced body is unveiled with the intention to draw gasps from the audience. 

Elizabeth is told that she can live as her younger self for exactly a week — not a day longer — before she must switch back into her original body. She cannot exceed this one-week limit under any circumstances, but more importantly, she must never forget that she and her and younger self are the same person. She can quit the experiment at any time, but no change in her own appearance can be reversed. That’s ominous. The test run goes smoothly enough, with the new and improved Elizabeth quickly getting herself rehired to the aerobics show. But it doesn’t take too long for her to taste blood.

Elizabeth learns that exceeding the one-week time limit has an adverse impact on her older body, which remains in her bathroom, attached to a drip-feed for the entire duration of the switch. She’s shocked to discover that parts of her body begin to decay every time her younger self flouts the rules of the experiment. Elizabeth begins resenting her, without realising that she’s resenting herself. It’s a rather pointed metaphor for the never-ending battle that women seem to be with themselves and each other. And for all its achievements, the Substance also comes dangerously close to suggesting that women are to be blamed for their own predicament. It isn’t quite the feminist fable that it thinks it is.

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Margaret Qualley in The Substance.

For one, the movie doesn’t do nearly enough to point fingers at the actual problem, and while the Harvey character is amusingly detestable, he’s barely involved in Elizabeth’s decision-making. Her biggest battle isn’t with monstrous men around her, or even with the entertainment industry, which has survived decades by chewing up and spitting people out. Her biggest battle is with herself. And the younger Elizabeth is hardly someone you can get behind. She’s selfish, inconsiderate, and driven entirely by greed. You understand where she’s coming from, but The Substance doesn’t appear to think highly of her either; in fact, it’s quite disdainful of the older and more vulnerable Elizabeth as well.

There’s no other explanation for the film’s jaw-dropping climax, which should ideally come with disclaimers of some kind. It takes a lot these days to rattle a desensitised mind, and even if the final act of The Substance isn’t exactly horrific — it’s also quite funny, and wickedly nihilistic — there’s enough inventiveness on display to shred any complaints that you might have had previously. It wouldn’t be fair to reveal more here, but suffice to say that this movie is the product of a sick mind. Tread with caution.

The Substance
Director – Coralie Fargeat
Cast – Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley, Dennis Quaid
Rating – 3.5/5