The Substance (2024)
Directed by: Coralie Fargeat
Premise: An aging actress turned television fitness instructor (Demi Moore) uses a black-market drug that creates a younger version of herself (Margaret Qualley). The drug requires a strict regimen that her younger self cannot abide.
What Works: The Substance is a work of body horror. Many of the best films of that subgenre, such as Videodrome and Hellraiser, depict the manipulation and mutilation of the flesh in ways that exploit our sense of fragility but also the social aspect of our physique and the place where our own bodies end and the rest of the world begins. The Substance does this particularly well and approaches the body horror genre with showmanship and intelligence and humor. The premise taps into the way women’s physical appearances are tied to society’s assessment of their value, especially in the entertainment industry. But The Substance goes further than that and the conflict between the dual protagonists is fascinating to contemplate. The story dramatizes an experience unique to people middle aged and older, that of seeing oneself as a young person trapped in an aged body. The premise also literalizes how choices made in our youth have physical repercussions in old age. The Substance is highly styled. The production design includes bold colors and sets with a slightly heighted reality. The cinematography uses unusual lenses and tight framing while the sound includes visceral effects. The whole film has a wet and gooey texture that contrast with the plastic nature of the Hollywood setting. The makeup of The Substance is extraordinary and the effects ought to rank alongside The Thing and The Fly. As gross as the movie is, The Substance is also very funny in an awful way. Its technical excellence and stylistic extremity are matched by the performances. Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley are required to go to physical extremes but emotional ones as well. Moore is especially great. Her character’s story is ultimately tragic and that gives the film a human dimension, making it more than just a series of makeup effects. Dennis Quaid also impresses as a skeezy television executive.
What Doesn’t: It’s redundant to criticize The Substance for being excessive. That’s kind of the point. But as a matter of pacing, The Substance is a bit overlong and overdone. Some of the storytelling is less than economical and the conclusion takes the story in a Frankenstein-like direction that feels out of place with the rest of picture. The televised exercise program is anachronistic. The story is presumably set in the present day but the aerobics shows play like something that would have been on television thirty to forty years ago.
Bottom Line: The Substance is an extraordinary film. It’s a technical showcase but the film is also extremely intelligent and mordantly funny.
Episode: #1017 (October 13, 2024)