'The Substance' Review: Identity, Fame, and a Ton of Blood [TIFF 2024]
Demi Moore wows in this thrilling body horror, taking new risks that all pay off.
One of the Toronto International Film Festival’s most well-loved slates is their Midnight Madness selection: a collection of horror movies debuting through festival week that iconically begin at midnight, known for their notoriously full-of-energy crowds. On the first night of this year’s festival, The Substance, the second film by director Coralie Fargeat, made its North American debut. After winning Best Screenplay at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, major buzz followed this wildly entertaining horror. Starring Demi Moore in what may be her best performance to date, viewers will undoubtedly be gripped from start to finish.
The film begins with Elisabeth Sparkle (Demi Moore), an aerobics TV-show star, getting fired on her 50th birthday by obnoxious studio executive Harvey (Dennis Quaid). She burns with the frustration of aging in Hollywood, and left reeling from the shock of unexpected career loss, she careens into traffic and is rushed to the hospital. While physically okay, she is floundering, but things change when a nurse slips a mysterious USB into her coat pocket. She hesitantly watches the stored video and learns of a serum, called The Substance, that when injected, promises to create a better version of the user. While she’s initially dismissive, the pain of watching her decades-long career disappear in the blink of an eye encourages her to take the plunge – what’s the worst that could happen? After a gorefest of a transformation, Elisabeth now splits her time with this “perfect” version of herself (played by Margaret Qualley): younger, sexier, and, most importantly, what the studios want. Before long, Elisabeth and her counterpart, Sue, battle each other for time, taking more and more from each other until it feels too far gone to stop. For interested viewers, this is all that should be sought out about the plot – going into this film blind will serve its shock value and effectiveness.
Moore is fantastic, baring it all (quite literally) on screen, entirely putting ego and pride to bed and dedicating herself to the work, warts and all. She is bursting with energy and emotion, and while it must be recognized as a great performance, above all, it is massively entertaining. Typically known for her supreme beauty in roles throughout her filmography, including Disclosure and Indecent Proposal, this role feels particularly out of character, but that just makes it all the better. A film that takes these risks is given a chance to make waves. Qualley matches her every stride, wide-eyed and hungry for fame, admiration, and life. Quaid’s role, albeit smaller, is hilariously memorable, his unlikableness almost instantly spills into laughs at his ridiculousness. The whole cast works together very well, complementing one another’s performances and feeding into this audacious ride.
Fargeat’s directing is strong and bold, energy radiating from the screen as she executes a vision that sets the stage for her as a director to watch. The film is extremely fast paced, but this suits the film well, leaving the viewer no time to catch their breath as the plot progresses. The editing whips the film along, with unconventional close-ups and unique angles that add to the entire atmosphere of the world; picture a close-up of Quaid’s sweaty, grimacing face as he struggles at the urinal while barking orders to a subordinate. Immediately attention grabbing, this is an energetic spiral of horror and gore and nudity (and a lot of blood).
The Substance comments on the lengths that people, and in particular, women often feel forced to go to in order to maintain relevance and status. This pressure feels as if its only growing, and the aging woman is looked upon often with disdain, especially in the world of entertainment. It may feel ridiculous to a viewer that someone would take such risks, put themselves through so much pain and torment to achieve something seemingly meaningless, but despite the extremes this film ends up reaching, on a basic level, it’s a mirror to reality. While we may not have a mysterious green substance to age backwards, the things people do to preserve themselves for others’ approval can be brutal. Women will go so far as to destroy themselves for the sake of what will keep them in the public eye, and this film takes this to the extreme. The sexualization of young women is so deeply prevalent in society, and this film pokes at this idea, forcing this discomfort onto the viewer. Beyond being thematically rich, this film is a thrilling watch, technically strong and heralded by utterly convincing performances.
The Substance is an electric body horror that would wake up any viewer, no matter the time of day - this is a must see for horror fans everywhere. While maybe not a film for family movie night, Fargeat’s sophomore feature is definitely a film to look out for.