When French writer-director Coralie Fargeat made her debut feature Revenge in 2017, it was an attempt to subvert the rape-revenge movie that became known in the horror genre through the likes of The Last House on the Left and I Spit on Your Grave. Fargeat gained international recognition for the film – though it was not the first to subvert that subgenre, nor was it as refreshing as the director thought it was. Still very enjoyable from the huge amount of gore and stylish visuals, but not much in the way of substance, of which Fargeat’s latest feature has plenty, since it’s actually called The Substance.
So what is “The Substance”? Invented by an unseen supplier, it is a serum that, when injected, creates a younger beautiful “perfect” version of the user, though the two are still connected as one. This attracts the attention of Elisabeth Sparkle (Demi Moore), who is fired as the star of a popular TV aerobics show on her fiftieth birthday. Upon injecting the serum, she creates a younger form that adopting the name “Sue” (Margaret Qualley), who is hired back onto Elisabeth’s old show and quickly ascends to new heights of fame and admiration.
While the film never gives an origin to the creation of the Substance, it reminds you all the way through what are the rules on how to use the serum, in particular that the old and the young versions are required to switch bodies every seven days without exception, with one resting unconsciously and the other living out in the world. However, much like how an addict can misused drugs, the two versions start to not follow the rules and thus commences the body horror.
Although you definitely see the influence of David Cronenberg’s cinema, that feeling of not uncomfortable with your own body and the desire of presenting a more beautiful if shallow image harts back to Fargeat’s 2014 short film Reality+. Whereas that short took place in a futuristic Paris, The Substance presents a satirical look of an image-obsessed Hollywood that is best personified by Dennis Quaid’s scene-chewing turn as the loud-mouth producer Harvey.
Using a lot of the same visual tricks from Revenge, such as extreme close-ups of the human body done entirely in slow-motion, the deliberate artificiality to the whole setting, particularly with the aerobics show, which is shot like a hyper-stylized, overly-gratuitous music video. With Fargeat serving as her own editor, alongside Jerome Eltabet and Valentin Feron, this film is an assault of all your senses before the bodily side effects even kick in. Make no mistake, whether or not you are into body horror, you will not be prepared by what The Substance delivers, especially in the climax where disturbing imagery is there, but also comical moments along the way.
Despite her stardom, Demi Moore’s choice in films has always been questionable as she can be good in A Few Good Men, to then being objectified and terrible in Striptease. But in the role of Elisabeth Sparkle, Moore delivers a career-best performance, in which her character ultimately succumbs to addiction, which not only affects her physically, but mentally as she is haunted by a billboard featuring Sue, which for her symbolizes the admiration she still craves for.
Serving as a complimentary rival to Moore’s Elisabeth, Margaret Qualley’s Sue is determined to maintain her human perfection so that she can be gazed at, even if she will go to great lengths to live longer than her counterpart. For as much as the two versions are battling each other to a ludicrous degree, especially when they complain about one another’s misuse of the Substance, they keep getting reminded that they are one and the same, and they must respect the balance, which is what makes The Substance a cautionary tale.
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