Review--The Substance

Demi Moore stars in a visceral body-horror spectacle

I’ve heard about The Substance for a while now. A friend of mine suggested I watch it as soon as I could, but I put it off until last night. The day before Halloween seemed the perfect time, especially since there wasn’t much else to do. I’m glad I did.

Demi Moore, an actor I haven’t seen in a film in quite some time, co-stars as a 50-ish woman named “Elizabeth Sparkle” who is on the downside of her career. While she hosts a popular aerobics program, its marketshare is dwindling and the executives want to replace her with someone much younger. After a car accident, she receives a message about something called The Substance.

The disembodied voice that communicates with her via the phone explains that she will share half of her life with “another.” The other, which is also her, will be younger, more beautiful, and more physically dynamic. Desperate to remain relevant, she opts for “the experience.”

I won’t delve into the ins and outs of how the body “swap” functions, but it’s striking in its viscerality, and the audience quickly realizes Elizabeth might have made a big mistake. The character, however, doesn’t realize this until it’s far too late.

The Substance has over-the-top characters, like Dennis Quaid’s TV executive, who add a layer of unreality to everything that’s happening to our protagonist. Apart from Elizabeth and her young doppleganger, the other characters in the film seem dangerously artificial or on the edge of full-blown insanity. Their response to her new “self” is a genuine comment on how the entertainment industry treats aging stars.

While it’s all a bit unsettling, it’s supposed to be. As her alternate self begins breaking the rules of The Substance, Elizabeth’s physical characteristics begin changing in permanent ways. The result is an absolute horror show.

The Substance makes no bones about its message and doesn’t care that it’s smacking you in the face with it. The acting, the cinematography, and the practical effects make the film a spectacle to behold. The scenes with nudity aren’t sexually titilating, but more horrifying in ways I can’t quite describe without ruining the film.

Sparkle’s descent into near madness, and the narcissistic acts of her other self, provide a contrast between the old and the young. But, as the disembodied voice constantly reminds the pair of them, they are the same. They are one. And perhaps that is the film’s true message: outward physicality does nothing to change what’s inside of us. The real “you” is always there no matter how many elective surgeries or cosmetic treatments you choose to endure.

The end of the film had me slack-jawed with disgust and near laughter, as I think it was supposed to. In other words, I think The Substance fulfilled its intent. I very much enjoyed it.

The Substance, at the time of this writing, is streaming on Hulu. I highly recommend you check it out.