Your new favourite horror movie you didn’t even know about!
(Contains Minor Spoilers)
With any horror film, the viewer expects to see something new and original and âThe Substanceâ is no exception to this. Its wacky imagery and quirky storyline leave the audience entertained and perplexed. The Substance is described as a new body-horror film which follows Elisabeth Sparkle who struggles to keep up with Hollywoodâs harsh beauty standards leading her to a âblack market drugâ. The drug promises her a future where she can lead a double life as it creates a younger version of the user.
Demi Moore plays the leading role of Elizabeth Sparkle, a Hollywood fitness instructor who turns fifty and suddenly no longer fits the industryâs beauty standard. She is let go from her job and is forced to adapt to a new life where she is deemed too old for the entertainment industry. Elisabeth begins to spiral, and this is when she orders âThe Substance’. The drug creates a younger, more beautiful and better version from Elisabeth called Sue played by Margrett Qualley. However, the two bodies must switch every seven days because they canât be âactiveâ at the same time. This causes Elisabeth and her younger self âSueâ to clash because Elisabeth grows jealous of Sue while Sue desperately wants longer than seven days in her body.
The French director Coralie Fargeat co-produced, wrote and directed âThe Substanceâ. Her interesting directing style added to the grotesque nature of the film. The disturbing scenes were captured perfectly by Fargeatâs entrancing use of lighting and angles. In the opening scene alone, the viewer got the sense that the film was going to take an intriguing turn. The grotesque imagery has left audience members walking out of the viewing according to the Independent UK. The gore proved to be too much for viewers with the majority of the scenes being extremely graphic. The âtransformationâ scene depicted Sue emerging out of Elisabethâs spine which cracked open and later had to be stitched up with a needle and thread.
As the film came to a close, the storyline got progressively more outlandish. The plot had gone from somewhat of a believable story to complete science fiction. At one point of the film, it showed Moore cracking her own leg back into place so she could walk. The third act became an unbearable level of gruesome with close-up shots of unescapable gore. The scene of Sue pulling out her teeth was enough for any viewer to look away. However, the casting of Demi Moore was perfect since she was once seen as Hollywoodâs âIt Girlâ like Elisabeth Sparkle. When Elisabeth was no longer seen as a desirable woman once she turned 50, she was replaced by a younger woman who was deemed more attractive. Moore being the lead had more of an effect as it illustrated what happened to her character, which also happened to her as she grew older within the public eye.
The Substance highlights how male actors in Hollywood are praised the older they get whereas female actors begin to be type cast and lose jobs when they hit a certain age because they are no longer seen as desirable. The outlandish film perfectly highlights the ridiculousness of the beauty standards and the expectations of Hollywood.
The wider context of the film shows how it happens to all women in society because anyone could use âthe substanceâ as a way to be âprettyâ again. The film showed how insecurities can make you feel like you need to change yourself like Elisabeth Sparkle did. The scene where Elisabeth stared at herself in the mirror captured what it feels like to look at yourself and not like what you see. She began to obsess over what she thought were her âflawsâ and got progressively more upset. Mooreâs performance shows the desperation that is felt by so many women to change their bodies to try and keep up with beauty standards. Ultimately Elisabeth Sparkle did succumb to societal pressure leading to her body and life being altered forever.
The film ended how it began, leaving the viewer with just as many questions as the start. There was a sense of sadness after the final scene because Elisabeth Sparkleâs life had been turned upside all because of beauty standards. The overall concept of the film was carried out effectively, however if you are someone who doesnât like gore or graphic imagery, maybe âThe Substanceâ isnât for you.