Part 1: The Substance (2024) Isn’t Worth Your Time

Demi Moore as Elisabeth in The Substance (2024)

The Substance (2024) rolled into Cannes wrapped in feminist body horror hype, promising to shake the industry with its guts, gore, and message. But what actually landed was a self-indulgent, underwritten mess that left audiences asking: was that it?

Character Development: A Missed Opportunity

The Substance suffers poor character development, specifically when it comes to Elisabeth (Demi Moore), the aging fitness icon desperate to reclaim her youth. The opening scene fails to establish the stakes of the film. The opening Hollywood start does nothing to tell the audience anything about Elizabeth. Okay, we're supposed to think this is her dream come true but why? We didn't see her childhood plays she put on for the neighborhood. We didn't see her practicing lines obsessively before an audition. We didn't see her struggle to make a living to show what she's willing to sacrifice. We're just supposed to take the movie at it's word. Fine. But now that she's "a once-celebrated but now-faded Hollywood film star [hosting] her long-running aerobics TV show" why should I think she's not equally as relieved as she is upset to have this mediocre farewell tour end? Why on Earth would I think it would make sense that THE FIRST THING she turns to is a magic switch-y science kit that she learned of from a mystery weirdo's certainly not virus-ridden flash drive?

What does this matter so much to her? Is she financially unstable? We could've seen past due bills piling up. But we didn't. That could have been easily achieved even on this movie's micro-budget. Could she have found another, maybe even better, opportunity if she just tried? We didn't see her audition for anything else. We didn't get a rejection call, voicemail, email, etc. Did she give up on having a family for her career? We didn't see any family photos, visits, or attempted communications. Not even social media. Is she addicted to the limelight? Where are her fan letters or DMs? Where are the newspaper clippings she kept from when she first started out? We see her former classmate who swoons over her, but she must have had better prospects? Maybe she dated a Brad Pitt type back in the day. She might have fooled around with one of The Sexiest Men Alive at an award show.

Confusing Motivations Undermine the Plot

REMEMBER YOU ARE ONE. Okay, what?
Sue: Sue ( Margaret Qualley) is made from Elizabeth but....isn't Elizabeth? Then why does she care about taking over Elizabeth's old gig? Why would she even know why or how to do it? Why not do some other job or role? When she's on TV she roasts Elizabeth....if she was also Elizabeth why the fuck would she do that??? And why does Elizabeth act like she doesn't know what Sue is going to say?
Elizabeth: Elizabeth doesn't seem to benefit at all from the swaps. It's not her name. It's not her face. She only seems to grow more bitter and decrepit as a result.
Demi Moore: You're too good for this movie. This movie made a horror concept out of you being naked on camera over the age of 40.
Coralie Fargeat: Why make this movie? The fact that Demi Moore was 60 when this movie came out kind of defeats the movie's argument that an actor's career ends at 50. Especially when Fargeat stated the movie was about HER OWN experience at the age of 40 as someone who job doesn't even inherently require being in front of a camera?

Lackluster Gore Disappoints Horror Fans

For a film that bragged about using over 5,000 gallons of fake blood, the gore is surprisingly tame. Body horror fans expecting Cronenberg levels of grotesque should walk away disappointed. It teases a boundary-pushing experience but never fully commits. We've seen more and better in Raw, Hereditary, and In A Violent Nature.

Want a Movie That Does It Better? Stay Tuned for Part 2

Here’s the thing: the themes The Substance tries (and fails) to explore have actually been done better—decades ago. In the next post, we’ll show you a movie that nails commentary on vanity, aging, and immortality, all while serving camp, wit, and actual fun.

Spoiler: it’s a cult classic, and it still slays today.