A pointed horror parody, The Substance is the kind of shakeup this subgenre needed.
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Despite making two feature films, director Coralie Fargeat appears to have a specific focus. Take genres ruled by men and male directors and center them around women. Her first feature was the controversial but well-received Revenge which is a viscerally violent take on the "rape revenge" genre. And her latest feature The Substance dives into a land defined by one director: David Cronenberg. That's right we're talking about body horror, specifically through a satirical lens about women's bodies, aging and what we're willing tosacrifice to remain young. It's also very very gross. Let's dig in!
The Setup
Demi Moore stars as Elisabeth Sparkle, a former Hollywood starlet that's just been canned from her long-running fitness show by her shady producer. Hoping to retain some of her youth, Sparkle is guided to a serum called "The Substance" that will create a "younger, more beautiful, more perfect" version of herself. But the trade off could be more than Sparkle and her younger self, who goes by Sue (Margaret Qualley) could be more than Elisabeth is able to manage.
It's hard to pick a starting point with this movie. Because it's about a lot of things all at once in smarter than you might think ways...while also being overtly gory and gross. As such, I'm going to get into the things I really like about the movie, before diving into the many things its trying to say at a later date.
It's hard to pick a starting point with this movie. Because it's about a lot of things all at once in smarter than you might think ways...while also being overtly gory and gross. As such, I'm going to get into the things I really like about the movie, before diving into the many things its trying to say at a later date.
F*** Subtlety
One of my favorite lines going around media analysis nowadays is the phrase "subtlety is for cowards." There's a lot of reasons I like this. First and foremost, if your movie is going to be about something, make it about something. Slam the audience in the face with it. Make it undeniable so if someone acts like they didn't get it (or truly didn't get it), you can play them off as unserious.
Unsubtle art also tends to be a lot more fun.
Unsubtle art also tends to be a lot more fun.
Despite being around real/serious issues, half of The Substance's appeal is its unapologetic over-the-top nature when it comes to...everything. We're showing skin, we're doing make-up effects, and when it's time to get the blood flowing we're going in buckets. It makes the movie's 2 plus hour run time much easier to stomach, in spite of its body horror emphasis.
It also means you can sneak in some surprisingly effective moments when you stop being so loud or when you exaggerate so much that it surprises the audience that's been on this over-the-top train the whole time. And the finale certainly does that.
It also means you can sneak in some surprisingly effective moments when you stop being so loud or when you exaggerate so much that it surprises the audience that's been on this over-the-top train the whole time. And the finale certainly does that.
Great Performances Across the Board
This was a bold choice for Demi Moore. Not because it's bold to bare your body at her age, but because this character is 1) very easy to graft onto Moore's own experience in Hollywood (i.e. a once go-to sexpot starlet who started young and now gets more sporadic work) but 2) Asks her to be bitter, gross and insecure in ways that again could line up to her real life experience. But she goes-for-broke, giving the role exactly what it needs in terms of both baseline humanity, we get why she's doing this, while also embracing the more unseemly natures of the part as the prosthetic makeup piles up.
And while a lot of the emphasis has been put on Margaret Qualley's body, what I like about her performance is how she portrays this care-free youthful energy that doesn't think about consequences and views Elisabeth, despite her being a part of her. It's wild to have to play someone who's deathly afraid of becoming an older version of themselves and she does this very well.
And while a lot of the emphasis has been put on Margaret Qualley's body, what I like about her performance is how she portrays this care-free youthful energy that doesn't think about consequences and views Elisabeth, despite her being a part of her. It's wild to have to play someone who's deathly afraid of becoming an older version of themselves and she does this very well.
Finally, we might've found the one good use for modern Dennis Quaid which is...a creep. A sleazy shameless creep. Quaid is Elisabeth and Sue's manager and he commits so hard to this while wearing a David S. Pumpkins ass suit. He's a cartoon, which is exactly what the movie needs.
Using Body Horror to Exaggerate Self Image
The clever guise of The Substance isn't just that it's using body horror to talk about women's bodies. But how its used: irony.
David Cronenberg typically uses body horror to address ideas like intimacy and transformation that often reflect other ideas. The Fly is using body horror to tell a story about science, hubris and careless gone awry as we watch a man turn into the Brundle Fly.
The Substance uses body horror to demonstrate what actual monstrous decay looks like. I'll use a small example. For much of the movie Elisabeth can be found examining herself in the mirror viewing her body as old and useless. Despite the fact that this 50 year old body is both not the norm (and many women much younger than her would kill for) and very beautiful, Elisabeth isn't happy with it. So the transformation into Sue, seems like it's worth it.
But once Sue breaks the rules of "The Substance" and Elisabeth wakes up with a finger that looks it belongs on Groot...that's an actual drastic shift that Elisabeth rightly views as horrifying. And that's the boulder that's pushed from the top of the hill as Sue behaves more carelessly and Elisabeth begins to hate herself image even more. A great example of how negative self-perception can eat you alive and turn you into something you're not.
The Substance uses body horror to demonstrate what actual monstrous decay looks like. I'll use a small example. For much of the movie Elisabeth can be found examining herself in the mirror viewing her body as old and useless. Despite the fact that this 50 year old body is both not the norm (and many women much younger than her would kill for) and very beautiful, Elisabeth isn't happy with it. So the transformation into Sue, seems like it's worth it.
But once Sue breaks the rules of "The Substance" and Elisabeth wakes up with a finger that looks it belongs on Groot...that's an actual drastic shift that Elisabeth rightly views as horrifying. And that's the boulder that's pushed from the top of the hill as Sue behaves more carelessly and Elisabeth begins to hate herself image even more. A great example of how negative self-perception can eat you alive and turn you into something you're not.
The Verdict: Gross, Insightful, Fun
A pointed horror parody, The Substance is the kind of shakeup this subgenre needed. 8/10
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