Sep 265 min read

Demi Moore Stuns In New Movie, 'The Substance': Film Review

by Riley Cook

First, I’d like to preface this by saying, R.I.P. to the iconic Ray Liotta. Liotta was cast in the film in February 2022, but he died in May that year before he could film his scenes. Dennis Quaid replaced him as Harvey in the film.

Warning, there are spoilers ahead, so if you haven’t seen the movie yet, go watch it first and then come back.

Immediately, wow! I love a good film that’s destined to become a cult classic because it was no doubt set up that way. Carrie, Death Becomes Her, The Witches of Eastwick, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and a few others are some great examples of cult horror. Coralie Fargeat, as director and writer, did not by any means disappoint. The story begins with Elisabeth Sparkle, known for her aerobics show. A few minutes into the film, we learn that Harvey, played by Dennis Quaid, and the film's producer/studio executive, wants her replaced with someone younger and more attractive.

The first few minutes of the film might make you roll your eyes, thinking, “This is just another cliché: woman wants to be young, so she takes a potion to become a younger, hotter version of herself, things go left…blah blah blah, roll credits.” But nope, here we get a fresh new idea and a twist that even I didn’t see coming.

The truth is, it’s Hollywood, and Quaid’s character being named Harvey was not by accident. Harvey Weinstein, who is currently imprisoned for raping aspiring actress Jessica Mann and sexually assaulting Miriam Haley, is an American former film producer known for requiring aspiring actresses to perform salacious acts to secure movie roles or accolades. While Harvey in this film is not a sexual predator, he is an ageist, which is not uncommon in the industry.

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With all this pressure, our beloved actress Elisabeth begins to spiral out of control, leading her to take her focus off the road and end up in a car accident. At the hospital, one of the residents shares with her a flash drive with information about ‘The Substance.’ The video on the flash drive is rather vague, but the overall message is, “You and this younger, hotter version of yourself are one.” Elisabeth tosses it because she thinks it’s just a bunch of crap. Then she ruminates on it and decides to give them a call anyway.

After she’s mailed her keycard with the numbers 503 on it, she goes to the lockbox to retrieve the substance. Shortly after, and this is probably my favorite part of the film, Demi Moore is seen completely nude in her bathroom contemplating taking this substance. The actress even said that she was nervous about filming completely nude at the age of 61 and felt vulnerable. But she credits her co-star, Margaret Qualley, for helping her feel more comfortable on set.

With that, she activates, and the movie truly begins! Once the activation seeps into her bloodstream, we see Sue emerge from Elisabeth’s back, which has now split open, allowing her access to the outside world. Sue is Elisabeth’s alter ego; however, this is the one part of the movie I could not wrap my mind around—if Elisabeth’s consciousness is not transferred into her alter ego, then wouldn’t the experiment be pointless?

It’s essentially giving birth to a younger, hotter version of yourself, no different than a mother and daughter. I believe if Elisabeth’s character had transferred her consciousness into Sue, the film would have taken a different route and could have worked just as well. But here, Sue is portrayed as a person distinct from Elisabeth—she wants to party, drink, hang out with friends—and after Harvey discovers her, she is immediately catapulted to superstardom: Vogue covers, billboards, her own show, and becoming the face of their New Year’s Eve celebration.

It’s all overwhelmingly fabulous until Elisabeth starts to see that her beauty is being drained. Each time she and Sue switch places—one week on and one week off—Sue drains Elisabeth of her life force to sustain herself for longer than seven days. Slowly, Elisabeth begins to fade into obscurity; she now resembles a hunchback witch. She is bald, her nails are broken, her skin is wrinkled, her breasts are sagging—she is essentially drained of her vitality to sustain this younger, hotter version of herself, even though it’s not really her… if that makes sense.

Not only does the movie have a good plot and amazing cinematography, but it also delivers a message that many will resonate with, especially in Hollywood. People want to be younger, hotter, and more attractive, and many fear aging so much that they are willing to go to great lengths to sustain or prolong their youth. But in doing so, they often end up damaging themselves further, almost beyond repair.

Towards the close of the film, we get a showdown between the two women. Elisabeth has finally decided to put an end to it all, and in a strange turn of events, Sue wakes up. At this point, Elisabeth is almost dead and looks horrendous—like a monster. Sue eventually kills her and heads off to her New Year’s Eve hosting gig with the network. But then, she starts losing her teeth, because remember, even though they are different, they are still one.

Once Sue notices she’s beginning to die, she heads back to the house and goes into the bathroom—which is immaculate now, by the way. Sue is incredible at construction and cleaning—where she injects herself with the activator, hoping a younger, hotter version of herself will emerge from her back. But that’s not the case; she simply turns into a grotesque monster.

If you made it to the end of the film, you have a strong stomach—watcher beware, because some scenes are truly ghastly—but that’s what makes a good cult horror classic anyway. It’s part of the formula.

This film gets an 8/10 rating from me, especially considering the horror genre, which isn’t easy to pull off these days. Amazing work, and I’m so happy to see Demi back on screen—she looks fantastic!

Demi Moore Stuns In New Movie, 'The Substance': Film Review

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