The Substance Review (Film, 2024)
content warning: flashing lights, foul language, hospital/medical footage, blood, gore, body horror, mental wellness, sexual content, misogyny, violence against women
Editorial note: The Substance is a throwback extreme body horror film in the vein of Re-Animator or Troma productions. This is bloody, gory, and violent as a narrative device.
In 2018, I reviewed writer/director Coralie Fargeat’s debut feature-length film Revenge. I still consider it one of the greatest films of the last 20 years and arguably one of the greatest revenge films ever made. Fargeat captures the rage of brutal betrayal and satisfaction of justice in a bold, visceral way. You won’t walk away from Revenge the same.
Cut to 2024. Fargeat is now a Cannes-award-winning screenwriter for her new film The Substance. The Substance does for body horror what Revenge did for the revenge genre. Fargeat is redefining genre in ways you never imagined.
Elisabeth Sparkle is the biggest star in the world. She has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and a hit fitness show that’s run for years. Unfortunately, Elisabeth is an actress in Hollywood and the studio has decided her age is a liability. She’s too old to be the it girl, so they unceremoniously fire her regardless of her success. To make matters worse, her car gets totaled on the way home. She’s given a clean bill of health at the hospital and a new career opportunity.
That opportunity is The Substance, an experimental medical procedure that promises to create a better version of yourself. You spend seven days in your new form and seven days in your old form. You carefully maintain your other half with injections and liquid nutrition while you live the other half of your life. Break the balance and you face the consequences.
Sue is the newest it girl in Hollywood. She appears seemingly out of nowhere at an open call to replace Elisabeth Sparkle and just reads star. Her new fitness show is a modern, super sexy update on the Elisabeth Sparkle formula, but Sue embodies all the warmth and kindness that drew people to Elisabeth in the first place.
Elisabeth and Sue are the same. They are one. They are connected by The Substance and must care for each other.
Despite all that exposition and teasing, I’ve revealed next to nothing about The Substance. This is a longer horror film, clocking in at two hours and twenty minutes, but it doesn’t feel that way. In a film driven by visuals and a pumping synth soundtrack, Coralie Fargeat demands your attention and doesn’t let you breathe until the ending credits. This is a masterclass in show, don’t tell, and we’re told just enough to buy into the show.
The makeup effects are sensational. I’m a hardened horror fan that grew up in the VHS era. It takes a lot to make me squirm. The Substance is filled with visuals I’ve never seen before and will not soon forget. The creativity on display to define how The Substance works is mind blowing. It also feels totally justified by the story of desperation and cruelty in Hollywood.
The Substance is event viewing for horror fans. Because the story is driven by visuals, not dialogue, you can read the content and commentary in so many unexpected ways; none of them are wrong. Fargeat casts a wide net of critique and doesn’t miss her prey.
The Substance is currently playing in theaters.
