Film Review: The Substance

A spoiler free review. Trigger Warnings include needles, body horror, gore, surgery, blood, body dysmorphia, violence and nudity.

The Substance is a 2024 body horror film written, directed, co-edited and co-produced by Coralie Fargeat. It stars Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley as leading ladies along with Dennis Quaid. Before watching this movie, I had heard a lot of things about it. A lot of positive reviews and some questionable ones. I read its premise which made me a little curious about it. So, I watched it today and I must say, I still don’t know if I loved it or hated it.

The film starts with an aged actress who’s starring in a televised show. Circumstances lead her on a path of feeling unhappy about herself and her age, and dreaming of having a better version of herself. Thus, she intakes ‘the substance’ which claims to make a better version of oneself. What happens next is just a roller coaster ride. The moment I started watching the movie, something felt slightly off, a bit weird and had that clinical, lab like feeling. As the film progresses, it keeps on making you feel like that.

The film starts with the incredible Demi Moore who gives everything to the role. Her performance is so powerful and breathtaking. She captures that desperation, sorrow and guilt perfectly. You might not like her decisions in the film but you’ll understand why she’s doing all that.

Margaret Qualley, the better version of the one who took the substance equally nails the role with extreme perfection and grace. I can’t say much about her character or anyone in this film but, just know, you’ll be shocked by her performance. At least I was. And, she looks so so beautiful in the film, almost unrealistically beautiful.

Now, let’s talk about the technical aspects of the film. This film is a masterpiece in that department. Be it the brilliant and thrilling score, excellent cinematography, incredible viewing angles, beautiful sets, perfect lighting, gorgeous color palettes, perfect use of liminal space in many scenes, brilliant use of CGI and prosthetics, and just remarkable storytelling. The sound effects in the film are well… a bit… no, a lot actually… disgusting? horrific? creepy? YES YES YES!!!

The movie along with being a film of body horror does a social commentary on female beauty standards. It questions, the Hollywood’s definition of a beautiful lady. How young a woman should be to remain relevant and considered beautiful? Are old women not beautiful? What is the psyche of those women who don’t consider themselves or the world doesn’t consider them as pretty? It also makes a striking comment on male gaze and lust.

You can just watch this movie for its gore and horror aspects, but if you care to dive deep into its themes, this movie unfolds itself into a brilliantly executed artistic representation of the present world which focuses too much on how someone looks. Surprisingly, both men and women get wrinkles when they reach that certain age when they could be considered old. But who’s forced to hide them or continue to look youthful? You already have the answer in your mind.

I can’t say that I absolutely loved this movie. It’s too graphic to have a pleasant viewing experience for me. I liked this movie because it talks about a lot of other things while showing something absolutely horrific. I would not recommend this movie to anyone who faints at the sight of blood, or is scared of needles or just hates gore in general. Also, don’t bother seeing this with your family. It has a lot of nudity. If you can handle these things, well… this might be the best movie you will see in a long time. For me, this is a good movie but would I like to traumatise myself by watching this again? No thanks. It is available to watch on Prime Video and Mubi.

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