THE SUBSTANCE

While there is the odd visual gross-out and a myriad of WTF scenes in The Substance the film contains no actual substance: the longer in, the more it starts to resemble a Brian Yuzna horror cheapie.

The trailer was intriguing, the buzz from Cannes titillating and the promotional campaign inspired, but all of that promising buildup only deepens my profound disappointment with The Substance, a movie that runs a familiar theme into the ground with a boggling lack of subtlety.

While the opening image of an egg, injected with the titular green goo, sprouting two yolks lingers, soon after the film’s main problems start to emerge, as the message that anyone over fifty is no longer relevant is hammered home, as experiences by former popular actress and current TV fitness instructor Elizabeth (Demi Moore).

Once she starts using ‘the substance’ her body basically splits in two, in a sequence heavily influenced by David Cronenberg’s body horror legacy. The resulting younger, better version of Elizabeth, played by Margaret Qualley gives the actress the success she craves, but as in all Faustian trade-offs, there is a heavy price to be paid.

It’s a premise that has been used umpteen times in popular culture yet director Coralie Fargeat pretends she’s discovered the light bulb. That makes for a frustrating, pummelling experience that lacks emotion, ups the graphic body horror to nauseating levels and drags out the story excruciatingly long.

Sure, Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley go all-in in their performances, but their efforts ring mightily hollow in a picture that is all cheesy style and zero substance.

release: 2024

director: Coralie Fargeat

starring: Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley, Dennis Quaid, Gore Abrams