Bonkers, daring "The Substance" will melt your face off

The Substance (2024)

The fear of aging, being made into a commodity, and fading out of the relevant spotlight gets pushed to such extremes in writer-director Coralie Fargeat’s "The Substance," a bold, daring, and horrifically gross showbiz satire. Trailblazing since her thrilling, vibrantly bloody 2017 rape-revenge thriller "Revenge," Fargeat somehow, some way, out-Cronenbergs and out-Gordons David Cronenberg and Stuart Gordon. While it certainly will not befit the tastes of the most casual moviegoers, "The Substance" metamorphoses into its own bonkers, in-your-face creation with the de-aging invention of Robert Zemeckis’ "Death Becomes Her" and the visceral kick of Darren Aronofsky’s "Requiem for a Dream."

In a captivating, career-defining performance (and that’s not hyperbole), Demi Moore plays Elisabeth Sparkle, a celebrity fitness guru who hosts a Jane Fonda-like aerobics TV show. The network, led by Harvey (a crassly over-the-top Dennis Quaid, who’s impressively disgusting even when he’s not slurping down a bowl of shrimp), wants to phase Elisabeth out and replace her with a woman who’s younger, more beautiful, and even more vivacious. After a car accident that actually leaves her without a scratch, Elisabeth is slipped a number by a gorgeous male nurse to get her in contact with “the substance.” She’s hesitant and skeptical at first, but this underground drug regimen promises a better version of herself — just one single injection and a copy of Elisabeth will be released. What’s the catch? Both bifurcated versions can only be out in the world for seven days each. Well, what Elisabeth and the copy named Sue (Margaret Qualley) both forget is that they are still one, and while “the substance” is free, the toll it takes is truly life-changing.

Set in a caricatured-but-probably-not-far-off version of an L.A. industry where women are chewed up and spit out, "The Substance" is a grotesque, savage, darkly funny satire as much as it’s a wildly ghastly, barrier-crossing horror show. A yolk emerging out of a sunny-side-up egg, followed by the overhead evolution of a Hollywood Walk of Fame star, is the first of many frames that efficiently tell a story. The production design, from the long hallway and Overlook Hotel-ish carpet design of the TV studio to Elisabeth’s sterile-white bathroom, is exquisite. The repetition of certain dialogue is also masterfully aligned with the increasing horrors that befall Elisabeth and Sue as one. Two male casting directors asking Sue for her “name, age, and measurements” returns when selfish decisions are made, and the lecherous studio head’s condescending “pretty girls should always smile!” command takes an even creepier turn. Read the full review at GuyAtTheMovies.com

Grade: A

Mubi released "The Substance" (141 min.) in theaters on September 20, 2024.