“Have you ever dreamt of a better version of yourself?”

In a gory tale about Hollywood, self-hatred and temptation, the body horror film “The Substance,” directed by Coralie Fargeat, shines a light on the reality of fame and society’s hyper-fixation on vanity. 

The film received five Oscar nominations and tells the story through fading Hollywood film star Elizabeth Sparkle (Demi Moore). On her 50th birthday, her life turns upside down when she loses her long-running aerobics show, “Sparkle Your Life with Elizabeth,” and is abruptly dismissed by her repulsive producer Harvey (Dennis Quaid) because of her age. When Elizabeth crashes her car, she finds herself in the hospital where a young nurse hands her a flash drive advertising “The Substance,” a black-market drug that promises a more youthful and beautiful version of the user. 

Devastated with her appearance, Elizabeth hesitantly gives in and undergoes the transformation, birthing a younger version of herself, Sue (Margaret Qualley). The two bodies must switch consciousness every week and daily injections of the stabilizer fluid extracted from the original body are required to prevent the new body from deteriorating. Eager for fame, the clone replaces Elizabeth in the spotlight. Everything is going accordingly, but what happens when one body gets too greedy and wants more time?

Moor and Qualley deliver powerhouse performances and portray their characters perfectly. Beneath the violence and body horror, the actors convey very real and bone-chilling questions: To what lengths will women go to in order to remain relevant? What happens when society reduces a woman’s worth to her beauty? 

The film’s visuals — both grossly mesmerizing and vibrantly captivating — captures the contrast of Elizabeth’s deteriorating mental and physical health with Sue’s youthful glow. Fargeat uses body horror not just for the shock value but also as a way to critique Hollywood’s toxic obsession with youth. The movie brings to life that the real horror lies not in the blood and mutations, but in the societal pressures that drive Elizabeth to such extremes in the first place. Through quick scene changes and a rapid storyline, it portrays the desperation Elizabeth felt as she starts deteriorating faster and faster. 

Dark, unsettling, and rooted in reality, “The Substance” is not for the faint of heart. But for those who can stomach its graphic imagery, it’s one of the most thought-provoking horror films in recent years. 

“The Substance”

2 hours, 20 minutes

Rated R for strong bloody violent content, gore, graphic nudity and language

Directed by Coralie Fargeat 

Starring Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley