Hollywood’s obsession with youth has led to the film industry’s decline, where meaningful roles are scarce, even for veteran film stars. This is especially concerning in an era that is obsessed with nostalgia. Studios endlessly reboot and resurrect old franchises, yet those who made the originals popular in the first place are cast aside. Horror has become a rare genre that allows new stories to thrive. Films like Sinners, Talk To Me, and Barbarian have all succeeded because of their unique visions that struck a chord with an audience starving for new stories. Horror is a malleable genre with no limits but one’s imagination.
Utilizing body horror, Coralie Fargeat’s The Substance is a meta-narrative about Hollywood and the powerful allure of youth. The Substance hits close to home for many, especially its leading lady. Having recently turned 60, Demi Moore had effectively been shunned by Hollywood, relegated to side roles despite years of being a leading lady. While Tom Cruise still gets to do death-defying stunts and Keanu Reeves can be an unstoppable assassin, Moore shockingly found herself questioning her place within the industry. Hollywood fears the moment a woman ages, and as a result, studio executives deemed Moore fit only for more minor, supporting roles. No longer seen as capable of action or suitable for romantic thrillers, her career had been put on the sidelines.
The actress found herself at a loss. Looking for scraps of meaningful work, while the men she once starred alongside continued to lead blockbusters. At one point, Moore contemplated leaving the industry altogether. “It’s not like I ever officially left, but I understand the [comeback] sentiment and appreciate it because there hasn’t been a project or a role that has come along that has been this dynamic for me to really dive into and sink my teeth into,” she said in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. “I went through a period of even questioning whether this is what I should still be doing.” Thankfully, The Substance was able to put Moore back into the cultural zeitgeist. The Substance would escape the confines of horror and become something that could no longer be ignored, even by award bodies.
Moore plays Elizabeth Sparkle, a former Hollywood star and the lead of a once-popular aerobics TV show. As Elizabeth ends a taping of her show, she walks down the hall, dreading the birthday wishes coming her way. She feels her time in Hollywood is up. She was right. Her fears come true; immediately after, Elizabeth is abruptly fired by her boss. This kicks off a downward spiral that lands Elizabeth in the hospital. Here, she encounters a mysterious drug called “The Substance,” which can restore her youth. After taking The Substance, a younger self hatches out of Elizabeth’s own body, played by Margaret Qualley. This miraculous drug appears to be the solution to all of her problems, but there’s a catch. She must regularly switch between her new and old body to maintain the balance. If she fails to do so, there will be dire consequences, such as rapid aging or the development of tumors. Yes, there are two bodies, but they connect as one.
The meta casting of placing a once bankable movie star with a rising star like Qualley in her own right drives this commentary home because it’s authentic. As Elizabeth partakes in “The Substance,” the stark contrast between how she is treated in her original body and in Sue’s makes her reluctant to return to her old self, hesitant to maintain the balance. The Substance confirms her belief that her youthful incarnation is the only version of herself that matters. The balance is destroyed as a result.
Avoiding the balance causes the body to deteriorate. It doesn’t know which half it is supposed to be—the younger or the older half. The younger self goes out and parties, while the older self hides from the world. She slowly morphs into a deformed monstrosity. As the younger self takes over, the older self becomes more and more warped. The balance is a not-so-subtle reference to the balance one must take to live a healthy existence. By giving in to all your destructive impulses, your body can start to fall apart.
The body horror in The Substance visually and dramatically expresses the mental and physical toll of trying to conform to others. Eventually, the dysmorphia takes over, and all you see in the mirror is a monster. In a culture that views aging as worse than death, The Substance easily conflates aging with the grotesque. Reflecting the body dysmorphia society curates. By spectacularly leaning into the body horror subgenre, writer-director Coralie Fargeat effectively illustrates the cost of altering one’s appearance to retain youth.
With all the film’s achievements, it is hard to picture anyone passing on this acclaimed horror film, but all of this success seldom happened. As the script progressed, Universal, the initial distributor, became nervous about the film’s content. Universal wanted Fargeat to tone down the violence and remove some of the themes as they relate to body horror and the violence that has come from that. Although Universal is known for its share of horror through Blumhouse Productions and Focus Features releases like Nosferatu, they were unsure how a violent and relatively dialogue-free film would fare with general audiences, given its meta-commentary within the film industry. Universal ultimately passed on the film, allowing the producers to shop it around.
Eventually, the film landed at a niche streaming company, Mubi, which took a chance on The Substance. This movie resonated with audiences, as most of us feel constantly under the microscope. With social media, there is immediate feedback to judge and dismiss people. Youth and beauty become almost an unattainable status symbol. The quest for validation can often become dangerous and harmful, not only in how you view yourself but also in how you interact with the world.
Time passes, and we can’t change it, but that doesn’t mean we have to create stories geared only to youth. It’s time for Hollywood to lead by creating art that reflects ordinary life, rather than prioritizing algorithms or box office potential. Risk-making is critical to Hollywood’s success. Film often mirrors life through a distorted lens. When Hollywood tries to cater only to the youth, it sets the standard for acceptable images for actors to have. It becomes contradictory. Movie stars age, as do regular people. By phasing out actors based on their age, Hollywood is phasing out humanity in films. A significant part of what made The Substance stand out is how realistic it felt to audiences. Body horror externalizes our insecurities.
The assembly line has new products placed on it, while the old parts are left to rust. Instead, maybe we should keep the old parts and tell new stories with them. The Substance resonated because it interrogated our cultural obsession with youth.. No one stays young forever. By ignoring the aging process, you start to feel less human. Not only does The Substance articulate the tax of obsessive cosmetic change on the body, but it also reflects the mental health of warping who you are to please strangers. Hollywood treats older actors, especially female actors, like used cars with finite mileage. When movies serve as a time capsule — if they don’t reflect the lives that everyday people go through — they are hardly effective pieces of art. The Substance is a reminder of the toll that this exacts on not only actresses within Hollywood but also everyday people.
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