French director Coralie Fargeat obviously likes her film to be filled with
blood. There was tons of it in her first feature Revenge (2017) and there’s
even more of it in her second feature, The Substance.
Demi Moore gives arguably the best performance of her career as Elisabeth
Sparkle a TV aerobics star who is sacked on her 50 th birthday by
her sleazy boss (Dennis Quaid) as he who wants a younger version of Sparkle
to take over her morning show.
After leaving the studio, and being distracted when she sees her billboard
being taken down, Sparkle is involved in a car accident. At the hospital a
nurse gives her a flash drive which she finds promotes a mysterious product
called The Substance.
The Substance it seems, if injected, creates a beautiful perfect younger
version of yourself. The use of The Substance, much like owning a Gremlin,
comes with rules. The first and most important rule is that Sparkle and her
younger self must swap places every 7 days.
Once Sparkle agrees to take the serum it causes the younger version of
herself to pop out her back. The younger version, who calls herself Sue
(Margaret Qualley), is then hired by the studio to take over Sparkles show.
As each use their alternative weeks (when they’re not conscious each lie in
a type of coma only to be wakened when the other one performs a procedure
likened to a blood transfusion, Sue finds herself becoming the star of
the studio whilst Sparkle’s self-esteem becomes lower the more Sue’s rises.
Needless to say the pair don’t stick to the rules which cause unforeseen
issues for them both.
It’s obvious from watching The Substance that Coralie Fargeat has a love of
horror films. Similarities to Frankenstein, The Elephant Man, Carrie and
The Shinning amongst many others is probably no coincidence.
The Substance is, if you can stand the gore, bonkers but also a huge amount
of fun. Just don’t go and see it on a full stomach and you’ll be fine
