It is not always an easy genre to watch either – I have found in the past that while I can sit through some pretty confronting scenes in a regular horror film, I find myself closing my eyes through some of the more extreme body horror gore. With all of that in mind there is little wonder why many audience members, myself included, have been a little nervous sitting down to watch the new film from director/screenwriter Coralie Fargeat (Revenge) – The Substance.
Plotwise, it revolves around the once award-winning actress Elisabeth Sparkle (Demi Moore – G.I. Jane) whose once glittering career has now dissipated to the point where she is now hosting a daily aerobics show. Even her Hollywood Star has become eroded and ignored by anybody who walks over it.
Then in an instant her whole life changes. A lunch with her producer, the sleazy Harvey (Dennis Quaid – The Day After Tomorrow), results in her being told that she is being replaced by somebody younger. Shattered by the news she is distracted while driving home and becomes involved in a car accident.
While being treated in hospital Elisabeth is handed a USB that contains all the information about a serum called ‘the substance’, which when used correctly can replicate the host and produce a younger and more beautiful version. The catch is the older and younger versions can’t be alive at the same time and can only remain alive on alternate weeks.
Although sceptical, Elisabeth jumps at the opportunity and the result is Sue (Margaret Qualley – Once Upon a Time in Hollywood), who quickly recaptures the magic of Elisabeth’s early career. The question is, can she be trusted not to break any of the rules of the substance given her carefree approach to life.
The Substance starts off as a very smart film. Like her last film, Revenge, Fargeat is making a statement about the behaviour of men in modern-day society, and given some of the things I have read about actresses as they age it is warranted. Unlike Revenge though, Fargeat loses control of this film and after a brilliant first three quarters lets it become a disappointing gore-filled finale.
There is a unique power to the beginning of the film. Fargeat’s filmmaking style melds nicely with Benjamin Kracun’s (Promising Young Woman) cinematography skills and together they bring a look and feel to the film that is a rarity in modern-day cinema. Fargeat often allows the story to play out with long shots without dialogue while revealing the true nature of Harvey with gross-out close-ups as he eats. The work here is a classic reminder of how the old filmmaking mantra of ‘show don’t tell’ is still very relevant.
During this part of the film Demi Moore is also in award-winning form. Moore literally bares all for this role and that in itself is a powerful statement to Hollywood about the treatment of actresses as they get older. At times with all this coming together so well it feels like The Substance is going to be one of the most powerful films to have come out of Hollywood for a long, long time.
Sadly, though, all of that is undone by a let-down last quarter. Just like the legendary Kevin Smith’s journey into body horror with Tusk, the statement that the film is trying to make becomes lost as Fargeat allows the film to become completely unbelievable with an unnecessarily blood-filled end sequence that literally made me groan with disappointment.
When you compare that to the artistic yet believable start to the film you have to wonder what went so tragically wrong during the screenwriting process for Fargeat to allow a film so special to collapse into something so disappointing. Even worse is the fact that the mess of an ending will make many audiences forget the powerful statement that the film was trying to make in the first place.
As mentioned earlier, one of the things that saves The Substance from becoming a total waste of time is the performance of Demi Moore. Moore again reminds Hollywood what a brilliant actress she can be and she is well supported by powerful performances by both Margarat Qualley and Dennis Quaid. They are very much the beauty and beast of the story and they live up to those roles stunningly well.
The Substance could have become one of the films of the year. Instead, its initial brilliance gets lost in a woeful finale that is a reminder of why so many modern-day body horrors become a gory mess.
The Substance is currently screening in Phuket and is rated ‘18’.
2.5/5 Stars
David Griffiths has been working as a film journalist for over 25 years. That time has seen him work in radio, television and in print. He currently hosts a film podcast called The Popcorn Conspiracy. He is also a Rotten Tomatoes accredited reviewer and is an alternate judge for the Golden Globes Awards. You can follow him at Facebook: SubcultureEntertainmentAus