The Substance
I’m going to make a new movie list called “One-Watch Masterpieces”, and I’ll tell you why. There’s not many lists out there like that. Sure, there’s probably a WatchMojo video out on YouTube already that claims a Top 10 or Top 20 “Movies So Good Yet You Can Only See Them Once”, and if so, hey, hats off to them for expanding their repertoire.
In the vein of body horror such as Audition or the vintage gem Freaks, and the warped, mindless reality distortion from epics like Brazil and Eraserhead comes Coralie Fargeat’s The Substance, which recently became my Top #1 movie I can never watch again.
The Substance is a provocative body-horror film that delves into the societal obsession with youth and beauty. The movie follows a washed-up Oscar winning actress named Elizabeth Sparks (played with absolute perfection by Demi Moore). On her 50th birthday, after years as an aerobics star icon, she realizes her age is catching up to her. Her show producer, played brilliantly by Dennis Quaid, agrees and fires her on the spot, seeking a younger, fresher face for the screen.
When Elizabeth happens upon a rejuvenation advertisement known as “The Substance”, she boldly and foolishly takes the plunge and orders this possible solution to her problems. This leads instead to a nightmare of visceral explorations of identity and self-perception, as a much younger Elizabeth Sparks (Margaret Qualley) emerges – literally.
The struggle between Sparks and her alter-ego starts out as a playful, comedic tug-of-war for dominance of the self. Sparks convinces her producer that her alter-ego is someone else entirely. But soon Elizabeth can no longer control the alter-ego. There is gut-wrenching horror watching the fight escalate between the two selves until there is little choice but to become the only self.
I know people label this as a horror movie and, because of this, it doesn’t have a shot at the Best Film award. But the strange thing is, it’s really NOT a horror movie. I’d call it more of an outrageous comedy, a journey into mind-bending surrealism laced with glimpses of heavy satire. In fact, when you get towards the end of the movie, in some ways it could be seen as a dream sequence, and perhaps Sparks will wake up sweating in her bed.
That’s sort of what I thought would happen, but Fargeat blew me away with the ending all the same. As it turned out, there was one more mind-blowing sequence I can’t ever forget – or watch again.
I can’t understand why she wrote this particular screenplay. I have absolutely no knowledge of the body politics when it comes to women or what they want. Perhaps the movie teaches us, again, the wise words “be yourself”. I’d like to think Fargeat also wanted to illustrate the lengths women go to in remaining attractive to others, and whether it’s really all worth it. Do women want to look good for others – or for themselves? Why is there such an attraction to attraction?
In retrospect, The Substance is clearly designed to shock – with some of the most grotesque special effects ever put to screen. (And I saw In A Violent Nature, which made me cringe in parts.) The movie pulls no punches with its body horror and still leaves you breathless with laughter.
After Fargeat’s critical success with Revenge (2017), about a woman who gets even with a group of lawless men in the desert in extremely violent fashion, she is quickly becoming the Gratuitous Violence Queen of Film.
Check out The Substance, if you can stomach it. For all the graphic horror, there is a brilliant story, a fantastical, satirical comedic journey, and perhaps a lesson for us all.
Be yourself.
The Substance is currently available for streaming on Mubi and various VOD platforms. Given its graphic content, viewer discretion is advised.
Well, duh.