Director: Coralie Fargeat
Starring: Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley, Dennis Quaid
Certificate: 18
Run Time: 141 mins

The Substance is a satirical body horror, directed by Coralie Fargeat in her English language debut and it’s received quite the acclaim. The film follows fading Hollywood star Elisabeth Sparkle (Demi Moore) and we see her dismissed from her long-running television show due to her age. She’s intrigued by a black market serum, conveniently called ’The Substance’, which promises a “younger, more beautiful, more perfect” version of onself. But of course, any deal like this has its consequences which Sparkle comes to find. 

While The Substance is certainly original in its execution, I found it quite disappointing. For a film that runs in excess of 140 minutes, it doesn’t have a great deal to say and is very on-the-nose. The direction is extremely aggressive and in-your-face, which is clearly intentional but it just got on my nerves. The second half is particularly hard work, especially its go-for-broke ending which it doesn’t earn. The body horror did nothing for me and I don’t understand the comparisons many have made to David Cronenberg.  

There are certainly some positives though – it’s well shot by Benjamin Kracun and the film will definitely be remembered for its clinical yet leering camerawork. The performances are also memorable, with quite possibly a career-best performance from Demi Moore. She brilliantly conveys the depression about the inevitably of getting old and she’ll do anything to get back into the limelight. Margaret Qualley’s also very strong as Sue, Elisabeth’s double once she takes the serum but the character annoyingly gets no real meaningful development. Finally, Dennis Quaid is clearly having fun as the unsubtly named Harvey, the grotesque show producer and in one particularly memorable scene chows down on some prawns with the manners of a child, the sound cranked up to the max. 

 I wish I liked The Substance more than I did. There have been many films that have explored the unattainable level of fandom and how women have to navigate a world of unrealistic standards. Fargeat thinks she has a lot to say, but the film’s message is ultimately very simple. Although some will lap up her original direction, it aggressively didn’t work for me and I found the film quite exhausting.