Brought to us by filmmaker, Coralie Fargeat, The Substance is one of the craziest movies that I have seen this year! I had been holding off on seeing this one as I got sick to death of hearing about “body horror”. I have no problem with body horror, but it was all that anyone would talk about when mentioning The Substance….. well after seeing what I am sure had to have been one of the last showings of the movie at my theatre, “body horror” is literally the only way to describe this.
How to Download The Substance
The Substance was released on 20 September 2024. Sooner or later you can expect to be able to download or stream the film from Mubi or other digital platforms. Click on the Download button at the end of this review and make your choice. If you like body horror movies, check out our reviews of The Thing (1982), The Fly (1986) or Hatching (2022).
The Substance Movie Review
The movie has a great main cast with Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley and Dennis Quaid. I have to be honest, I never really get into the whole who is Oscar worth buzz. However, it is disgusting if both Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley do not get at least a nomination! Also, the special effects in this movie deserve an award too, it is some of the most insane body horror stuff I have seen. If you have seen the classic Brain Dead/Dead Alive, we are talking that kind of level.
I will just give you the basics of the story as I do not want to spoil anything. Demi Moore plays Elisabeth Sparkle. Elisabeth was a big deal, she won awards, has a star on the Walk of Fame and people loved her. However, now that she is in her 50’s her star is certainly starting to fade. There is a brutal scene where she hears sleazy producer Dennis Quaid talking about how he needs a younger model.
By the way, Dennis Quaid in this movie is awesome. He is pretty much what you would expect a sleezy gross entertainment guy to be like and he plays the role perfectly. I am a big Dennis Quaid fan, he can pretty much do anything, but this is one of the best performances I have seen from him in a while.
Plot Overview and Body Horror Mastery
Anyway, back to the plot. Elisabeth is willing to do anything it takes to hang onto her celebrity and she finds out about this stuff called The Substance which when used, creates a younger version of you. The twist here is that this is not a magic age reducing potion. It creates a younger version of you that comes out of a slit in your back and the original you and the new you get seven days of life before having to switch back.
Now, I understand that this sounds super complicated, but it works and you go on this wild ride. The body horror stuff has bits here and there as Elisabeth and her new younger self called, Sue get to grips with this symbiotic relationship that they have and the downfalls that come with it. It makes you wince and grosses you out, but trust me, this is all just preparation for the final act which is one of the most insane things I have seen in a movie theatre in quite some time.
A Late, But Thrilling Viewing Experience
I am kind of mad at myself that I waited so long to check this out. I saw it at 1:15 in the afternoon on a Friday and there were like four people including myself in the theatre. I bet that this would have been a ton of fun in a packed theatre with a bunch of people freaking out over what they were seeing. As I write this, I am pretty sure, The Substance must be due out on streaming or on Blu-Ray soon, I highly recommend that you check it out as it is one fun and very gooey ride to be on!
