The Substance (2024) Review!!

Synopsis – A fading celebrity decides to use a black market drug, a cell-replicating substance that temporarily creates a younger, better version of herself.

My Take – While like most cinema enthusiasts, I too have generally appreciated David Cronenberg‘s classic bloody ventures, but I am also probably the last guy to indulge myself in the sub-genre of body horror, unless it has a particularly surprising and unique catch to it.

Yet, even I couldn’t help myself from being highly entertained by this sophomore effort from French film director and screenwriter Coralie Fargeat, following her acclaimed debut, Revenge (2017). In a world full where filler, Botox, face lifts and implants, skin care routines, and obsession with youth are at their peak in media, this satirical horror calls into question everything that involves about being a better version of yourself.

Resulting in something that is a clever, very gross, pointed, and most importantly very fun watch. Right from the opening scene, the film grabs you with its stunning cinematography and powerhouse performances by Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley, and keeps you hooked on by managing to shock, amaze, disgust and enrapture in equal measure.

With its unflinching writing and characterizations that are sharp, witty, heartbreaking, sinister, enraging, vile, absurd and outrageous the 141 minute runtime simply flies by, leaving you wishing it would all never end.

Making it an instant cult classic, especially due to its razor-sharp social satire that feels both timely and timeless. Indeed the feature is a bold piece of work that certainly won’t appeal to everyone but it will definitely provide everyone with an unforgettable experience.

The story follows Elisabeth Sparkle (Demi Moore), an aging Hollywood star, who is now mostly known for presenting a home workout TV show. Soon enough she is even fired from that job by her outdated and a horrible producer, Harvey (Dennis Quaid) who decides he needs a younger star to represent his channel.

However, after being involved in a car crash, Elisabeth is secretly slipped information about a new black market drug called the Substance, with the help of which a younger self will emerge from inside her in the privacy of her apartment. But the drug comes with a specific set of rules that, if broken, have the potential to result in life-altering side effects. Like how they must change places every seven days.

At first, her newer self, Sue (Margaret Qualley) is everything Elisabeth still wishes to be, especially with her natural charm and girlish beauty. Sue even manages to get Elisabeth’s old job in an open casting call. Yet trouble begins to sweep in when Sue becomes a star, and starts to disregard the set rules in her temptation to extend her week.

What follows is a fun, engaging and consistently rewarding narrative that never gets too attached to a specific phase or idea. The film also leans into its levity on countless occasions, poking fun at its story’s absurdity and grounding itself in a world that feels more accommodating to its ridiculous nature.

As a result, there is hardly a moment that feels out of place or inordinately inane. But underneath the simple and colorful set design, among the exaggerated characters, kilograms of glitter, sensual dances, and a certain amount of nudity, this is a film about youth, beauty, the need to be noticed, but also loneliness and fear.

The script not just makes a visually refreshing yet relatively simple commentary on unhealthy obsessions with age and beauty, but also slowly spirals into a brutal, uncomfortable and necessary take down of corporate misogyny. Commenting on the societal pressures placed upon women and how they are mostly defined by their physical appearances.

Taking into account its body horror wise, I would like to confirm that everything written is true. Particularly, in the last act which for better and for worse, goes on a little longer than necessary, becoming bloodier and nastier with each passing second. Yes, the film even buckles under its own weight at marginal intervals, only for it to get back up and continue wreaking havoc.

It helps that it is all held together by the pairing of Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley as the two sides of the basically same person. Demi Moore has brought an emotionally demanding and bold turn that bristles with rage and shimmers with a plaintive vulnerability. Indeed it is the best performance of her career and deserves all the accolades in the upcoming awards season.

Margaret Qualley too is great as always. While she always serves as a foil to Elisabeth, she lives on her own with a captivating allure. Dennis Quaid, who is cartoonishly over the top throughout, gives a fun and engaging performance. On the whole, ‘The Substance‘ is a clever, grotesque, and endlessly captivating horrifying satire that ends up being undeniably a one-of-a-kind film-going experience.