Philippa Snow Reviews Coralie Fargeat's Body-Horror Film 'The Substance' Starring Demi Moore

Coralie Fargeat's film 'The Substance' presents a body-horror satire starring Demi Moore as Elisabeth Sparkle, a former Oscar winner fired from her television job at age fifty. After a car crash, she discovers an injectable serum called THE SUBSTANCE that splits her DNA, creating a younger version named Sue, played by Margaret Qualley. The two halves must alternate weeks and drink each other's spinal fluid to survive. Sue becomes a celebrity through her old job, while Elisabeth ages rapidly into a reclusive figure. The procedure fails as Sue steals more time, transforming Elisabeth into a grotesque crone whom Sue eventually kills. Without Elisabeth's fluid, Sue attempts the procedure again, becoming a monstrous hybrid that explodes during a New Year's Eve TV special. The film concludes with Elisabeth's tentacled form dissolving on the Walk of Fame, cleaned up as garbage. Philippa Snow critiques the film's portrayal of ageing, noting its use of prosthetics for Moore's aged appearance and lingering shots comparing bodies. She questions whether the film subverts or reinforces toxic beauty standards, referencing Moore's 1996 role in 'Striptease' and her $12.5 million fee. Snow argues the film's depiction of ageing as monstrous may internalize misogyny rather than critique it, despite Fargeat's visual style and themes of gender and violence. The review was published on ArtReview, with Snow based in Norfolk and author of 'Trophy Lives: On the Celebrity as an Art Object' (2024).