7.6/10 (IMDB)

The Substance

2h 20m Drama | Horror

Show Times


The Substance

Demi Moore gives a career-best performance as Elisabeth Sparkle, a former A-lister past her prime and drawn to the opportunity presented by a mysterious new drug. All it takes is one injection and she is reborn – temporarily – as the gorgeous, twentysomething Sue.

The only rule? Time needs to be split: exactly one week in one body, then one week in the other. No exceptions. Easy, right? Deliriously entertaining and ruthlessly satirical, Coralie Fargeat’s explosive Cannes sensation is a be-careful-what-you-wish-for fable for the ages.

Director

Coralie Fargeat

Cast

Margaret Qualley, Dennis Quaid, Demi Moore

Rating

R

Year

2024

Country

United Kingdom, United States

Language

English


Main Trailer


Reviews

  • "Fresh score. Feminist scholarship this ain’t; think Showgirls if it were directed by David Cronenberg. But give yourself permission to revel in the excess and be rewarded with an uproariously good time."
    - Empire Magazine
  • "An immensely, unstoppably, ecstatically demented fairy tale about female self-hatred, Coralie Fargeat’s THE SUBSTANCE will stop at nothing — and I mean nothing — to explode the ruthless beauty standards that society has inflicted upon women for thousands of years."
    - IndieWire
  • "A bold dissection on aging and self-hatred Fargeat’s latest work is an utter visual marvel and features superb performances from its lead actresses; Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley."
    - The Playlist
  • "This is a cheerfully silly and outrageously indulgent piece of gonzo body-horror comedy, lacking in subtlety, body-positivity or positivity of any sort. Roger Corman would have loved it."
    - Guardian
  • "Some will run screaming, but if it’s your jam, this could just be your new favourite horror movie."
    - Time Out
  • "We whooped, we gasped, and we clapped. It’s the grossest thing you will see all year."
    - The Daily Beast
  • "While it is so over-the-top as to verge on camp, it is also a chillingly pointed expression of the madness that ensues in pursuit of impossible standards."
    - Entertainment Weekly
  • "Fresh score. It’s a thrill to watch an actor [like Demi Moore] go for broke like this, seemingly so devoted to the cause of their film. Fargeat, for the most part, does not fail that determination."
    - Vanity Fair

Awards

  • Cannes Film Festival

Festivals

  • Toronto Int'l Film Festival
  • Karlovy Vary Int'l Film Festival
  • New Horizons Int'l Film Festival
  • New Zealand Int'l Film Festival
  • Edinburgh Int'l Film Festival
  • Slaughter Horror Film Festival
  • Mediterrane Film Festival
  • Filmfest München