The Substance (2024): How The Neglected Genre Got Its Groove Back [Spoiler-Free]

When I say The Substance is a mind-blowing experience – and I AM saying that – I’m still underselling it.

I went into this movie expecting a quirky take on Cronenberg that tackles the subject of unrealistic beauty standards, and yeah, that’s what it was. But it’s so much more.

We have Demi Moore coming in with what I can only describe as a career-defining role. And that’s saying a lot for someone with a career as well-defined as hers already is. This feels like another Ghost moment, another Striptease moment, another G.I. Jane moment: one of those moments where people are going to be talking about Demi Moore for a long time.  Her portrayal of Elisabeth Sparkle, an Oscar winner turned television fitness guru who loses her career simply because she’s too old, is both entertaining and tragic. It’s also not lost on me that Demi was months away from turning 60 when filming this role in which she’s convincingly playing a 50 year old who still looks years younger than even that.

And that’s the ridiculousness that The Substance is satirizing: the impossible and unfair beauty expectations our society puts on women. Just like in the case of Elisabeth Sparkle, it can even send them looking for dangerous medical solutions, which we know is an everyday occurrence in our society.

We have writer/director Coralie Fargeat who made this movie feel like the work of a seasoned veteran filmmaker, even though this was only her 2nd feature film. She chose some of the brightest vibrant designs outside of last year’s Barbie that I’ve seen in quite a while. Anyone who will listen to me prattle on about movies knows that I have a LOT of opinions on how drab many movies look these days. So, I enjoyed having this movie smack me in the face with radiant color from start to finish. And the camera work? There are so many beautifully eerie wide shots that would just linger down empty hallways which totally gave me the creeps, like I was expecting Elisabeth to run into a pair of twins who just want her to play with them…forever…and ever…and ever…

Without spoiling the last act of the movie, I’ll say this: it gets weird. REALLY weird. But not weird for someone like me who was allowed to watch 80s staples like The Fly and The Thing when I was six years old. (Thanks Mom and Dad – you made me like this!) But it gets weird for a movie that has Oscars talk happening about it, especially after winning Best Screenplay at Cannes earlier this year, and obviously after we all saw Demi Moore completely knock this out of the park. The idea of a gross-out body horror movie being heavily featured during awards season would be an absolute dream for me.

That got me thinking about past movies that achieved major awards buzz despite being gross and/or horrifying.

Sure, movies which toe that line are no stranger to seeing Oscar nominations. Rosemary’s Baby, Jaws, Misery, The Exorcist, and Bram Stoker’s Dracula are a few that come to mind. A lot of them did bring some real ick to the table. I mean, what’s worse: having pea soup vomited on you by a possessed child, or having blood vomited on you by a Victorian-era vampire? The idea of having a full-on gonzo movie get some serious acknowledgment I think is bold new territory, and it’s exciting to see that we are far from running out of fresh ways to keep grossing everyone out.

My parents definitely regretted letting me watch movies I shouldn’t have when I was so young – especially after I dressed as Freddy Krueger at my 1st grade Halloween party at a Catholic school. But without that early influence, I wouldn’t be here today feeling like The Substance is a major win for fans like me who see these flicks as deserving recognition for the art that they are.

Outside of that, I sincerely hope that this movie helps shed more light on the damaging effects that the societal pressures of beauty can have. The Substance isn’t just an achievement for the horror genre – it’s a striking look into the impossible beauty standards women face, and it begs the question: “Is this truly worth it?”