The Substance Review

As a newly converted horror fan, it takes a lot for me to be scared by a film, particularly when I haven't seen the movie. Just going off the buzz and first impressions are usually enough for me to get excited about a new horror film and crave the experience of watching it in a packed cinema. However, the opposite happened with a little movie called 'The Substance', the more I heard about it, the less I wanted to see it because I was purely scared and horrified by the reviews and where this movie goes. 

However, something switched in me and I started to see this film everywhere and people talking about the experience of watching this in the cinema - so as someone who loves the cinema experience and this is definitely the film to see on your own - I put my big girl pants on and braved the film and wow! I am glad I went. 

This is my first experience in this sub genre of body horror, which was the main reason I was scared to go as I am not a big fan of gore but this film does it in a stylistic way and is for a purpose - it elevates the story and the switching of the two main characters. 

The film centres around Elizabeth Sparkle, played by Demi Moore, who is facing the ageing epidemic in Hollywood and has turned the dreaded age of fifty - is  immediately kicked off her exercise show and is retired from the industry. However, after a fatal car crash, she is approached about The Substance - a drug you inject which turns you into your younger, more beautiful self which you switch into and live life for only one week then you switch back to your former self and so on. Her younger self played by Margaret Qualley who has the name Sue is embraced by the industry and is given everything Sparkle want's - a primetime show, fame, beauty and admiration. However, as Sparkle enjoy's her new life as Sue rather than her former self she want's to stay as her for longer than a week which has grotesque consquences. 

As the story unfolds and you think it has gone as far as it can, and then it ramps up even more the real stars of the show are Moore and Qualley who are bold and fearless playing two sides of the same coin. These are roles that require complete freedom and trust and are incredibly brave with some scene's requiring full frontal nudity and intense fight scenes and they both are incredible on screen. Even though The Academy never seems to honour horror and still has a 
prejudice against it, these two women fully deserve to be in the conversation for Best Actress and Supporting Actress. 

I have not been able to stop thinking about this film since I saw it, and not in the way I thought I would - don't get me wrong I definitley had to turn my eyes from the screen in some scenes but I am thinking more about the deeper themes of age, beauty and the male gaze and how they are portayed in this film unlike anything I have seen before. Something I didn't think I would say upon going into this film, but I would be intriuged to watch it again just for the cinema experience alone - as I said before definitley one to watch on your own makes for less awkwardness.