Substance, The

USA / France / UK 2024, 140 minutes
Dir. Coralie Fargeat
Rating: [R16] contains violence, offensive language, sexual material & content that may disturb
Genres: Horror, Drama, Cult

Feat. Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley, Dennis Quaid

“An immensely, unstoppably, ecstatically demented fairy tale about female self-hatred…”~David Ehrlich, IndieWire

Aroview: A body horror about toxic beauty standards from French film-maker Coralie Fargeat, who has done her horror homework in setting up a gnarly mad science premise that promises the keys to youthful beauty and adoration for Demi Moore's washed-up movie star in L.A.

That it all goes horribly wrong is the primary trope of the genre, and the same could arguably be said of the film, so we'd recommend this gaudy, violent (yet critically acclaimed) satire only to those for whom 'trash' is a term of endearment.

NZ International Film Festival 2024