The Substance

The Substance is a movie that was hardly talked about this year but has gotten a decent amount of awards buzz. A past her prime actress is presented with an option that might keep her in the spotlight for a bit longer. From the little rumblings that I’ve heard it is an intense story that critiques Hollywood. And we all know that is my shit so we are finally watching The Substance.

The opening scene with the walk of fame star is actually so upsetting, because Hollywood makes such a big deal about it but the walk of fame is actually disgusting guys. Marilyn Monroe’s star is now in front of a McDonald’s, there is a stripper store every three feet, it's disgusting.

Already loving the camera work here, it's slightly distorted which gives the perfectly designed hallway a nice creepy feeling.

Oh I hope this guy dies, I hate him immediately. The close up of him eating makes me hate him so much more. The camera distortion on his head is great because he's an ugly fuck and he sucks.

So the substance thing is super fucking weird, also the little commercial was super hostile, not sure why anyone would watch that and think “oh yeah, that’s what I wanna do”. But she’s getting replaced and she’s desperate so I guess I get it. This is so much work, I give up just seeing how extensive this process is. Needles, more needles and daily stabilization? No thank you. She is going on so little information. How desperate does one have to be to do all this on the bare minimum of promises. No evidence, no actual information. Just a sketchy commercial and even sketchier pick up process and off we go.

Wow this is super disgusting. The transition is doing so much. I absolutely hate any kind of body horror at any level, this is so gross. I’m gonna throw up.

So like legitimately she’s a different version of herself, she’s literally a separate person. That’s creepy, this is gonna end well.

And of course at the audition it's two creepy ass dudes making the decision. Dennis Quaid is disgusting, what a perfect casting.

Margaret Qualley is incredible. She is obviously stunning, but she is really capturing this role extremely well. She’s very subtle in her acting but she is so convincing. Also the casting was incredible because she totally looks like she could be Demi Moore’s daughter.

There is actually very little dialogue in this film which I always like because it allows the actors to actually do their jobs. Margaret is killing it, she is phenomenal. The way she uses her eyes tells so much. She is just so good at the subtlety and telling so much story with every movement of her face.

The aesthetic to this film is also incredible.

The man that gave her the information for The Substance talks to her about the transition. Which freaks her out and causes her to spiral a little bit.

The body horror in this looks really good, but that means that I am super grossed out. So not only are we commenting on how Hollywood treats its older actresses but we are also talking about how drug abuse looks. Sue is addicted to how being young, and hot feels and as such she doesn’t care about the consequences that her other self is facing.

Also the makeup team had to work really hard because Demi Moore is still so beautiful that even when she’s got super old lady, decaying makeup on one side of her face you can still see how gorgeous she is. It’s kind of ridiculous. It's not until she's a full bald, hunchback that she stops being pretty.

So I felt like I was gonna vomit the whole movie because it is absolutely a body horror film, which is so not my thing but goddamn the story is so good. Demi Moore was truly incredible I can only imagine where she had to go emotionally or a role like this and Margaret Qualley is truly incredible. The story was told so well through so little dialogue and we know that’s my favorite kind of screenwriting. It is truly a poignant and spectacular film that needs its awards. I give it a very obvious 10/10, no notes.