Quick Links
The Substanceis the delightfully gruesome new bodyhorror moviewhich was initially set to be distributed byUniversal Picturesbefore they stepped down. It was directed by Coralie Fargeat and stars Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley and Dennis Quaid. It tells the story Elizabeth, an aging star of an aerobics show, who takes a ‘substance’ to be young again after losing her job. However, it has disastrous effects, and the movie is a brilliant commentary on the lengths Hollywood stars will go to in order to stay young.
The Substancewas an international co-production between the United Kingdom and France, and it premiered on Jun 14, 2025, at the77th Cannes Film Festival. It was chosen to compete for the Palme d’Or, and Fargeat also won Best Screenplay. It was released in theaters by Mubi in the US and the UK on July 02, 2025. Early reviews have been extremely positive, with a critics' score of 88% onRotten Tomatoes, and an 83% rating by audiences.It is projected to earn between $3-5 million in its opening weekend.
Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley and Dennis Quaid,
Directed By
Coralie Fargeat
Elisabeth Sparkle (Demi Moore) is the star of a hit aerobics show, but it all comes crashing down for her when her sleazy boss, Harvey (Dennis Quaid), decides he needs a younger star, and she is let go. In a fit of depression, she gets into a car wreck and, while at the hospital, a young nurse offers her a flash drive labeled ‘The Substance’ and thinks she would be a good candidate for it. Turns out, it’s an invention that helps a person become younger again. However, there are some big disadvantages, but the good supposedly outweighs the bad.
Key Facts About The Substance
Elizabeth decides to go through with it and orders the product and has to collect it from a very strange secret location. Upon injecting herself withthe Substance serum, she is forced to give birth to a younger ‘perfect’ version of herself out of her back. The younger version names herself Sue (Margaret Qualley), and stitches Elizabeth back up. Sue is given instructions that tell her they each get a week in their bodies before they have to swap over again, and these rules have to be stuck to. With Elizabeth comatose on the floor, Sue goes in search of the job that Elizabeth had and becomes exactly what Harvey is looking for.
When Elisabeth is forced to switch bodies with Sue, she continues to struggle with feelings of depression and low self-esteem. The differences between Sue and Elizabeth become increasingly striking, and because the rules haven’t been followed, Elizabeth starts to notice some unpleasant changes to her body, with one of her fingers aging significantly and looking infected and corpse like. Elisabeth contacts the supplier, who gives her the option of either following the rules or terminating the substance, but this won’t revert her appearance. She decides to continue switching and things get worse.
How does The Substance End?
Sue’s fame skyrockets, and she doesn’t follow the rules with the required switches, which results in Elizabeth’s rapid aging and deterioration. Sue is asked to host a primetimeNew Year’s Evespecial, so she extracts enough serum from Elisabeth’s body to use it for a prolonged period, and ignores the switch schedule entirely. The day before the New Year’s special, Sue runs out of the serum and is forced to switch back to Elizabeth, who is in a horrific state now, and barely looks human. Elizabeth decides to terminate the substance and is given a termination serum that will kill Sue. She jabs her with the serum but instantly regrets it, and desperately tries to revive her. Sue wakes up and, upon realizing what Elizabeth has done, she kills Elizabeth after a brutal fight, and heads off to host the New Year’s Eve show.
Pretty girls should always smile
Sue is unable to give herself injections due to Elizabeth’s death, and her body rapidly deteriorates backstage. In a last ditch attempt to save herself, Sue races home and uses what remains of the original serum, in the desperate hope of recreating the perfect version of herself, but it’s not possible. She creates a monstrous hybrid of Elizabeth and Sue, and heads out on stage to host the show, to the shock of the audience. The creature’s head explodes and blood goes everywhere, covering the audience and the whole auditorium. The monster escapes outside before her whole body explodes on the ground. All that remains is Elizabeth’s face sliding across the floor on the last bit of the monstrous gunk. She crawls toward her star on theHollywood Walk of Fameand melts and dissolves. The next day, the bloody leftovers of the monster are cleaned up by a floor scrubber.
