The Substance 2024

THE TERRIFYING POSSIBILITY THAT THE PERSON YOU CAN TRUST THE LEAST MIGHT BE YOURSELF. When I saw a post that this would be rereleased at Gateway Cineplex Wolfgang’s Premiere Cinema, I just had to commit to watching it. And I’m glad I did because I finally got to watch it in its full R18 glory. No holds barred! Before anything else, I just want to say that I almost lost it. My jaw dropped seeing Margaret Qualley here, especially during the “Pump It Up” segment. I’ve never seen her look this hot and titillating before! What immediately caught my attention were the unconventional shots and set design. I even thought this was made by A24 because of how stylized, strange, and visually daring everything looked. The exaggerated production design, unusual framing, bold colors, and willingness to make things uncomfortable all gave me that kind of arthouse horror vibe. When the Substance pitch came in, I immediately thought this was going to be like Black Mirror S06E03 “Beyond the Sea,” Enemy (2013), The Prestige (2006) or The 6th Day (2000). Stories about doubles, replacement bodies, alternate versions of ourselves, and the consequences of creating another self. But it is so much more than that. Obviously, there is a lot to unpack, so let’s go! I feel like this film is a satire, commentary, and dark comedy about a lot of things: steroids and other enhancement drugs, cosmetics, drug abuse, body dysmorphia, people pleasing, and men dictating what women should look like and how they should behave. The film itself can represent almost any shortcut people use to become a supposedly “better” version of themselves. Like in the film, people in real life do not always respect dosage, balance, or moderation. They want faster and better results, so they keep taking more even when the original amount was already enough. The film exaggerates what might happen when that desire becomes uncontrollable. Some of the effects are losing parts of your old self, self harm, and chasing superficial standards that can eventually lead to insecurity and depression. This film feels like the opposite of “love yourself” and also works like a split personality film where the selfish version of ourselves gradually destroys the true one. Once we are under the influence of something we are addicted to, whether it is a substance, attention, validation, beauty, or improvement itself, we can become completely different people. We keep wanting more and more without thinking about the consequences. And without moderation, it is not sustainable for longevity. Eventually, there comes a point when you desperately want to start over and return to who you were before everything became fucked up. But sometimes the damage is already done. The previous normal does not simply come back because you suddenly regret what happened. The body dysmorphia aspect especially hit close to home for me. There was a time when I had a good physique, yet even when I was already in shape, I still looked at myself and thought it was not enough. Meanwhile, other people were looking at that same body and already seeing something far beyond what they believed they could achieve themselves. That disconnect between what other people see and what I see in the mirror is exactly what makes body dysmorphia so dangerous. There is always another flaw to fix and another version of myself I think I need to become. The body horror did not hold back in the third act. It went all in! Everything the film has been building toward finally explodes into something grotesque, absurd, and strangely funny at the same time. Huge props to the prosthetics department because the physical transformation work is incredible. And Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley both give great performances. They sell not only the horror of what is happening to their bodies, but also the desperation, insecurity, vanity, jealousy, and self hatred underneath all of it.