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The Substance

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This article is about the film. For other uses, see Substance (disambiguation).

The Substance
Official poster
Directed byCoralie Fargeat
Written byCoralie Fargeat
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyBenjamin Kracun
Edited by
  • Coralie Fargeat
  • Jérôme Eltabet
  • Valentin Feron
Music byRaffertie
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release dates
  • 19 May 2024 (2024-05-19) (Cannes)
  • 20 September 2024 (2024-09-20) (United Kingdom and United States)
  • 6 November 2024 (2024-11-06) (France)
Running time
140 minutes
Countries
  • United Kingdom
  • United States
  • France[1]
LanguageEnglish

The Substance is a 2024 body horror film co-produced, written and directed by Coralie Fargeat. The film stars Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley and Dennis Quaid. An international co-production between the United Kingdom, the United States and France, its plot follows a fading celebrity who decides to use a black market drug, a cell-replicating substance that temporarily creates a younger, better version of herself, unknowingly giving her horrifying side effects.

The Substance premiered on 19 May 2024 at the 77th Cannes Film Festival, and was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or in its main competition section, where Fargeat won Best Screenplay. It is scheduled to be theatrically released in the United Kingdom and the United States by Mubi on 20 September 2024, and in France by Metropolitan Filmexport on 6 November 2024.

Plot

Elisabeth Sparkle, star of a popular TV aerobics show, is fired on her 50th birthday and subsequently gets in a car accident after seeing her billboard getting taken down. At the hospital, a young nurse secretly gives her a flash drive labelled "The Substance," which promotes a mysterious supplier's invention: a serum that when injected, creates a younger beautiful "perfect" version of the user, though the two remain connected as "one." After some deliberation, Elisabeth orders the product and is forced to "birth" a younger version of herself.

The younger form, adopting the name "Sue", is instructed by the mysterious supplier to inject a serum extracted from Elisabeth each day. The two also have to switch bodies every seven days without exception. Sue is quickly hired back onto Elisabeth's old show, quickly ascending to new heights of fame and admiration. When Elisabeth is forced to switch bodies with her, however, she continues to struggle with a deepening sense of inadequacy and low self-esteem.

The contrast between her and Sue becomes increasingly stark, fueling Elisabeth's growing envy and desire to misuse the serum to extend her time as Sue. This causes one of Elisabeth's fingers to age. Elisabeth contacts the supplier, who tells her that she can either keep obeying the switches or terminate the Substance, which would not revert her appearance. She reluctantly continues to switch.

Sue's fame continues to grow as she neglects the required switches, leading to dangerously prolonged periods in her new form. This neglect causes Elisabeth's original body to age rapidly, becoming increasingly frail and unattractive. When Sue is invited to host a highly anticipated New Year's Eve special, she extracts enough serum from Elisabeth's body to be used for three months, ignoring the switching schedule. However, on the day before the special, Sue runs out of serum and is forced to switch back to Elisabeth, who has rapidly deteriorated. She decides to terminate the Substance and is delivered a termination serum that will kill Sue. However, she regrets her decision and revives her, severing their connection. Sue then exacts revenge by killing Elisabeth and leaves to host the New Year's Eve show.

Elisabeth's death and the misuse of the serum take a severe toll on Sue's body, which begins to deteriorate backstage. In a frantic bid to save herself, Sue races home and attempts to reactivate the original serum, hoping to create a perfected version of herself. Instead, she inadvertently generates a monstrous hybrid of the two. The monster goes to take Sue's place and shocks the public at the live broadcast. The horrified audience erupts into chaos, culminating in the creature's head exploding, grotesquely regenerating and bursting with blood. As the audience becomes drenched in the monster's blood, the monster manages to escape outside before her entire body finally explodes onto the ground.

From the remains of the monstrous form, the face of the original Elisabeth emerges, crawling toward her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Elisabeth finds solace by positioning herself on the star, eventually merging with it as she melts and dissolves.

Cast

Production

In January 2022, it was announced that Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley would star in the film, with Working Title Films producing and Universal Pictures distributing. Coralie Fargeat would serve as director, but also as producer alongside Working Title co-chairs Eric Fellner and Tim Bevan.[3][4][5] It was co-produced by Blacksmith, a Paris-based studio created by Fargeat that same year.[6][7] In February 2022, it was announced that Ray Liotta had joined the cast.[8] Liotta died in May 2022, which led Fargeat to later recast the role with Dennis Quaid.[9]

Filming was projected to begin in Paris in May 2022.[10] In August 2022, Deadline Hollywood reported that the film was "currently in production."[11] Later that same month, Qualley confirmed in an interview with W that she was currently doing work on the film.[12] Filming officially wrapped in October 2022.[13]

Release

The Substance was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, where it had its world premiere on 19 May 2024.[14][15] The film received a standing ovation with conflicting reports that it lasted between 9 minutes,[16] 11 minutes,[17] or 13 minutes.[18]

Universal Pictures, which originally signed on as the distributor through a deal with Working Title Films, stepped away from the project upon the film's completion. Multiple sources told The Hollywood Reporter that the studio was "worried about the prospect of releasing the film".[19] Prior to its Cannes debut, Mubi acquired worldwide rights to the film, planning to distribute it theatrically in North America, United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Austria, Latin America, Benelux as well as holding rights for Turkey and India, with its sales company subsidiary The Match Factory handling worldwide sales.[20] The Substance is set to open in theaters in the US, UK, Latin America, Germany, Canada and Netherlands on 20 September 2024.[21] Metropolitan Filmexport acquired French distribution rights from The Match Factory,[22][23] and will release the film on 6 November 2024.[24]

Reception

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 90% of 80 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8.4/10. The website's consensus reads: "Audaciously gross, wickedly clever, and possibly Demi Moore's finest hour, The Substance is a gasp-inducing feat from writer-director Coralie Fargeat."[25] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 85 out of 100, based on 24 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[26]

David Ehrlich of IndieWire graded the film an A, calling it "an epic, audacious body horror masterpiece... an instant classic. The most sickly entertaining theatrical experience of the year".[27]

Nicholas Barber of the BBC awarded the film four stars out of five, while singling out Moore's performance: "Ripping into her best big-screen role in decades, Demi Moore is fearless in parodying her public image."[28]

Phil de Semlyen's five star review in Time Out says it is "Moore who glues it all together, going full Isabelle Adjani-in-Possession in a vanity-free performance full of bruised ego, dawning horror and vulnerability".[29]

Owen Gleiberman in Variety praised the film's director: "Coralie Fargeat works with the flair of a grindhouse Kubrick in a weirdly fun, cathartically grotesque fusion of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Showgirls."[30]

Radhika Seth in Vogue called it "audacious piece of filmmaking ... the most exciting release to have debuted on the Croisette so far" and that it was her "current pick to win the Palme d'Or".[31]

Damon Wise in Deadline said it is "a riotous, dreamlike horror-thriller that ends in a delirious symphony of blood, guts and otherwise undefinable viscera".[32]

Peter Bradshaw's 4-star review in The Guardian called it "a cheerfully silly and outrageously indulgent piece of gonzo body-horror comedy".[33]

Accolades

Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Ref.
Cannes Film Festival 25 May 2024 Palme d'Or Coralie Fargeat Nominated [34]
Best Screenplay Won [35]
Miskolc International Film Festival 14 September 2024 Emeric Pressburger Prize The Substance Nominated [36]
Toronto International Film Festival 15 September 2024 People's Choice Award, Midnight Madness Won [37]

References

  1. ^ "The Substance". Festival de Cannes.
  2. ^ a b "British Council Film: The Substance". film-directory.britishcouncil.org. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
  3. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (31 January 2022). "Demi Moore & Margaret Qualley To Star In Universal/Working Title's 'The Substance'; 'Revenge' Helmer Coralie Fargeat Directs Her Script". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
  4. ^ Romanchick, Shane (1 February 2022). "'The Substance': Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley to Star in Body Horror Film From Coralie Fargeat". Collider. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
  5. ^ Mathai, Jeremy (1 February 2022). "Revenge Filmmaker To Direct Body Horror Movie The Substance With Margaret Qualley And Demi Moore". /Film. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
  6. ^ Lemercier, Fabien (20 May 2024). "Review: The Substance". Cineuropa. Retrieved 13 September 2024.
  7. ^ "Société BLACKSMITH à 75020 PARIS - SIREN 922 497 771". Annuaire des Entreprises (in French). Retrieved 14 September 2024.
  8. ^ Hamman, Cody (16 February 2022). "The Substance: Ray Liotta joins Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley in body horror film". JoBlo.com. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
  9. ^ Shafer, Ellise (19 May 2024). "'The Substance' Director Coralie Fargeat on How Her Feminist Body Horror Film With Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley Mirrors #MeToo: 'We Need a Bigger Revolution'". Variety. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
  10. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (15 February 2022). "Ray Liotta Joins Demi Moore & Margaret Qualley In Coralie Fargeat's The Substance'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
  11. ^ Grobar, Matt (10 August 2022). "Universal Partners With Working Title For First-Ever Global Writers Program; Applications Open Now". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
  12. ^ Wally, Maxine (16 August 2022). "For Margaret Qualley, Dorothy Zbornak Is the Epitome of Cool". W. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
  13. ^ Fargeat, Coralie [@coraliefargeat] (28 October 2022). "And that's a wrap!! Thank you to the amazing cast and crew who surrounded me during this amazing shoot" (Tweet). Retrieved 16 April 2024 – via Twitter.
  14. ^ "The Screenings Guide of the 77th Festival de Cannes". Festival de Cannes. 8 May 2024. Retrieved 8 May 2024.
  15. ^ Keslassy, Elsa; Shafer, Ellise; Ritman, Alex; Debruge, Peter (11 April 2024). "Cannes Film Festival Reveals Lineup: Coppola, Cronenberg, Lanthimos, Schrader and Donald Trump Portrait 'The Apprentice' in Competition". Variety. Retrieved 11 April 2024.
  16. ^ Feinberg, Scott (19 May 2024). "Cannes: Body-Horror Flick 'The Substance' Wows Fest, Getting Nine-Minute Standing Ovation". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
  17. ^ Donnelly, Matt; Shafer, Ellise (19 May 2024). "Cannes Goes Apes— for 'The Substance,' Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley's Flesh-Shredding Body Horror, With 11-Minute Standing Ovation". Variety. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
  18. ^ Tartaglione, Nancy; D'Alessandro, Anthony (19 May 2024). "Demi Moore's 'The Substance' World Premiere Gets A 13-Minute Ovation At Cannes". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
  19. ^ Galuppo, Mia (5 September 2024). "Demi Moore's Director Coralie Fargeat Is Not Afraid to Gross You Out With 'The Substance'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 13 September 2024.
  20. ^ Goodfellow, Melanie (8 May 2024). "Mubi Acquires Coralie Fargeat's Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley, Dennis Quaid Body Horror Movie 'The Substance' Ahead Of Cannes Debut". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 8 May 2024.
  21. ^ @mubi (3 September 2024). "THE SUBSTANCE opens in theaters in the US, UK, Latin America, Germany, Canada and Netherlands from September 20. A MUBI Release" (Tweet). Retrieved 5 September 2024 – via Twitter.
  22. ^ "Buzzy Cannes Competition Title 'The Substance,' Starring Margaret Qualley and Demi Moore, Sells to France's Metropolitan (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. 13 May 2024.
  23. ^ "'The Substance', Starring Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley, Dennis Quaid, Sells Wide". Variety. 24 May 2024.
  24. ^ "THE SUBSTANCE - Metropolitan Films". Metrofilms (in French). Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  25. ^ "The Substance". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 13 September 2024. Edit this at Wikidata
  26. ^ "The Substance". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
  27. ^ Ehrlich, David (19 May 2024). "'The Substance' Review: Margaret Qualley Helps Demi Moore Feel Young Again in an Epic, Audacious, and Insanely Gross Body Horror Masterpiece". IndieWire. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
  28. ^ Barber, Nicholas. "The Substance review: 'Magnificently tasteless' horror comedy is Demi Moore's 'best big-screen role in decades'". BBC. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
  29. ^ "The Substance". Time Out. 20 May 2024.
  30. ^ "'The Substance' Review: Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley in a Visionary Feminist Body-Horror Film That Takes Cosmetic Enhancement to Extremes". Variety. 19 May 2024.
  31. ^ "Dispatch From Cannes: Demi Moore's Mind-Melting Body Horror The Substance Is a Total Knockout". 20 May 2024.
  32. ^ "'The Substance' Review: Demi Moore And Margaret Qualley Pair Up For The Year's Smartest, Goriest Horror Breakout – Cannes Film Festival". 19 May 2024.
  33. ^ Bradshaw, Peter (19 May 2024). "The Substance review – Demi Moore is game for a laugh in grisly body horror caper". The Guardian.
  34. ^ Ntim, Zac (11 April 2024). "Cannes Film Festival Lineup Set: Competition Includes Coppola, Audiard, Cronenberg, Arnold, Lanthimos, Sorrentino & Abbasi's Trump Movie — Full List". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 9 May 2024.
  35. ^ Debruge, Peter (25 May 2024). "Cannes Awards: Female-Centered Stories Win Big in Cannes, as Sean Baker's 'Anora' Earns Palme d'Or". Variety. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
  36. ^ "The 20th Anniversary Edition of CineFest Miskolc IFF Ready to Take Off". FilmNewEurope. 31 August 2024. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
  37. ^ Steve Pond, "‘The Life of Chuck’ Wins Toronto Film Festival’s People’s Choice Award". TheWrap, 15 September 2024.
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