An international movie that has taken the horror world by storm is “The Substance.” The movie was shot in 108 days by director and producer Coralie Fargeat and has won Best Screenplay at the Cannes Film Festival. The movie has grossed over $47 million on a $17.5 million budget.
The movie follows Elisabeth Sparkle, who has just turned 50 at the start of the movie. She finds out her boss is trying to get her fired due to her age and dropping viewers for her workout TV show. As she is grappling with this, she ends up in a car accident.
As she is getting checked out in the hospital, a young male nurse approaches her and tells her about The Substance. The Substance is an underground drug that is supposed to make a “younger, more beautiful, more perfect” version of oneself. After hesitating, she agrees and orders it.
However, instead of making her young and beautiful, The Substance made another version of her, who calls herself Sue. Two people share the same consciousness and are supposed to rotate every seven days, with Sue’s goal being to regain the fame and glory that Elisabeth lost. This causes tension between the two of them. Elisabeth feels that Sue is trying to erase her while Sue views Elisabeth as a pig that is holding her back.
This movie has a lot of gross and explicit body horror with a dramatic and gory third act. Fargeat wanted this movie to focus on body image and the societal pressure that people, especially women, face as they grow older. The film is well shot and has a lot of bright and interesting colors to contrast the dark tone and message. The actors are all amazing and make the audience connect with both Sue and Elisabeth even though they are on opposing sides.
Rating: 9/10
