I’ve seen my share of body horror films in my day. The Human Centipede, Tusk, and The Fly come to mind when I think of this subgenre of horror. It’s a niche genre, but when it’s done right it can be great. The Fly is considered one of the best horror films ever. That’s a prime example of when this genre is done right. The Substance is the latest body horror film. It got a great buzz out of Festival De Cannes this past June.  I finally saw it and it’s as good as the hype that was built out of France.

Elizabeth Sparkle (Demi Moore) was a once big star now an aging television workout personality. She thinks she’s doing great on her show, but inadvertently she overhears her head producer saying he wants to replace her. That she’s too old, on her 50th birthday no less. On top of that, she gets into a nearly fatal car accident. This is when she comes across a nurse who gives her a new lease on life. He offers her a “Substance” that can transform her into a better version of herself. The problem is there are side effects to the experimental procedure. They aren’t good either.

As a side effect of the Substance, it creates an alternate personality if you will. The person you always wanted to be but can’t because of age and other variables. The second person named Sue (Margaret Qualley) has seven days with the body and then she has to give it back to the original owner, in this case, Moore’s character. The problem is once Qualley’s character gets a taste of fame she doesn’t want to give it up. This causes issues for Moore’s character. Big problems, she can’t change. 

The director Coralie Faragaat (Revenge) proposes that Hollywood gets rid of its aging female stars.  She would be right. I remember a big star of a film from 1986 who was young, blonde and pretty and only a couple of years later she looked completely different and then she was gone from Hollywood altogether. Women don’t have a say in their life span in Hollywood as men do. They just fade away when Hollywood is finished with them. Or you have to be so great that they keep casting you over and over again. That’s a rarity for women in the biz though. Meryl Streep is one of the few I can recall who has stood the test of time in Hollywood.

The aforementioned The Fly 1986 starring Jeff  Goldblum is one of the best examples of body horror I’ve ever seen. The Elephant Man isn’t a horror film, but it’s more akin to The Substance Regarding its prosthetics and makeup and so forth. The team behind this movie spared no expense in getting the most grotesque look they could create. I was disgusted by what I was looking at near the end and at the end of this movie. I almost had to look away. It was that ugly to look at. This is awards-worthy makeup and hairstyling if I ever saw it.  In a great film like this, I can live with grotesque characters. Not in a movie like Tusk though.

One of the other technical things about this film is its score by Raffertie. At times the score was pulse-pounding and very intense. It chimed in at certain times which was very surprising and gave me a jolt. The sounds were odd and there was a hint of some electro synth going on. The music was like a dichotomy to the story. They were a bit odd to put together, but they also worked as well. More and more movies are doing this type of music. I like it a lot. I recall May December having similar music and it worked for that movie also.

One of my favorite things about this movie was its production design. There were many vibrant colors from an orange hallway, to a a yellow coat that played a huge part in the look and aesthetic of this film. The whites and pinks played off the overall dark theme of body appearance and bad treatment in Hollywood. There was a contorted effect to give this movie a look that people would remember, and I sure did, that’s for sure.

Another trick that the director used to make the movie come across as a little weird was the camera angles and various shots she chose to show. More than once I noticed shots from the point of view from the bottom of a trash can, martini glass, or through an eye hole in a door. These shots gave the film a strange aesthetic from the point of view of the characters. I loved these scenes quite a bit. You can tell the cinematographer and director had a great eye.

You can’t talk about this movie though without talking about its three stars. Moore, Qualley, and Quaid. They all gave everything they had to these roles. It was nice to see Moore back in a substantial role again. After this, she deserves more. Lately, Qualley has made a career of being in wacky off-the-wall films like this and Kinds of Kindness. She has a quirkiness and a beauty that goes hand in hand with each other. That’s why she keeps getting cast. Quaid has been doing his fair share of Christian or sports movies lately, but this was a pleasant surprise to see him in. He was so over the top it was funny, but his role was meant to be that way. I loved it. This cast were all stellar in their performances from beginning to end.

The Substance lived up to all the hype. It was everything I’d hoped it would be and more. The body horror was the best I’ve seen since The Fly 1986. The performances from the three stars were all good with Quaid being a pleasant surprise. The production design and cinematography were stellar. They both blew me away with the creativity that was used. The makeup and hairstyling, mainly the awards-worthy prosthetics, were incredible. I was disgusted to look at these people if you will. This is going to go down as one of the best surprises of the year. Also, it’s another great horror film in a year full of them. This film blew me away in so many ways. It is hard to describe. I loved all of it though. 

4 ½ stars

Dan Skip Allen