The Substance (2024)

This was the hardest film to watch this month. I have mentioned before how body horror and gore are my biggest down fall in terms of Halloween movies which is why I so rarely watch them in fear of what I may see. But to be honest they haven't been as bad as I thought. I mean The Things made me feel super queasy as Midsommar did but they had nothing on this film. To start with I want to mention I thought this was going to be an 80s/ 90s movies. Between the time of me setting up the timeline of films and me actually watching them I do forget what it is I am actually supposed to be watching but forgetting a film setting entirely is a new one. However to my own credit once I searched the film and saw the posters I did recognise what I was watching. I saw so many ads of the trailer that I knew a smidge of what I was getting into but it never could have prepared me for the actual thing.

I knew that the plot would revolve around this idea of aging but specifically the aging of a superstar. That in itself was a premise I thought interesting because it is a known fact that celebrities are so much more criticised in the public eye which contributes to how they view their self worth. But even outside of that I am sure ageing is something a lot of people dread and can relate to how this film portrays it. For that reason I do enjoy that this film revolves around the horror that is human experience. There are no technical killers chasing them around and creating danger, the danger all stems from the human experience of self esteem and how far someone will go for a touch of belonging and feelings secure in themselves. It is an incredibly deep emotional sentiment to base a film around and one that I am glad they adapted. In fact I would love to see more films based around these human emotions but specifically the ends they will go to achieve what they want. However all that aside the depictions of the film was awful! I mean 'good' but awful! This is the first time I have to admit I sat through a good majority of the film with my hand half covering my face. Not because it was scary, though in moments it was, but because I was feeling queasy. I was 'scared' of seeing blood and gore but what's worse I hated the smaller pains. Like when they kept injecting themselves especially half way through when she was getting infected and they kept taking the fluid. I genuinely hated it. I even had to look away when Elisabeth was fully drained and started to fall, I knew she was gonna make impact and something was gonna go wrong and I did not want to see an actual bone poke through!

For that reason I am not going to talk about the body horror any longer. Just know that in relation to the film it was great and I understand the sentiment they were making but in terms of my mental wellbeing get them as far away from me as possible. Moving onto the other visual elements of this film it was very well organised to showcase the difference between each of the characters. For example a lot of the colours that would follow Elisabeth were montones, grey and black and dark blues. All of which pulled away any colour and emphasized how dark and gloomy her life was. We also only ever really saw her from medium to long shots because of the way she viewed herself. She wasn't in love with the way she looked and because of that always wanted to be seen from afar so that their flaws were never seen in high definition. On the other hand Sue was always dressed in bright colours, loud music and extensive close ups. It was as if the whole saturation of the film went up whenever she was pictured to show how great her life was. Instantly creating this juxtaposition between the two characters and their difference in living and how they valued life. I also thought it was interesting to have the parallels of the two characters waking up each time to a new environment. Whenever Elisabeth work up it was to beer bottles everywhere because Sue had gone out partying. But when Sue wakes up she finds half eaten food surrounding the chair by the TV showing that Elisabeth was simply locking herself inside alone. Living two very different lives.

Two lives that I was confused about for the longest time. I knew this film was going to have the substance change Elisabeth and make her younger but the terms of which it worked was unknown. At first I thought it might be that she takes it and is suddenly young but to stay that way she has to take more until it goes too far and she gets worse. But then it was revealed that the substance made two entities and that is were I got even more confused because for at least half of the film I could not figure out if this was a communal spirit situation or a Dr Jekyl and Mr Hyde. It wasn't until Elisabeth rang up the company complaining about the other one taking more life than she was supposed that it was confirmed they are two different entities with their own thoughts and emotions. In which case I simply had more questions. They couldn't have been two entirely separate people because they shared elements of knowledge but not everything. Such as when Elisabeth got a knock at the door from her neighbour and she knew not to answer it because he thought only Sue lived their now. They knew that interaction had happened so they knew to stay away. The same thing happened in her new form where she remembered auditions were being held to replace her, information she only gained when in her true form as Elisabeth. Meaning there is some semblance of knowledge being transformed but at what line is it drawn. Because Elisabeth watched Sue on TV for the first time when her ad was played. Meaning she has no memory of what really happens aside from random parts. Or if it is argued that Elisabeth does see through Sue's eyes than why is she not able to control them.

Furthermore if it is the case that Elisabeth can only see parts of what Sue does why stay at all. They make a whole new name for themselves nothing to do with Elisabeth and her reputation so if she does not even get to feel young and loved again why keep going. So surely they must gain some knowledge and emotions from their clone doing this otherwise what is the motivation to continue? Another interesting moment for me was when the two sides began to operate at the same time. It is a system that I do not understand and yet I do not need to know. All that I do know is that they were somehow able to reboot and both be alive at the same time. This moment was interesting to me because Sue's first reaction is to then attack Elisabeth. At so many times in this movie they had the opportunity to stop the experience and they never did and now here they both are seemingly able to coexist and yet Sue attack and kills Elisabeth. I did wonder if that was because all clones are inherently evil because of something to do with the serum but it is an answer I ever directly get. It just goes to show that even when given the option to part where both get what they wanted it never seems to satisfy. And that is a moral that is constantly repeated, never being satisfied.

It got to the extreme that Sue wanted to try and clone herself in an attempt to live longer. I will admit as awful as it was to see her deteriorating I am glad they made her slowly start to fade because she was the clone and once the host is killed it makes the most sense. I am also glad that the clone of Sue because this monsterous amalgamation of parts. I was worried for a second that they would make another perfect clone and it would end with millions of clones each one getting younger until it was just a baby. Which in itself sends a message of youth and perfection but not one I was looking for. Meaning again I was 'glad' to see this clone be a conglomerate of body parts. It is from here that we get our most interesting clip of the film. When they get all dressed up and make themselves look pretty before glueing the picture of Elisabeth to their face. Not Sue, Elisabeth. It is sending this message that after everything they have fucked up so badly that they would do anything to just go back to how they used to be. To that face, that body, that life. The one they hated so horrifically that it started all of this, it spiraled so deeply that it got them where they are and now all they are wishing for is a way to go back. What's more when they go to the new year's event they are at first welcomed by everyone and applauded. A scene I thought was stupid because obviously they are going to notice that isn't actually them but it was missing the point. The point was they put on this face and was applauded and loved by everyone and yet despite all that they were still 'ugly' underneath. The same way that millions of people play the part and despite how many compliments they may get are never able to feel they are true. It is a deeply emotional aspect to push across and I loved it.

I am all for deep and dark and emotional movies and this one was done in such an interesting way it was great to see. And I say that even as someone who really hated the horror but it needed to be shown. It sounds horrible but if this was simply a cliché drama talking about self worth and loving yourself the emotions never would have made as much of an impact as they did in The Substance. And the reason for that is because of how desensitized we have all become to the internet and the images it puts out and the way it makes us feel. They have to show us the shocking and gruesome side because that is what people remember and that is what makes a difference. So as gross as the film was I did really enjoy it and I thought it was such an interesting concept that I hope I get to see again one way or another.