Originally set to be distributed by Universal Pictures, studio executives demanded changes to the film, but Fargeat refused as it would go against her contractual final cut privilege. Universal broke off their distribution deal with Fargeat and the rights were acquired by Mubi. “The Substance” works as well as it does because of Moore’s unbridled performance as a woman struggling with self-hatred, society’s treatment of her, and a newfound dependency on a miracle drug. In one particularly heartbreaking scene, Elizabeth stands in front of a mirror, fussing over the final details of her makeup and outfit. Although she looks glamorous as anyone could hope to look, her face betrays a dissatisfied stare as she sees more flaws than beauty before her.
It’s easily Quaid’s best acting in recent memory, and it’s not even the best one in the movie. Fargeat shows sympathy for both Elisabeth and Sue’s plights as one might for Frankenstein and the monster he creates. What begins as an experiment towards a new beginning quickly warps with unintended consequences.
But Fargeat, who wrote and directed the film, twists the search for a “fountain of youth” shot into a blood-and-neon drenched spectacle. Following a particularly destructive episode as Elisabeth, Sue stockpiles stabilizer fluid and refuses to switch back. Three months later, on the day before the New Year’s Eve show, Sue runs out of stabilizer fluid and contacts the supplier, who informs her she must switch back to replenish the fluid. When they switch, Elisabeth finds herself transformed into a deformed, hag-like hunchback.
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The Substance is a 2024 body horror film written, co-produced and directed by Coralie Fargeat. The film is noted for its satirical elements and grotesque, hyperrealistic imagery. Demi Moore’s critically acclaimed horror, The Substance, is coming to HBO Max.
More information about The Substance on Fandango
The Substance grossed approximately $82 million worldwide on a $18 million budget, becoming distributor MUBI’s highest-grossing title and one of 2024’s most talked-about horror movies. The film by French director Coralie Fargeat follows Elisabeth Sparkle, a former A-lister who is “suddenly fired from her fitness TV show by repellent studio head,” Harvey (Dennis Quaid), for her age. In an act of desperation, she takes “a mysterious new drug,” “The Substance,” and is temporarily reborn as “the gorgeous, twentysomething Sue (Margaret Qualley),” according to the film’s synopsis. Relying on her image for work, the celebrity turns to an untested black-market drug. But as she loses control of herself, her younger self, and the life around her, Elisabeth begins to wonder what the real purpose of the substance is.
- While it may not suit everyone’s stomach, those with an appetite for the grotesque will succumb to Demi Moore’s Kafka-esque performance and feast on the bodily horrors of The Substance.
- Directed by Coralie Fargeat, The Substance is a body horror that doubles as a savage commentary on beauty, aging, and identity.
- Principal photography began in France in August 2022 and concluded in October, lasting 108 days.
- He looks to be having a field day behaving badly as the personification of the cruelty women experience in the industry.
- Whether writing poetry and scripts in her spare time or news articles, her work is crafted with care, clarity, and a deep understanding of what connects with audiences.
Can I watch The Substance in theaters?
It’s a ritual many of us might know too well as we stress over accessories and lip color in the hopes of looking fashionable, carefully adding or subtracting layers of clothes and jewelry to feel good in our own skin. Elizabeth is so displeased with her image, she aggressively wipes the deep shade of lipstick across her face and pulls off the fake lashes from her lids. While it may feel like a cautionary tale for our times, the horrors at the heart of “The Substance” have been with us for many years, and the issues the movie uncovers are so much more than skin deep. As with her lean-and-mean feature debut “Revenge,” Fargeat writes a tight script focused on very few characters.
Perhaps the use of Bernard Herrmann’s “Vertigo” theme feels too on the nose, but it fits thematically in the story and its obsessive mood. The timing is also strategic, as October’s Halloween season increases The Substance’s relevance, which may encourage genre fans to see it. This could further widen the film’s reach, potentially increasing its cultural impact and long-term viewership. Furthermore, a wider streaming debut could further amplify Demi Moore’s comeback narrative, after her performance in the film already earned her her first Oscar nomination. She attempts to create a new version of herself using the leftover serum, despite the single-use warning.
Feeling crushed by impossible beauty standards and society’s hyperfixation on youth is nothing new. But Coralie Fargeat’s “The Substance” arrives in the wake of the Ozempic era, when a quick shot promises weight loss that seemed impossible to achieve without going under the knife just a few years ago. In my social media feed, the ads offer the chance to “feel like your old self again” and to give it a try for cheap and see fast results. The parallels between GLP-1 weight-loss drugs to the movie’s aforementioned substance end there.
Other Demi Moore & Coralie Fargeat movies
- While Sue lives a confident and hedonistic life, Elisabeth becomes a self-hating recluse.
- Daily injections of stabilizer fluid, extracted from the original body, are required to prevent Sue from deteriorating.
- The parallels between GLP-1 weight-loss drugs to the movie’s aforementioned substance end there.
- Sophie is a poet, screenwriter, and Senior Writer, who has been writing for ScreenRant since 2024.
- It won Best Makeup and Hairstyling at the 97th Academy Awards, along with numerous other accolades.
The two bodies must switch consciousness every seven days without exception, with the inactive body remaining unconscious and fed intravenously. Daily injections of stabilizer fluid, extracted from the original body, are required to prevent Sue from deteriorating. Sue becomes an overnight sensation after auditioning as Elisabeth’s replacement, and is offered by Harvey to host the New Year’s Eve show. While Sue lives a confident and hedonistic life, Elisabeth becomes a self-hating recluse. Near the end of one weekly cycle, Sue brings a man home for casual sex; she delays the switch by extracting additional stabilizer fluid, causing Elisabeth’s right index finger to rapidly age.
Notes
To stop Sue aging her further, Elisabeth orders a serum designed to terminate her. However, Elisabeth, still craving Sue’s celebrity status, stops before fully injecting the serum and resuscitates Sue, leaving both of them conscious. Realizing Elisabeth’s initial intent, Sue beats Elisabeth to death before leaving to host the New Year’s show. As Sue, Qualley is reimagined into the sexpot-next-door with an idealized hot body who has a fondness for neon workout clothes, lip gloss, big earrings, and boys. As far as mustache-twirling villains go, Quaid may not have the facial hair, but he has a maniacal laugh and heartless persona to match Harvey’s ostentatious suits. He looks to be having a field day behaving badly as the personification of the cruelty women experience in the industry.
HBO Max releasing The Substance is a win for both the film and the streamer. It will allow viewers to approach the movie on their own terms, while the October release date only prepares them for what is to come in a month centered on horror. However, the film’s strengths lie in its deeper statements, making it a standout. The Substance, also substance use disorder treatment starring Dennis Quaid, was released in theaters on September 20, 2024, and garnered a strong critical reception, holding a Certified Fresh 89 % Tomatometer on Rotten Tomatoes.
Streaming details for The Substance on MUBI
This results in the creation of a grotesque mutated body, “Monstro Elisasue”, with both Elisabeth and Sue’s faces. Wearing a mask cut from a poster of Elisabeth, Monstro Elisasue attempts to host the show, but the audience erupts into chaos when her disguise falls off. An audience member decapitates her, only for an even more mutated head to grow back, and one of her arms breaks and drenches the audience and studio in blood.
Motivated by societal pressures on women’s bodies and aging, Fargeat wrote the screenplay in two years, assembling a production team spanning France, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Principal photography began in France in August 2022 and concluded in October, lasting 108 days. It extensively used prosthetic makeup and other practical effects, including suits, puppetry, dummies, insert shots, and approximately 21,000 liters (5,500 U.S. gallons) of fake blood to portray Elisabeth’s drug-induced transformation.
The Substance premiered at the 77th Cannes Film Festival on May 19, 2024, where it was nominated for the Palme d’Or and Fargeat won Best Screenplay. The film was theatrically released in the United Kingdom and the United States on September 20, 2024, and in France on November 6, 2024, to critical acclaim, with particular praise for the special effects and Moore’s performance. The film was also a box office success, grossing $77–82 million against its $18 million production budget, becoming Mubi’s highest-grossing film. It won Best Makeup and Hairstyling at the 97th Academy Awards, along with numerous other accolades. Moore’s performance won her a Golden Globe Award, Critics’ Choice Award, and Screen Actors Guild Award, and a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress.