every so often i would go to the cinema at watch a film that has me absolutely transfixed from start to finish. coralie fargeat’s the substance is one of those films. the satirical body horror is one of the most visually striking, immersive things i’ve watched recently. before i get into this properly, be warned that there are spoilers throughout.

the story follows elizabeth sparkle (played by demi moore), a 50-year old academy award winning actor and aerobics tv show host, . she gets fired due to age and looks on her 50th birthday, gets in a hectic car accident, then has a midlife crisis whereby she turns to a black market drug called ‘the substance’ aimed at creating a younger, better and ‘perfect’ version of you, by cell replication. in new skin, birthed from elizabeth’s original body, is sue (played by margaret qualley). hot and fit based on heteronormative and patriarchal standards, she takes over the aerobics class, loved by harvey (played by dennis quaid), the misogynistic and capitalist executive of the network. elizabeth and sue’s body alternate lives every week. sue, being the younger, fitter version of herself, yearns for more life experience, climbing up the ranks of stardom that she so desperately craves, as sue but also elizabeth. they are one and the same, the mysterious voice representing the substance keeps reminding us throughout. elizabeth becomes isolated and old, and with the abuse of power on the time sue was meant to have, create severe complications for elizabeth’s body as she becomes heavily deformed. after sue activates herself again, a new version is created, monstro elisasue, this time a vastly deformed and large creature. so-removed from how beautiful and fit elizabeth actually as she turned 50, the story turns into a true tragedy, as i sit there reflecting on all the themes throughout this incredible picture.

the film is ultimately a critique of the patriarchy, beauty standards for women and men’s obsession over women’s bodies. elizabeth’s constant seeking of ultimate beauty and perfection is sad to see but a reality that very much exists for millions of women around the world. i mean, the worrying stories i hear from friends about experiences they’ve had with men alone is enough to convince me that every woman still live in fear when men under patriarchy exist alongside them. knowing that ur mentally and emotionally blocked from living your life carries a lot of weight, and thus elizabeth spirals emotionally, having multiple breakdowns throughout the film. on one ocassion, she agrees to meet with fred, someone from high school she saw just outside the hospital at the start of the story, but could not leave her appartment because she was compelled to look as hot as her younger version. she ends up missing the dinner, too embarassed to text him back. the mental prison she finds herself in is saddening and leads to so many self-destructing tendancies. let’s talk about the duality of self and how that’s portrayed. the first scene of the film was someone injecting the substance into an egg, as we see the yolk multiply and multiply. and yet, as is mentioned throughout the film, it’s all just us. we are one, whole being, no matter how many versions of ourselves exist, both literally within the film, and metaphorically within our lives. and these versions of ourselves are very much shaped by the environment we’re in, and the aspirations we have within the capitalist reality of every day life in the western world. i see so much of gen z completely live online, with goals of going viral and having your 5 minutes of fame, which is sad to see, but i kinda get it. this creation of an online persona that is vastly different from our ‘offline’ self in my view is a mask to cover traumas as a result of the pressures of this capitalist, consumerist world that constantly expects the constant production of content. stardom and being famous isn’t something people should aspire to be, but do because of these societal pressures, as well as false promises of what it it entails. and it also just amplifies our own ego to the point where we think that we’re better than others. it just amplifies the ego, as sue portrays effortlessly as she confidently steals the life from her original body and self. the yearning for more all the time, to me, is quite a capitalist mindset, and one that has been aplified a lot more in the 2020s, in my opinion. the generational divide is crazy, and the constant internal battle between both the young and maturer sides of herself is portrayed throughout the film effortlessly. contrasting views of both sue and elizabeth’s lives and expectations are portrayed in a scene where elizabeth was watching sue on television talking about how old and boring elizabeth’s show was, as if she was talking about an actual stranger. that betrayal of self, again within the patriarchal environment we live in makes it a dystopian reality for elizabeth, and women in general around the world (without the exaggerations of the film itself, of course). i appreciate the fact that the whole mystery of the substance remained in tact throughout – we don’t know much, though the branding of the drug is pretty cool, and so is the mysterious location where all the deliveries were kept too. it’s the engaging story and the visuals that make it such a striking a beautiful film to me.

a few additional things to add! the use of colour throughout is genuinely stunning, the ode to the shining with the thin corridors and carpet just outside the stage area of the studio was really cool as well. there were some moments of true aesthetic beauty, and shots that literally make me go “whoa, that’s a good shot” like the true pretentious film snob that i am, but it was that and the whole heartbeat and dynamic of the scenes that made it so enjoyable. oh, and the gory scene where monstro elisasue goes to the new years eve show she was meant to host, spooking everyone and expelling lakes of blood all around the audience? absolutely, yes! the over-the-top ridiculousness of the bloodbath thematically complements the ridiculousness of patriarchal beauty standards, as someone who loves body horror, it was just pure entertainment to me. there were a few scenes that grossed me out, most notably the infected needle hole sue uses to stabalise elizabeth’s body every day (a requirement in the substance’s instructions). the score was incredible too, so i’ll definitely be checking out raffertie’s music in the very near future.

overall, the substance is one of the most fascinating and chilling films i’ve seen, with stunning visuals and enough thematically to keep me thinking about it for days and weeks to come. i might rewatch it in cinemas again though, and so should you!