The Substance review: 'Body horror at its finest' (31/1/25)

If you are tired of horror movies with lacklustre plots and predictable jump scares then look no further. The Substance is a fresh horror certain to make you squirm.

It’s hard to quantify what makes a horror movie horrifying. But making a cinema room full of people so squeamish and grossed out they can't look at the screen is a good indication. 

I was glad as I looked around I wasn’t the only one doing this.

I'm not the biggest fan of horrors, but even I was watching the last half an hour of The Substance through my fingers trying not to be sick.

This is the effect The Substance has. This 140-minute film, directed by French director Coralie Fargeat and starring veteran actress Demi Moore and up-and-comer Margaret Qualley, is a fresh and grounded take on your standard horror movie.

Just as the genre had become oversaturated with lacklustre plots and an overreliance on cheap and predictable jump scares, Fargeat brings back horror's old charm. The flair, the trust in the script and of course masterful gore and monsters.The Substance creates a monster so gory and disgusting that it would make David Cronenberg stand up and applaud.

The Substance follows former star Elizabeth Sparkle (Demi Moore) after she is fired from her TV show on her 50th birthday by her immoral and misogynistic boss (Jack Quaid) in favour of someone younger. 

Following the firing, she is given the chance to transform into a younger and enhanced version of herself by using a black-market drug. She decides to use it in an attempt to take back the life that was taken away from her. 

From the start, Coralie Fargeat masterfully creates an unsettling environment with an off-kilter score and simple set designs. Even when the film is at its quietest you feel uneasy, dreading what will happen next.

When Coralie decides to amp up the gory-ness, she does so to great effect. Whether it's something small like someone eating or the disturbing monster which is born from Moore’s character's misuse of the substance, the discomfort you will feel is inescapable. 

The make-up and practical effects used are incredible. The way they practically transform these characters makes it pop on screen much more than using digital effects ever would.

That doesn't mean the film was without depth. Amid all the absurdity, it still manages to tell a compelling narrative. It may be obscenely gross but it all serves a purpose in the deeply devastating overarching story.

The film is not subtle. In fact, it hits you over the head with its messaging. Granted, this usually can become tiring and I understand that, but in the bizarre world that's been created, such loud messaging fits perfectly. It does it to such effect that by the end, I was just as crushed emotionally as I was mortified by the end.

Qualley shines as Sue, the enhanced version that the drug creates from Moore. She may decide to pick the strangest films possible, but she continues to prove why she is one of acting's rising stars.

In a role she seemed born to play, Moore gives a career-defining performance. Her heartbreakingly relatable portrayal as Elizabeth Sparkle. She brings humanity into the heightened reality that has been created.  Her more reserved and insecure acting juxtaposes perfectly with Qualleys confident and carefree persona to create a duo that will be remembered for years to come. 

The Substance may be too much for some people, it nearly was for me, but what's the point of a horror movie if feeling completely distressed by the end is a bad thing?

I was completely shocked and uncomfortable throughout the whole film, but I loved every second of it. 

If you're asking me if I'd rather watch a basic horror with cheap jump scares or one that will make me feel emotionally dejected one minute and my stomach turn another, I know which one I'm picking. The Substance does exactly that and next to the rest of its horror counterparts, is worth your time.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐