The Substance: Movie Review

Cast: Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley, Dennis Quaid
Director: Coralie Fargeat

A combination of the grotesquerie of men and also female-inflicted insecurity, The Substance's heady mix of schlock and awe will make one of the polarizing film festival experiences.

And while the director Coralie Fargeat's vision is too bloated in the final stretch, much of what transpires is an aural and visual assault over 140 minutes - albeit one that becomes too much of an homage to other movies in the final furlong.

Chiefly from the almost pornographic scenes of Margaret Qualley's Sue working out (making the furore in the UK over Eric Prydz' Call On Me music video seem tame in comparison) to the abject body horror on show, this is a film that leans full pelt into its Cronenberg /2000AD Future Shocks elements with no apologies and no time for you to catch up.

With stark colours, a pastel aesthetic and crisp imagery, while not every element of this parable coalesces, it never once fails to captivate thanks to Moore's immensely watchable turn and Qualley's youthful efferverscence.

And yet for all its ambition, The Substance's bloated nature cripples its message; its finale too splatter-heavy to be anything other than an OTT piece of filmmaking that loses its desire for subtlety. (Although one could argue its final shot is a perfect allegory for its tale).

It may want to be a satire on Hollywood norms and ideals (why else would there be an unctuous Hollywood exec who leers and lusts called Harvey?), but perhaps a bit of a rein in of the final stretch could have made The Substance a bit sharper in many ways.

This film is playing as part of the 2024 Whanau Marama New Zealand International Film Festival. For more details, visit nziff.co.nz