The Substance

What if the painting was the main character of Dorian Gray?

This movie is gross. I love it. If you do not like gross movies do not see this film as you will be grossed out.

I think horror, when done well, reflects the fears of the times in which it was made.

However, horror at its finest speaks to timeless fears which this film does: growing old.

The Substance is about an aging film star who is offered a Substance that will divide herself into two parts one young and the other the age she currently is. It goes about as well as you might think what with it being a horror film and all.

The technical aspects of the film are incredible.

Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley, and Dennis Quaid all deliver incredible performances, with Moore and Qualley achieving so much with little dialogue. Every look they give speaks volumes and the physical acting is superb with both of them being asked to transform in both grand and subtle ways.

Quaid delivers an unhinged and megalomaniacal performance that is reminiscent of something one might see in Twin Peaks or from Al Pacino. All the men in this film are moronic, hedonistic, barbarous idiots who can’t see past their own noses. I’m being told to remind the reader that The Substance is clearly a work of fiction and not at all accurate to real life.

The makeup and visual effects are beautifully disgusting in their design and execution. At one point stop-motion is used to convey an unholy creature and it was such a delight to see The Old Ways still being used.

This film is a classic morality tale, made up in an unsettling and putrescent disguise. Whilst I was watching it I was reminded of Faust, Dorian Gray, Frankenstein, and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. These tales all warn against hubris and the desire to fiddle with the natural order of things. If this film had less blood and needles, it could easily be a story told to kids about not trying to mess around with things.

Liz, played by Moore, makes a deal with a devil using essentially a magic potion to turn young again and eventually turns into a monster of her own making. Classic literature if I’ve ever heard of it.

I also love when doubles are used in cinema to convey the duality that everyone must hold within themselves, turning subtext into text. Not that one is good and one is bad because as we are constantly reminded throughout The Substance, there is just one.

The use of doubles in this case asks the audience to treat themselves with respect, kindness, and the understanding that they will get old and die someday.

Death acceptance is at the core of this film and something that I wrestle with almost every day. It seems impossible to me that I won’t exist someday, but I’ve done it before having not been born for most of human history, so I reckon it can’t be too bad.

I think accepting the fact that you’re a blip on the cosmic scale of time is incredibly important and enriches your life. Everything is precious as it’s the only time it’ll happen.

All and all a great picture, but don’t see it if you’re hungry or just ate, it is gross after all.

The runtime is 141 minutes.