The Substance: Brilliant Performances, an Excessive Ending
The Substance is not an easy film to review — not because its story is hard to follow, but because, to me, it almost breaks itself in two. For roughly the first hour and a half, I thought I was watching something exceptional. Then came a final stretch that, in my opinion, went completely off the rails.
And I say that as someone who genuinely loves gory cinema. The problem here wasn’t simply that the images became uncomfortable. At a certain point, the excess stopped being effective and started working against the film. That is not a reaction I often have to extreme horror.
Demi Moore: a comeback that deserves respect
It would be a mistake to discuss The Substance without talking about Demi Moore. Her performance is physical, emotionally exposed and brutally honest — one of the strongest pieces of work of her later career.
She fully embraces the role of a woman discarded by an entertainment industry that punishes ageing, particularly in women. There is nothing timid about her commitment. Moore doesn’t just hold the film together: she lifts it to another level. For me, it is her best performance in decades.
Margaret Qualley: the uncomfortable mirror
Margaret Qualley plays the younger version of Moore’s character, and the contrast between them is disturbingly effective. It works on more than a plot level: youth against experience, desire against decline, image against identity.
Qualley is not merely supporting Moore; the two performances are in constant conversation with one another. That generational clash is one of the film’s greatest achievements, and another reminder of Qualley’s talent in her own right.
Coralie Fargeat: a daring screenplay that eventually goes too far
Coralie Fargeat wrote and directed a provocative film that refuses to shy away from conflict. Its Best Screenplay award at Cannes is understandable. For much of its running time, the script examines the obsession with youth, structural sexism in entertainment, beauty standards and the way women’s identities are tied to their bodies.
Those ideas are communicated through deliberate exaggeration: disturbing, pointed and, at first, remarkably well judged. Until, for me, the balance disappears.
When excess overwhelms the message
Visually and sonically, the opening portion of The Substance is extraordinary. Every carefully composed shot, invasive sound and precisely timed moment of discomfort seems to serve the story.
Then comes a turning point. The film presses a button that it cannot — or will not — release. The gore shifts from expression into saturation, from metaphor into noise. I understand what Fargeat is trying to say, but I feel the form eventually smothers the meaning. The graphic violence begins to subtract rather than add.
That is what frustrates me most. For a long stretch, I genuinely thought this might be my favourite film of the year. By the end, I was left with a remarkable, bold but ultimately flawed experience.
Is it still worth watching?
Yes. Absolutely. But it helps to know what kind of experience you’re walking into. The Substance is not designed for everyone. Its closing stretch may alienate even viewers who usually enjoy extreme horror.
Even so, the ambition, the risk-taking and especially the performances deserve to be seen. This isn’t comfortable cinema, and it certainly isn’t lightweight entertainment. For much of its running time, it is cinema at its most exciting.
Its ending disappointed me. But I would still rather watch a film that goes too far trying something bold than one that has nothing interesting to say. That tension — admiration for the craft and frustration with the excess — is precisely why The Substance has stayed with me.
You can also read my original Spanish review of La Sustancia.
If you enjoy horror that pushes beyond conventional scares, explore our comparison of Weapons and Bring Her Back, two very different ways of unsettling the audience.
