Coralie Fargeat’s second feature, The Substance is a film that focuses on the extreme lengths people will take to retain their youth and beauty. The film stars Demi Moore as Elisabeth Sparkle, a star famous for her aerobics show, who sees her life fall apart once she’s fired by her boss, Harvey (Dennis Quaid). After a chance encounter, she discovers the number to a hidden laboratory that offers a solution: “The Substance.” This offers the chance for people to change into younger versions of themselves but requires a strict regimen.

Although Elisabeth is weary at first, she ultimately becomes desperate enough to call the number and ultimately opt in. The mysterious voice on the line describes the process, which must be strictly followed. This includes “activating” the other version only once and switching bodies every seven days. The other version, Sue (Margaret Qualley), is everything Elisabeth yearns for, and brings her back to what she’s known her whole life. Things start off seemingly great, but quickly becomes a nightmare, as the two fight for more time.

Despite the grueling process of “The Substance,” which includes a huge needle to the spine, Elisabeth continues. She latches on to the highs she feels as her other self, Sue, and doesn’t want to let it go. Watching Demi Moore as Sparkle was truly heartbreaking; her performance was captivating, vulnerable and relatable. Scenes in front of the mirror and feelings of never being satisfied are things that I think most women can relate to. On the contrary, we have Sue played by Margaret Qualley, who is both bubbly and vain. Also, despite being a straight up jackass, Dennis’ character, Harvey is absolutely hilarious and bonkers.

Something I really loved about The Substance, were the bright and contrasting colors. It was filled with neon and of course, plenty of red, which you’ll see towards the latter of the film. There was a spectacular range of emotions; I honestly was surprised to feel as moved as I did, but Fargeat’s script and Moore’s performance did just that. This film is not for the squeamish being a body horror, there were plenty close shots of painfully grotesque scenes involving spines, teeth and more.

The film is filled with great performances, spectacular effects and a colorful palette. All of this meshed into a film that had me laughing and on the verge of tears. As a woman, I really resonated with the emotional state that Demi Moore portrayed. Although we may not have our own “Substance,” there are plenty of insane things in our reality that people will resort to for beauty. This desire for perfection isn’t isolated to showbiz but is deeply interwoven into our society, and the horror of this is masterfully represented in The Substance.

We give The Substance a 5/5.