Demi Moore is all the rage in disturbing horror flick "The Substance"

   Published Dec. 19, 2024

Claire Hay

Reporter

The new body horror box office hit The Substance has broken records since its release on September 20, 2024, becoming the production company Mubi’s biggest hit. Directed by Coralie Fargeat and starring Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley, The Substance brings light to relevant topics such as beauty standards, aging, and what people are doing in response by using stomach-churning visuals and an anxiety-inducing plotline.

The Substance follows formerly beloved Hollywood star Elisabeth Sparkle (Demi Moore) as she faces the cruel reality of the competitive, ever-changing industry she’s a part of. Sparkle realizes she’s fading into the background and is no longer the superstar she used to be after being fired from her job as the host of an aerobics show on her 50th birthday. She resorts to taking a black market drug known as “The Substance”, which turns her into a younger, more attractive and overall better version of herself, Sue (Margaret Qualley). 

The film quickly takes a dark turn when Sparkle starts to abuse the drug and stop following the very specific set of rules as she tries to relive the life she once had, eventually leading to destruction.

At times, having a similar feel to some of the most iconic female rage movies such as Possession and Black Swan, and paying direct homage to Carrie towards the end of the film, The Substance as a social commentary seems to be a direct response to the current Ozempic craze and other extreme, harmful treatments celebrities, more specifically women, are using to fit the nearly impossible beauty standards placed upon them. 

The disturbing levels of harm that women feel they need to put themselves through to fit into the unrealistic beauty standards is really driven home with the films brilliantly graphic and unsettling scenes of the deterioration of Sparkle’s body while abusing the drug, with the direct juxtaposition of Sue thriving in almost every way possible.

Although the genre of body horror may not be for everyone, The Substance is an uncomfortable view on what has become the norm, making the audience think twice about what’s really going on behind the scenes of our favorite celebrities' lives.