By Ryan Dailey
The Substance is the story of an aging star by the name of Elizabeth Sparkle,(Demi Moore)as she finds herself in the grasp of an existential crisis. Society and the fitness landscape which she has been a part of for most of her life, is starting to turn its back to her, yearning for the next young, tight-bodied aerobics guru to bend and flex on the television screen and inspire the average person to put down the fork and pick themselves up off of the sofa.
Sparkle finds her respite from her self-loathing and the forceful hands of time in an injection called The Substance. This Monster energy drink colored concoction,once injected, brings out the best version of oneself, literally. Like a Mogwaii doused in water, the new version of the user spawns from the original’s back, young and virile and perfect. And, much like with the Mogwaii and the spawned Gremlins, this new doppleganger, of sorts, comes with a set of rules. Elizabeth may only “activate” herself once, “activate” being the initial injection that births the new and improved “you.” The second rule is that the two must switch bodies back every seven days. One might say this is a subtle “jab,” pun intended at the injection schedule of the real life short cut to “a better you,” called semeglutides, or Ozympic, Wegovy and the like.
In what can be interpreted as a person dreading growing old and that same person hating their younger selves, Elizabeth and her “clone” Sue, (Margaret Qualley) are at war with one another almost from the start.Sue can not stand the shell of a person that her aging “ mother” is, and Elizabeth is hateful towards the conniving, cut-throat person her “daughter” is.
As Sue continues to break the rules surrounding The Substance, Elizabeth’s prone body takes the abuse. Demi Moore’s character is subjugated to hideous mutations. A majority of the film is a constant, drama-filled back and forth between Sue and Elizabeth and the struggle to not only find, but to control their lives.
The only complaints to be filed about The Substance are perhaps the editing and pacing. Coralie Fargeat needed to pick a lane in terms of direction. Some parts are presented in an Oliver Stone, Natural Born Killers type of presentation, complete with 1990’s MTV style editing, which might have worked if it was used during the media and fame fueled sections that featured Sue. It may have been an artistic choice to portray tension, but can be far too jarring at times, with the jump cuts and extreme close ups of random things. This brings me to the pacing. There is far too much time spent on the premise. The plot is super straightforward and the viewer may find that a handful of the exposition could have been shortened.
With the minor complaints out of the way, it is time to sing the film’s many praises.
The Substance is a perfect, David Cronenberg-esque entry into the body horror genre, which is nice to see get some love. There are scenes in this movie that will make even the most die hard fans cringe. The practical effects in the film are bar none. The gory effects combined with the perfect sound design is chef’s kiss. The Substance is such a solid entry into the genre, catering to the crowds that enjoy “elevated” horror as well as old school, The Fly, Brand New New Cherry Flavor or Shivers type of body horror.
The Substance is currently streaming on Mubi.
The Substance gets a 7 out of 10.