By: Max Jasper

Coralie Fargeat’s 2024 science-fiction horror “The Substance” is one of the toughest watches I’ve had in some time. From the insanely graphic body horror to the pathetic decisions the protagonists make, I found every minute of it to be unsettling in different ways.
The film follows former Oscar-winner Elisabeth Sparkle (Demi Moore), the host of a morning exercise TV show. She is fired by her disgustingly rude producer, Harvey (Dennis Quaid), on her 50th birthday, due to her age. She then discovers “The Substance”, a black market drug that promises “a younger, more beautiful, more perfect” version of oneself. 
She then purchases The Substance and uses it, birthing Sue (Margaret Qualley), who is just as the product advertised: younger, more beautiful, and more perfect. 
During this time, Elisabeth struggles with switching between herself and Sue, constantly wanting to be Sue, although she can only be Sue for a week without repercussions. Elisabeth and Sue are one, meaning that although they don’t share the same body at once, they possess all the same memories, thoughts, and ideas. 


However, a movie called “The Substance” wouldn’t be right without substance abuse, so, as one could probably guess, Sue gets greedy and essentially tortures Elisabeth, turning her into a horrific creature as she’s drained from the lack of food and stabilization that her body once had.
This eventually takes a toll on Sue, as after killing Elisabeth, she begins to deteriorate, losing teeth, a fingernail, and an ear. She returns home and injects herself with the initial one-use only fluid, creating Monstro Elisasue, a deformed human with body parts in places where body parts shouldn’t be. Monstro Elisasue performs at the New Year’s Eve performance that Sue was supposed to, revealing to the world her monstrous form, scaring everyone, and leading the film’s climax to end in complete mayhem. 


Before I delve into my issues with the film’s climactic scene, it’s essential to highlight the prominent feminist themes that “The Substance” contains. 


At its core, “The Substance” is about women in the spotlight appealing to the beauty standards of men (particularly old and gross ones), and the control men in the film industry have over women. Heck, the film’s antagonist is named Harvey, after monstrous former film producer Harvey Weinstein.
Aging is also a prevalent theme in “The Substance”, as it highlights how the modern audience tends to prefer younger, more beautiful people, rather than clinging to the same people as they age.
Ironically, this theme came true at the 2025 Academy Awards, where 25-year-old Mikey Madison won the Academy Award for Best Actress, beating out 62-year-old Moore.
While some of the scenes depicted in “The Substance” were satirized for comedic effect, the themes remain, and likely will remain prevalent as long as Hollywood and social media continue to thrive and grow by the day. 


Relevant themes aside, as a story, “The Substance” was a tough film for me as a viewer to watch, because Elisabeth and Sue are constantly at odds with each other, each making worse decisions than the other. Because of this, it was hard to root for them; however, I think that was Fargeat’s intent, as, at its depth, “The Substance” is about the abuse of wants and desires, and how far one will go to be a better version of themselves, especially being surrounded in an environment where they feel that their current self isn’t good enough.
As for the structure of the story, I think “The Substance” overdoes itself with some scenes. Some of the scenes in the film feel incredibly long and drawn out. In fact, I could feel that this was nearly a two and a half hour movie. The film’s climax was also long and seemed to go on forever, which, in my opinion, was the most painful part of the movie for me, as seeing Monstro Elisasue cry that she was still “the same person”, despite her new deformity, was heartbreaking, especially because she didn’t look bad at all at age 50, she was just indirectly told that she was by the gross old men who run the business.


In conclusion, “The Substance” contains painfully realistic themes mixed in with necessary satirization in order to get the point across. While it does drag in some regards, it is a well-acted and well-shot film that definitely deserved all the accolades it received.

Three and a half stars out of five.