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7.2 IMDb

89 Rotten Tomatoes

Where To Watch The Substance

The Substance follows Elisabeth Sparkle (Demi Moore), a once-famous television fitness personality whose career begins to collapse as she reaches an age that the entertainment industry considers undesirable. After being pushed aside, Elisabeth discovers a mysterious black-market treatment known simply as The Substance, which promises to create a younger, more beautiful and supposedly "better" version of herself. The treatment produces Sue (Margaret Qualley), Elisabeth's younger alter ego. But there is one strict rule: Elisabeth and Sue must alternate bodies every seven days. What begins as a miraculous second chance gradually becomes a disturbing battle over identity, beauty, fame and control. Harvey (Dennis Quaid), Elisabeth's exploitative television producer, represents the ruthless entertainment machine that values youth and appearance above everything else.

Comedy Drama Horror Psychological Sci-Fi

Release Date: September 20, 2024
Director: Coralie Fargeat
Genre: Horror, Drama, Sci-Fi , Comedy, Psychological
Duration: 2 hours 21 minutes (141 minutes)
Language: English
Starring: Demi Moore — Elisabeth Sparkle
Box Office: Approximately $77.3 million
Where To Watch: Amazon Video

More details about The Substance and where you can watch

One of the film’s biggest strengths is its deliberate use of extreme practical body-horror effects. Rather than relying entirely on digital effects, the production created elaborate prosthetics and physical effects to make Elisabeth and Sue’s transformations feel disturbingly tangible. The film turns the human body itself into a visual battleground, making its themes about aging, beauty and self-hatred much more visceral.

The movie also became a major comeback moment for Demi Moore, whose performance as Elisabeth received widespread critical praise. Rotten Tomatoes describes the film as an audacious body-horror work and specifically highlights Moore’s performance.

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Did You Know

A fascinating behind-the-scenes detail is that Ray Liotta was originally cast in the movie in February 2022 to play Harvey. Following his death in May 2022, Dennis Quaid replaced him. Interestingly, Liotta was still acknowledged in Coralie Fargeat’s thank-you notes during the credits.