EntertainmentMoviesHorror MoviesThe SubstanceDemi Moore and Margaret Qualley’s new body horror is a fleshy commentary on societal pressures – and the most unique experience you’ll ever have in a theaterWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
EntertainmentMoviesHorror MoviesThe SubstanceDemi Moore and Margaret Qualley’s new body horror is a fleshy commentary on societal pressures – and the most unique experience you’ll ever have in a theaterWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Mubi)
I rarely think about my own body when watching a body horror movie. The mere thought of my flesh twisting, stretching, or reforming the way it does in David Cronenberg’s The Fly or Brian Yuzna’s Society is enough to give me a small panic attack. Body horror is best enjoyed when I can disconnect, observe, and let myself be happily sickened from a third-party, viewer’s perspective. The Substance, however, does not let you disconnect. Instead, Coralie Fargeat’s drippy, goopy gorefest invites you to see yourself on screen – and have a slightly intense but strangely enjoyable existential crisis for two hours and 20 minutes.
The quest for perfection
(Image credit: MUBI)
I’d argue that most horror trailers make the mistake of giving away some of the most significant scenes, or sometimes even the climax (looking at you, Speak No Evil). But the brief, arthouse-indie-style teasers for The Substance don’t evenslightlyprepare you for what you’re about to witness. They also didn’t prepare me for the emotional ride I would go on as a woman who suffers from a long history of diagnosed body dysmorphia – which is arguably the core of the film.
Big Screen SpotlightShining a light on the under-the-radar theatrical releases that you need to know about, with a new article every Friday
Big Screen Spotlight
Shining a light on the under-the-radar theatrical releases that you need to know about, with a new article every Friday
Shining a light on the under-the-radar theatrical releases that you need to know about, with a new article every Friday
Body horror but make it meta
(Image credit: MUBI)
The purposeful duality of the casting isn’t lost on me: Demi Moore is a 61-year-old woman who, with a career that spans over 40 years, was once the highest-paid actress in the world. Margaret Qualley is a 29-year-old rising star who is starting to nab lead roles in Hollywood. Moore toldThe Guardianthat she found the movie liberating, that she related not just to the obvious similarities between her and Elisabeth Sparkle but to “how violent we can be toward ourselves.” This is a lot of what makes it work: casting an unknown or more recently famous actor as a fading veteran of Hollywood wouldn’t hit the same. It wouldn’t have the same healing factor. When Elisabeth is looking at her body in the mirror, pinching at her stomach, the viewer can’t help but wonder if Moore feels the same way in real life – and this almost meta aspect of the film is just another factor that makes it one of the most unique cinematic experiences I’ve ever had.
Big Screen Spotlight(Image credit: Sky Cinema)Kate Winslet, Andy Samberg, and Alexander Skarsgård talk working on Winslet’s years-in-the-making passion project about one of history’s most interesting but forgotten photographers
Big Screen Spotlight
(Image credit: Sky Cinema)Kate Winslet, Andy Samberg, and Alexander Skarsgård talk working on Winslet’s years-in-the-making passion project about one of history’s most interesting but forgotten photographers
(Image credit: Sky Cinema)
Kate Winslet, Andy Samberg, and Alexander Skarsgård talk working on Winslet’s years-in-the-making passion project about one of history’s most interesting but forgotten photographers
(Image credit: Mubi)
This is for two reasons. One: the visual horror becomes so sickening that I, a fan of movies where heads get blown off and people get eaten, had to look away from the screen several times. At one point I put my hand over my eyes and watched between the slits of my fingers. Two: there’s a point during the aforementioned visual horror where it dawns on the viewer that Fargeat is commenting on the sheer absurdity of body dysmorphia itself. When you take away things like makeup, cosmetic surgery, and societal pressures that encourage us to spend all of our money on those things… we’re just sacks of meat. We are beautiful and gorgeous and stunning, but, at the end of the day, our bodies are just these fleshy little vessels that carry our souls around in this particular lifetime. Fargeat invites us to think of the body as a concept, as an idea rather than a thing – and mild existential crisis aside, I found it rather healing. I recommend rushing to the theater to see it, but I would probably skip the popcorn.
The Substance is out now in theaters. For more on what to watch, check out the rest of ourBig Screen Spotlightseries.
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