To age as a woman, particularly in Hollywood, is to commit an unforgivable sin. It is a death sentence, and as soon as any amount of sagging kicks in, wrinkles form, or the first gray hair pops up, it's a race against time. It doesn't matter what accolades you've achieved. The aging woman in Hollywood is disposable. Using Demi Moore's Elisabeth Sparkles as the vehicle to examine the psychology of aging, writer/director Coralie Fargeat's THE SUBSTANCE is a beautifully grotesque display of body horror, unafraid to take risks.
Elisabeth Sparkles is a fading star. Once highly exalted with a lengthy, rewarding career, she finds herself cruelly tossed aside by network executive Harvey (Dennis Quaid) on her birthday. Benjamin Cracun's fish-eye lens warps Harvey into something monstrous, fully capturing his repugnant nature. Devour or be devoured, the lens seems to say as Harvey munches anomalistically on a bowl of shrimp. And for Sparkles, she has been devoured and spat out by the industry - bone and all.
The introduction of the titular Substance plants a seed in Sparkles. Wanting to recapture her youth and resume her career, she ignores the obvious red flags surrounding the product. From the mysterious caller to the suspicious meeting location to grab her welcome package, the warning signs practically scream at her. Yet, how many stories have we seen of desperate women undergoing procedures and embracing fads in pursuit of youth? This is all part of Fargeat's design.
Beauty is pain in THE SUBSTANCE, as manifested by Moore's splitting transformation reminiscent of childbirth. Skin splitting, blood oozing—this is just the beginning of the body horror Fargeat has in store for viewers. But underneath the transformation and the subsequent "upgraded" replacement, Sue (Margaret Qualley), is the oft-forgotten reminder that the two people are part of the same whole. But often, when it comes to low self-confidence and esteem, we forget to treat ourselves with the kindness we deserve. Unfortunately, Hollywood is an echo chamber, and that echo chamber prefers Sue's youth.
The camera breaks Sue down by her body parts. Close-ups of her butt, cleavage, and teeth when she smiles, the male gaze is rampant in painting a picture of how we (and the world) see Sue. She is an amalgamation of beauty and youth, but little focus is paid to who she is. As long as she is hot, who cares? And with the follies of youth, Sue is more than willing to lean into this, not wholly realizing that she is digging a hole for herself the longer she embraces the misogynistic ageist culture she seeks to revel in.
There's a meta nod to Moore's career, where her own appearance has been vilified and torn apart when she's veered outside of Hollywood's and society's narrow lens. As Sparkles, Moore is vulnerable, never hesitating to go all in on her performance, even when her body is forced to massive extremes. And as Sparkles' self-hatred and body hit new lows, Moore embraces the outlandish, dare I say, campier aspects of the script with aplomb.
Fargeat makes excellent use of Qualley's dance background, with her Sue moving and gyrating in the tiniest of body suits to get the studio execs going. Balancing between innocence and sexiness, Qualley's Sue embodies the perfect woman in a man's world. Or, at least, the contradictory idea of one. But when it comes to her interactions with Sparkles, there's a sinister edge to Qualley's performance that trickles in, cluing us into the shame Sue feels over her aging self.
THE SUBSTANCE pulls no punches with its horror, going to extremes in the bodily transformations. The prosthetics and effects are evocative of Stuart Gordon's or Brian Yuzna's works, giving an idea of what horror fans can expect when diving into this twisted horror. By the time THE SUBSTANCE hits its climactic bloody end, Fargeat hits the gas pedal and never lets up in a culmination of blood, screams, and - ultimately - euphoric joy.
THE SUBSTANCE never shies away from its non-subtle, expressive view of how we process aging. It is brutally honest in its rage, internalized and externalized, but also in Sparkles' self-discovery, there's something akin to hope. Hope that one day we can be free from the shackles of the expectations placed on us. Only then can the healing begin. Until then, don't inject yourself with questionable materials deposited from a back alley.
THE SUBSTANCE played as a part of the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival, and will be released in theaters on September 20, 2024.