This felt like Death Becomes Her if David Cronenberg directed it. They even both have the line "Take care of yourself" as a warning regarding their respective potions
THANK YOU! A darker bleaker more modern take on my favorite Hollywood satire and Meryl Streep film... other than She Devil... Just like with GOOP. She may have won an Oscar for Shakespeare in Love but her best work is her low brow, barrel scraper stuff like View from the Top and Shallow Hal where she's clearly trying to pander to a larger audience and not seem like an icy Hollywood princess. It only partly works but at least it was interesting, memorable and not boring! Much like The Substance... The last thing you could ever claim it to be is boring... It has flaws but it's so eye-opening and visually impactful it doesn't matter!
This is definitely a movie made to be watched in a theater in an audience because honestly nothing beats watching the last 30 minutes of the film in a packed theater. it is really the peak movie-going experience imo
@@andreasarmiento1999 I wish I had that. I was the only one cackling at it including the dropped hamburger at the beginning. That's how I knew we were in for something wry, special and weird... Aka my kind of film...
Yesss you get it! As a person who frequently goes through weight fluctuations I understood that it’s the same consciousness immediately. When you are thinner you start looking down upon your bigger version for sabotaging you, then you gain the weight back and resent the arrogance of your thinner self that judged and shamed you. And each time your body changes, your boobs become saggier, the skin has new stretch marks and it’s like an endless circle you can’t break but also sort of wish you never stated in the first place because now you caused irreversible damage to your “original” body. It’s crazy how you actually feel like a completely different people going back and forth and how one keeps betraying another not realising it’s ONE
I'm going through the same, I cried while reading your comment.. you're not alone and I'm wishing you a healthier mindset to beat those mean thoughts ❤️🩹
Fun fact. During an interview Margret was at her home wearing her breast prosthetics and acting snobbish and vain to stay in character. And her hubby hated it.😂
I think Elizabeth & Sue start off as the exact same person (mentally), but they become two separate people as time goes on. The Sue version gets a massive ego boost, while the original version becomes more depressed & envious. Whichever one is sleeping is not aware of what the awake one is doing, until after switching. So this causes a huge divergence in their personalities to develop. The only memories they both share is their life BEFORE the substance.
It’s easy to read the movie that way but I think it’s more just each respective version getting so caught up in the moment that it takes the other version’s awakening to process what happened (similar to the video’s example of hating your younger self for doing stupid things, etc.)
The two most memorable parts of the movie to me are the one in which the guy who gets her in says something like "its difficult to understand that this part of you still deserves to exist" and the one in which Demie Moore tells Margareth Qualley "you are the only part of me that is still lovable". What a great movie
Thank you for this interesting breakdown. It also reminds me of how people go thru plastic surgery wanting to look better/beautiful but ending up deformed…
Including Demi Moore who the paparazzi were calling Dummy Moore because of her buccal fat removal which gave her the "dummy mouth" look where it looks like a string is pulled across the cheeks and over the ear line... the fact she took this role probably because of the subject matter and she leaned into the premise makes me love her that much more for it... She's really owning her adultness now in a way she never did before... Much like Kylie Minogue who at 56 has never been a more relevant and popular popstar! Shit, she won a Grammy last year, her next single drops TOMORROW and her new album is out next month before she kicks off her world tour... And of course let's not forget about Ms. Harris who will probably be President-Elect, god willing, in about 60 days... It's good to see Gen X women FINALLY be the ones to kick down all these horrible and outdated limitations imposed by greasy old DJT types like Dennis Quaid... Both in the movie and sadly in real life since both Quaid bro's are YUGE DRUMPF supporters...
@@stickynorth But Demi Moore and Kylie go to great lengths to still' be seen' through lots of plastic surgery. Is it really 'kicking down limitations" when you've tried to deny aging? I think they are upholding the very thing this movie rails against.
@@KatWoodland indeed and it still looks kinda weird ever since that weird cheek implant she would’ve looked better without, she always was really pretty so I need understood her need to always have something done to her face :(
If you have seen the fly it's kind of similar to that the gore is note stomach turning, well generally. Only a few minutes of it was really violent, which you can close your eyes!
This movie works on so many levels. It’s about objectification of women by men, what beautiful women do to men’s brains, and the loss of youth and aging. It’s like a cross between the Fly and Death Becomes Her, and the Elephant Man with a bit of Carrie thrown in. For me it was also about how different parts of ourselves struggle against one another and when that gets out of balance, like in any kind of addiction, the results can be devastating. It’s a very smart movie and really worth a watch.
Bingo! And Rosemary's Baby... I loved the references to Kubrick and The Shining too with the fisheye closeups of Dennis Quaid, the lurid orange carpet and walls and the eerie symmetry of everything in the hallways... Good to know there was payoff too with that ending in the way I fully hoped it would!
Such a good break down. The best way I can describe this film is it was like David Cronenberg threw up a copy of Barbie while David Lynch watched while eating a Thanksgiving turkey. Loved it
So that's what the poster was showing. I saw the trailer and thought The Fly??? I'm not good with body horror so I'll probably skip this one, but I really like what you said about it. It's an interesting premise and it's exciting they may've pulled it off. And props for no sexual assault!
I also love the fact that this French director shot it in Paris and it still looks relatively credible as Los Angeles in a lucid/surrealist way. Frankly I'd have bet money on it being shot in Barcelona which is one of the top European cities to double for Hollywood/Beverly Hills and the Greater LA area but with restrictions during COVID and the fact that Paris is the filmmakers hometown and probably source of financing it makes sense! There's no way this would have been made in Hollywood itself much less financed OR as we now know released since Universal bought it and then dumped it over "concerns" aka it was too real, too honest, too stabbing at the hell's heart/close to the bone since that Geena Davis documentary about women in Hollywood proved that 95% of all films are still directed by men, that most films still fail The Bechtel Test and that of course women are still paid only cents on the dollar for the same work... Aka the "All the Money In The World reshoots" example where Mark Wahlberg was paid $1M for a week's work while Michelle Williams was paid $10K, IIRC... For the same screen time, the same scenes... There's nobody in that town could gaslight you otherwise once that little nugget was revealed...
Movies like this one and strange darling make me have faith that unique voices and ideas are still given a chance to shine on the big stage and not just being forgotten to never see the light of day like many unfortunately have. High five for all the small production companies that put their faith and money into these projects to make them a reality.
Just finished this and oh my god it is so intense! The body horror like whatttt, also you’re so right about the pacing, it felt so much shorter than it is!
My mom went to see it with me because I told her Demi Moore was in it! I did tell her it was pretty gnarly ahead of time though so she took it pretty well. It's all we've talked about with each other ever since 😂
@@BenditaHernandezfrom what i notice it seems like female actresses have it way worse than male actors i mean think about tom cruise, bro is like wut fuckin 60? Still plays the character. Hugh jackman, etc etc meanwhile we don't see the same with for example jolie and tomb raider. There's also a lack of place in movies for those middle age female characters, i don't know why but yea, mentor characters are usually male which i think it shouldn't.
Uuuhhhh, bro, Demi isn’t from the Golden Age of movies. That was between the end of the 1920s and the beginning of the 1960s. Old girl ain’t THAT old 😎
This really felt to me that it could have been an extended Tales From The Crypt episode. The whole vibe of the movie is so insane, an instant horror classic imo
I loved this movie so much. I wondered if the nurse who gave her the Substance, I wonder if the same thing was happening to him as well? Like was he really that old or was his new self staying out longer and longer.
I think he was in the same situation bc in the restaurant he asked Elisabeth something kinda like “is your other self already started eating the life out of you?”
@@alejandrasaenz4675 Yes, it couldn't have been very long because after all, he's the one who initially wrote that note saying it changed his life. He must've enjoyed having a younger self at first, but just like with Sue, the younger self began cannibalizing him.
i really enjoyed the existential tension in the first two hours, before termination. right when the fight scene happened the movie entirely changed, and was less cerebral and more just purposefully outrageous. i think it was better without the last act
It was so crazy that a lot of us in the theatre were full on laughing. Especially when she vomits up the boob and then when her face crawls to the star 😂
I couldn’t get over the “at home” kit to do this. This needs a clinic or hospital with the IV nutrition, IV injections, the huge gaping spine wound, spinal taps, and lying on a floor for 7 days-bed sores! Another thing that bothered me was the nurse that she sees in the ER, who is a “second person” and hooks her up with “the substance”…how does he explain his 50% absence rate at work?
This movie is super brilliant!!!! Watched it at the cinema tonight and half of it I had my mouth either in a big grin or in total shock with my hand over my mouth! My fave film of 2024 without a doubt!! The scene with Demi's Elizabeth going bat-shit crazy making all the food was absolutely hysterical!! The aftermath Sue finds is horrific! OMG sooo many good moments in this!! The camera-work and style, the soundtrack, the acting, the direction, the practical effects, the sheer grossness of it all, everything just perfect. While i think the ending was a tiny bit OTT, it struck me that one minute I was laughing in shock and then all of a sudden this wave of sadness came over me and I was reminded of that scene in the Elephant Man when he is the subway station with everybody ganging up on him for being different. The film packs a powerful message about not judging yourself based on looks and also about not judging other people. Demi should win an Oscar for her incredible performance. Dennis Quaid was hilariously disgusting in this!
Aight so I say I’ll do a spoiler free section at the start which gives a plot description of the first 20 percent of the movie, after that I then get into a full spoiler discussion! Also- I assumed in America it’d be nc17 as it’s r18 here and that’s the usual concern, but it’s r in America also, my bad
Yeah I was going to post that haha NC17 is rare in the US. World rating systems are very weird. R Rated in the US gets either 15 or 18 here in the UK. 18 in UK is highest rating. Then PG13 in US in UK is 12 or 15 in UK. So overlap.
Even Alberta slammed it with an 18A rating which is our local loser version of the MPAA's NC-17 kiss of death. Having said that it's opened really wide here at every major Cineplex/Landmark location as if Universal was still releasing it, which it isn't of course... I saw it at a Monday matinee with about a dozen people in the suburbs of Edmonton which is about as big an audience I have a feeling it was ever going to find in a city and province that loves pickup trucks, the oil industry and DJT... But I do have a feeling it's going to be a slow-burn word of mouth film that grows until Demi Moore lands an Oscar nomination for her best work to date... That makeup scrubbing scene alone should be used in every highlight reel of her career...
The audience had the same reaction in our cinema, a few young people walked in and i was a little scared they would make too much noise. But 20 minutes into the film no one made a sound anymore, until the end that is
That's so funny, I also felt the Poor Things vibe. Lots of Frankenstein vibes, like a loss of autonomy while trying to gain it too Also thought of The Witches!!! Lol
BINGO! With Death Becomes Her definitely being a contributing concept too! I fully expected to see Liesel in her bead dress and tits out at any point in the film...
I love ur take. I also think what’s important is that because they are the same consciousness, they influence each other. So if the young version wouldn’t be so selfish and egoistical and do everything in her power to get the spotlight, then older version could enjoy a more enjoyable life, but if older version wouldn’t resent itself so much and would go on that date, then younger version maybe would be less selfish.
A darker, less comedy infused, more gore, more psychological introspection, equally as superficial in the contents of the characters initial motives, reimagined concept akin to that of...Death Becomes Her?
This movie really stuck with me. At first, I was really turned off by how the movie ended. But after recovering from the hell that movie puts you through, I think I can understand better why it went off the rails so much. However, I think ending the movie with both hosts dying could have been a more successful way to conclude the story. I know I’ve seen a lot of people who just can’t get over the ending and believe the movie could have been way better served being 1hr 45 minutes. Either way, as a whole this movie was fantastic, and I wouldn’t blame people for leaving at the termination point of the movie. Seeing the world from two personas of the same mind made this a very interesting watch. The horror aspects were kind of secondary to me, but the effects I thought were really well done and nothing about this movie felt cheap to me other than maybe the blood bath at the end. I hope this director continues working in this genre because she really seems to have a lot of knowledge of what has worked in the past and how to expand on those ideas. Body horror isn’t a genre I was all that familiar with other than maybe The Fly. I have to say it affected me how I felt physically a lot more than I expected. And that is fully attributed to how well this movie was edited and directed. Even the humor incorporated in the movie was very well timed and effective. Rating this movie as a whole is very difficult because the things it did well I thought were extraordinarily well done. However, if the intention was to give this movie mass appeal I think the last 30 minutes made that very difficult to accomplish. I’ve seen many reviewers say “I would be too scared to recommend this movie to someone I didn’t know would love it” and I share those sentiments. Extremely polarizing movie. I’ll give it an 8/10 due to how strong the first 90 minutes are.
None of the reviewers on RUclips mentioned the parallel between Louis Stevenson's classic, "Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde". Margaret Qualley is Hyde. Soon Hyde likes being Hyde so much that he takes over more and more of Jeckyll's waking hours. Jeckyll starts to find his potion to return to Dr. Jeckyll is becoming less effective and wears off whereas in the beginning it took a strong dose to turn into Hyde. Of course there were the other mentioned parallels to: Canadian horror director, the late David Cronenberg, American indie horror director, Brian Yuzna; the movie, The Thing (1982) by John Carpenter; Cronenberg's, The Fly; comparisons of Dorian Grey being filmed by Cronenberg; another aging black comedy; Blade Runner's short-lived replicants; Death Becomes Her; Lovecraftian descriptions, and a few others. I wouldn't be surprised if the director of The Substance had watched all of these.
The 2020's are so random... It's like a pop culture jukebox set on shuffle mode... Who knew that Brendan Fraser would slap on a 300 lb latex fat suit and win an Oscar... Or that Barbara Walters "This is 2020" joke would take on a very dark and strange twist due to the Pandemic... Or that DJT would have been president, killed over a million people in said pandemic by minimizing and mocking it, nearly die himself all while denying it being an issue, then tell people not get vaccinated all while being boosted more than a SpaceX rocket to Mars... And then try to overthrow the government, kill his own VEEP and then still have the stones to run for re-election and still is a credible threat to democracy and world security...
Exactly. After it ended i walked out of that theater and directly to the movie poster looking for the rating. It needs to be NC 17, that was graphic and disturbing and R won’t get the message to not let kids see this movie. Well done but I considered leaving in the last 30 minutes. It got too gory and i thought if i didn’t throw up someone sitting near me would vomit 🤮
I love that it reminded you of Poor Things! This and Poor Things are my only 5 star films so far this year. I love that they absolutely, unflinchingly Went There. Adored it. Obsessed.
@@stickynorth I think this film will be an instant cult classic! As soon as it releases on DVD I will buy it! I can't even remember the last time I bought a film on physical media
this felt like one of those batshit crazy A24 films with a cameo from auntie ethel from BG3. On a sidenote i got lost trying to find the exit to the theater after watching this movie.
I've watched this movie as you said with no expectation and knowing nothing except rotten tomato score about it. Booked cinema tickets yesterday at 4am for showing at 5pm and absolutely loved this movie. One of the best movies I've ever seen
For the people that are out there who hate themselves just remember that you are special God created you to be unique just because things don't always go y'all way or y'all don't see y'all self as attractive remember there are people out there who love and are grateful for you to be here sure life maay get ruff but it will be okay we all struggle we all want to feel special in our own way but y'all should never let failures and what you guy don't have bring y'all down If you think there someone who appreciate you as person and your value then levae that person find someone else who will care if stress is eating you up too much then take a break out of your day if you can and B Breathe in and out and chill do whatever y'all like to make y'all self's feel comfortable At end of the day just remember you are and can be a good person you don't need anything special to do it just be you
I'm 36 and the times in my life I've got the more attention by men (not boys, men) was between the age of 11 and 17. Just realised a few years ago how fucked up that is.
I’ve seen that with my wife. I remember when she couldn’t walk to her car with bags without some guy asking her if she needed help. 20 years later, guys barely look at her for more than a glance. They see her, see her age, and move on. 20 years ago, men and boys would gawk at her, today, they barely acknowledge her.
As far as inspirations for the finale of The Substance, there's a movie from 1989 called Society. The ending of that one makes The Substance seem relatively restrained!
You have become my go-to guy when it comes to movie/show reviews. I will definitely watch this soon! I cannot wait for your review of Monsters: The Menendez Brothers Story. I binged it and really liked it.
I was taking the sue and Elisabeth relationship to be more about our relationship with ourselves so your perspective of mother daughter is really giving me more to think about with this insanely amazing movie!
We had an older couple who also walked walked out during the ending...it was too much for them. My son commented on that and I explained they probably decided to see it due to Demi Moore and Dennis Quaid being in it.
Same here. The only walk out in my theatre was a bloated MAGA rally type who left when The New Year's Eve show went wrong which is FARRRRRRRR longer than I thought he'd last given the material and messaging...
@@marshallstannus I understand now why you were visually assualting my eyes. And, Demi's Character ngives birth to Sue when sue crawls I'm a long time fan of Moore and since I haven't seen much of her lately, her performance if The Substance was quite appreciated.
once in a lifetime experience, i went in just seeing the poster, and i walked out like a new person. i’ll be remembering this into my oldest years! 10/10 GO SEE IT 😦
The only flaw I can see is that demi's character doesn't get any benefit from the process..she herself gets no reversal of age, she doesn't become young and in her prime again, her life gets no better... I dont believe anyone would do that for no personal gain. Much better for the plot to have her use the new girl to provide something... money to pay bills and maintain a lifestyle that demi may lose from the loss of employment for example. Otherwise a good horror.
I'm going tonight Marshall!!! Super excited!!!! So I'm not watching anymore of your video until later when I get home! It's rated 18 here in the UK 👍Can't wait for 8:30pm!!!
Tbh I’m super proud of the audience that I saw the movie with, Alamo Drafthouse movie goers are the BEST, we didn’t have a single walkout lol. It makes sense people would walk out but I’m always disappointed when I hear it happens.
I feel like Demo Moore appereane on the Fendi runway in 2021 made lot more sense in contrast to this movie. I also love how glossy and shiny Margaret Qually is. Her lips are always glossy, she has glitter and blush all over her face just to amplify how young and erotic she has to appear to Hollywoods eye.
I saw this movie last week and I loved it, but it's not for everyone. The cinema was filled with teens expecting a Terrifier type of movie. Most of them went motivated by Tiktokers talking about this movie and saying stuff such as "oh, this movie is going to make you sick to the stomach" or "You are going to faint watching this movie", so they didn't understand the message underneath the body horror. Behind me there was a group of girls and they laughed during the whole movie, in front of me there was a guy with her girlfriend and they used their phones the whole time, so yeah, It's not a movie for everyone....
This is going to be your slow burner sleeper hit of the fall I think... It's definitely Demi Moore's finest work to date and definitely her most bold starring role since Striptease but in a much more nuanced and calculated way and that's why it's so much better for it... She gets to do some of her best character work ever without having to do much besides sit in a room and emote while removing makeup and making phone calls.. Now that's a sign of a good actor, script and film because like DM said, "this will either turn out to be a disaster of epic proportions or a masterpiece of similar scale"... It's definitely the latter... I'd call it the best body horror film of the 21st century and definitely will be talked about in the same sentence as the films and directors she referenced here including Death Becomes Her by Robert Zemeckis, The Shining by Stanley Kubrick, Polanski's Rosemary's Baby, Stephen King's Carrie, Cronenberg's many gross-out body films including eXistenZ with the spinal tap obsession and probably dozens more...
There were no walk-outs when I saw it, in fact it was the older women in the audience who started to laugh first when things started to go really off the rails.
Loved your reaction!! Btw how’d u get access to watch the film? Deliciously disgusting this film is! It has style+substance🧪💉A social commentary on aging with body horror elements using practical effects, impeccable sound+editing. No amount of change will ever be enough to appease everyone much less undeserving, misogynistic men who do not actually appreciate women for who they are, but only how fckable they deem women to be. Sue represents the younger version of Elisabeth, still impressionable, full of faux confidence bc the patriarchy has beholden a woman’s value to beauty and youth, still fertile. Elisabeth chases her youth in the form of Sue much like someone that keeps running back to the plastic surgeon’s office. And there are consequences bc one begins to stray so far from their original appearance, dare I say monstrous. The violence we put ourselves through comparing ourselves to our own younger version of ourselves when we look at pics of us a decade ago. We must be kinder to ourselves. I like that her yellow coat symbolized the egg in the beginning and then we see Sue wearing the coat to emphasize they are one post injection. *Outward beauty, but inner ugliness to thyself
If you have planned to see The Substance, don't eat anything as the movie has the most disturbing scenes you could ever imagine. In fact, I've just seen the movie, which I found quite bizarre, I promised not to see it today, but I saw it anyway because I was dying to see IT and the movie's ticket was cheaper than other days😂.
this guy GETS it purrrr
This felt like Death Becomes Her if David Cronenberg directed it. They even both have the line "Take care of yourself" as a warning regarding their respective potions
THANK YOU! A darker bleaker more modern take on my favorite Hollywood satire and Meryl Streep film... other than She Devil... Just like with GOOP. She may have won an Oscar for Shakespeare in Love but her best work is her low brow, barrel scraper stuff like View from the Top and Shallow Hal where she's clearly trying to pander to a larger audience and not seem like an icy Hollywood princess. It only partly works but at least it was interesting, memorable and not boring! Much like The Substance... The last thing you could ever claim it to be is boring... It has flaws but it's so eye-opening and visually impactful it doesn't matter!
Ikr! The minute Sue starts to abuse the “magic” I was thinking Death Becomes her lol Couldn’t have said it better, you’re spot on
This is definitely a movie made to be watched in a theater in an audience because honestly nothing beats watching the last 30 minutes of the film in a packed theater. it is really the peak movie-going experience imo
In my theater while I was there people were dying of laughter mostly at the last 20-30 min 🤣 it was an awesome experience!
@@andreasarmiento1999 I wish I had that. I was the only one cackling at it including the dropped hamburger at the beginning. That's how I knew we were in for something wry, special and weird... Aka my kind of film...
I was one of 3 people in the theater when I saw it and based on the sounds coming from the other 2, I was the only one who “got it.” 😂
Yesss you get it! As a person who frequently goes through weight fluctuations I understood that it’s the same consciousness immediately. When you are thinner you start looking down upon your bigger version for sabotaging you, then you gain the weight back and resent the arrogance of your thinner self that judged and shamed you. And each time your body changes, your boobs become saggier, the skin has new stretch marks and it’s like an endless circle you can’t break but also sort of wish you never stated in the first place because now you caused irreversible damage to your “original” body. It’s crazy how you actually feel like a completely different people going back and forth and how one keeps betraying another not realising it’s ONE
I'm going through the same, I cried while reading your comment.. you're not alone and I'm wishing you a healthier mindset to beat those mean thoughts ❤️🩹
Holy shit you just hit the nail right on the head
Just saw this, thanks so much for this comment really means a lot
FELT. ugh it’s so hard sometimes 😭
You know ive been struggling w this my whole life im glad someone said it im glad to see its more common and im not a pos😅
Fun fact. During an interview Margret was at her home wearing her breast prosthetics and acting snobbish and vain to stay in character. And her hubby hated it.😂
This is funny but also props to Margaret for having fun to stay in character.
I think Elizabeth & Sue start off as the exact same person (mentally), but they become two separate people as time goes on. The Sue version gets a massive ego boost, while the original version becomes more depressed & envious. Whichever one is sleeping is not aware of what the awake one is doing, until after switching. So this causes a huge divergence in their personalities to develop. The only memories they both share is their life BEFORE the substance.
You might be right here
It’s easy to read the movie that way but I think it’s more just each respective version getting so caught up in the moment that it takes the other version’s awakening to process what happened (similar to the video’s example of hating your younger self for doing stupid things, etc.)
Its also possible the disassociation is worsened by the abuse of they cycle to stay in the younger body untill they are cronenberged
I doubt that. They are one, like the company says. The substance is a drug and Elizabeth gets the hangovers.
But at the end they are actually both alive, so the company might be lying. Could be fun to play in that idea
The two most memorable parts of the movie to me are the one in which the guy who gets her in says something like "its difficult to understand that this part of you still deserves to exist" and the one in which Demie Moore tells Margareth Qualley "you are the only part of me that is still lovable". What a great movie
Thank you for this interesting breakdown. It also reminds me of how people go thru plastic surgery wanting to look better/beautiful but ending up deformed…
Yeah it can be though like that but the idea is different
Omg I’ve watched countless reviews and no one has picked up on this.
That’s exactly what i thought
Including Demi Moore who the paparazzi were calling Dummy Moore because of her buccal fat removal which gave her the "dummy mouth" look where it looks like a string is pulled across the cheeks and over the ear line... the fact she took this role probably because of the subject matter and she leaned into the premise makes me love her that much more for it... She's really owning her adultness now in a way she never did before... Much like Kylie Minogue who at 56 has never been a more relevant and popular popstar! Shit, she won a Grammy last year, her next single drops TOMORROW and her new album is out next month before she kicks off her world tour... And of course let's not forget about Ms. Harris who will probably be President-Elect, god willing, in about 60 days... It's good to see Gen X women FINALLY be the ones to kick down all these horrible and outdated limitations imposed by greasy old DJT types like Dennis Quaid... Both in the movie and sadly in real life since both Quaid bro's are YUGE DRUMPF supporters...
@@stickynorth But Demi Moore and Kylie go to great lengths to still' be seen' through lots of plastic surgery. Is it really 'kicking down limitations" when you've tried to deny aging? I think they are upholding the very thing this movie rails against.
I can't get over how amazing Demi's hair is though! Haha I had major hair envy
Me too omg so long and thick ❤always love to see Demi
Money makes people beautiful. Demi has spent more money on her face and body than most people make in a lifetime.
@@KatWoodland indeed and it still looks kinda weird ever since that weird cheek implant she would’ve looked better without, she always was really pretty so I need understood her need to always have something done to her face :(
@@andreasarmiento1999 insecurities! So many attractive people still feel ugly because of society
Demi has had lovely hair since the beginning. The film explores the pressures on beautiful women to get surgery to treat aging as a disease
Body horror is the one kind of horror that I just can't stomach so I think a summary will do for me. Thanks!
Same!
It's not that scary like black comedy
It wasn't particularly convincing.
If you have seen the fly it's kind of similar to that the gore is note stomach turning, well generally. Only a few minutes of it was really violent, which you can close your eyes!
This movie is gross but it's also so gross to the point of being beautifully harsh! 😅
You are one of the few men who truly understand the movie.
Everyone who saw this got it genius
The movie isnt very subtle, anyone who didn’t get it is intentionally not getting it. Great movie tho
Ikr
@@GZP1023you should check the reviews 😂
@@roby.killjoyu think so? I see a lot of bad reviews and comments from men. Why would they not wanna get it?
This movie is a modern classic and will remain a classic over time. Just amazing.
The Thing is the most obvious reference point for the creature.
Yes! I haven’t read many comments about that
This movie works on so many levels. It’s about objectification of women by men, what beautiful women do to men’s brains, and the loss of youth and aging. It’s like a cross between the Fly and Death Becomes Her, and the Elephant Man with a bit of Carrie thrown in. For me it was also about how different parts of ourselves struggle against one another and when that gets out of balance, like in any kind of addiction, the results can be devastating. It’s a very smart movie and really worth a watch.
Bingo! And Rosemary's Baby... I loved the references to Kubrick and The Shining too with the fisheye closeups of Dennis Quaid, the lurid orange carpet and walls and the eerie symmetry of everything in the hallways... Good to know there was payoff too with that ending in the way I fully hoped it would!
Wdym what women do to mens brains 😂
Da, apsolutno zadnji dio je povezan sa Čovjek slon..
Such a good break down. The best way I can describe this film is it was like David Cronenberg threw up a copy of Barbie while David Lynch watched while eating a Thanksgiving turkey. Loved it
@WhitneyYadonArt You might not look at the Hollywood walk of fame🙌the same ever again after watching this movie LOL! 🤔🤯🧐🙆
@@SuperMarioBrosIII Or Hamburgers...
Perfect description
So that's what the poster was showing. I saw the trailer and thought The Fly??? I'm not good with body horror so I'll probably skip this one, but I really like what you said about it. It's an interesting premise and it's exciting they may've pulled it off. And props for no sexual assault!
I would skip it if you’re uneasy with body horror. It takes it to 11
Reanimantor/ the thing level body horror. Even crazier than the fly imo.
It reminded me of the movie Requiem for a Dream. It had a similar style. I loved it. This movie is an instant classic
I agree both have some very psychedelic scenes
You've made me want to see this. Also- perfect casting with Demi & Margret.
I also love the fact that this French director shot it in Paris and it still looks relatively credible as Los Angeles in a lucid/surrealist way. Frankly I'd have bet money on it being shot in Barcelona which is one of the top European cities to double for Hollywood/Beverly Hills and the Greater LA area but with restrictions during COVID and the fact that Paris is the filmmakers hometown and probably source of financing it makes sense! There's no way this would have been made in Hollywood itself much less financed OR as we now know released since Universal bought it and then dumped it over "concerns" aka it was too real, too honest, too stabbing at the hell's heart/close to the bone since that Geena Davis documentary about women in Hollywood proved that 95% of all films are still directed by men, that most films still fail The Bechtel Test and that of course women are still paid only cents on the dollar for the same work... Aka the "All the Money In The World reshoots" example where Mark Wahlberg was paid $1M for a week's work while Michelle Williams was paid $10K, IIRC... For the same screen time, the same scenes... There's nobody in that town could gaslight you otherwise once that little nugget was revealed...
It was shot in paris? How? Theres palm trees!
It wasn’t shot in Paris but in Cannes
loved the editing at 11:39 , just saw the movie today in cinema entirely blind. i was losing my mind
Movies like this one and strange darling make me have faith that unique voices and ideas are still given a chance to shine on the big stage and not just being forgotten to never see the light of day like many unfortunately have. High five for all the small production companies that put their faith and money into these projects to make them a reality.
❤
Madonna needs to watch this movie...
Yo!
😂 love this comment
Just finished this and oh my god it is so intense! The body horror like whatttt, also you’re so right about the pacing, it felt so much shorter than it is!
My mom went to see it with me because I told her Demi Moore was in it! I did tell her it was pretty gnarly ahead of time though so she took it pretty well. It's all we've talked about with each other ever since 😂
How sweet!
One of the best movies ever, i am 35 and have seen thousands of movies
Ditto! And definitely the best Horror film of the 21st century... Prove me wrong!
I never understood why aging actors get reduced, rejected when there's always a need for older characters in films?
Possibly because most protagonists are young characters. Elders are often relegated to mentoring or secondary roles
Hollywood is weirdly obsessed with "out with the old, in with the new" cycle
@@BenditaHernandezfrom what i notice it seems like female actresses have it way worse than male actors i mean think about tom cruise, bro is like wut fuckin 60? Still plays the character. Hugh jackman, etc etc meanwhile we don't see the same with for example jolie and tomb raider. There's also a lack of place in movies for those middle age female characters, i don't know why but yea, mentor characters are usually male which i think it shouldn't.
Uuuhhhh, bro, Demi isn’t from the Golden Age of movies. That was between the end of the 1920s and the beginning of the 1960s. Old girl ain’t THAT old 😎
Thanks, I was thinking the same. Come on cinephile's, know your cinema.
The Second Golden Age of Movies is more accurate... The OG one? Gone with the wind, girl!
lmfao what the shit that was just embarrassing. movie review channel and they don't know basic Hollywood history
Golden age when referring to a person is around the time someone retires so 60s. Demi is in her 60s so she is in fact in her golden age
This really felt to me that it could have been an extended Tales From The Crypt episode. The whole vibe of the movie is so insane, an instant horror classic imo
This is the most thoughtful point of view from a male I’ve seen for this film yet. Thank you. Spot on.
I loved this movie so much. I wondered if the nurse who gave her the Substance, I wonder if the same thing was happening to him as well? Like was he really that old or was his new self staying out longer and longer.
It’s perfect bc we’ll never truly know.
I think he was in the same situation bc in the restaurant he asked Elisabeth something kinda like “is your other self already started eating the life out of you?”
But he wasn't as ugly as she got . Do I guess he just was old from before?
@@alejandrasaenz4675 Yes, it couldn't have been very long because after all, he's the one who initially wrote that note saying it changed his life. He must've enjoyed having a younger self at first, but just like with Sue, the younger self began cannibalizing him.
i really enjoyed the existential tension in the first two hours, before termination. right when the fight scene happened the movie entirely changed, and was less cerebral and more just purposefully outrageous. i think it was better without the last act
It was so crazy that a lot of us in the theatre were full on laughing. Especially when she vomits up the boob and then when her face crawls to the star 😂
Can confirm we laughed through the second half
I was holding in barf
I couldn’t get over the “at home” kit to do this. This needs a clinic or hospital with the IV nutrition, IV injections, the huge gaping spine wound, spinal taps, and lying on a floor for 7 days-bed sores! Another thing that bothered me was the nurse that she sees in the ER, who is a “second person” and hooks her up with “the substance”…how does he explain his 50% absence rate at work?
😂😂😂 we think alike
@@theveganpill5432 🤣😜
This movie is super brilliant!!!! Watched it at the cinema tonight and half of it I had my mouth either in a big grin or in total shock with my hand over my mouth! My fave film of 2024 without a doubt!! The scene with Demi's Elizabeth going bat-shit crazy making all the food was absolutely hysterical!! The aftermath Sue finds is horrific! OMG sooo many good moments in this!! The camera-work and style, the soundtrack, the acting, the direction, the practical effects, the sheer grossness of it all, everything just perfect. While i think the ending was a tiny bit OTT, it struck me that one minute I was laughing in shock and then all of a sudden this wave of sadness came over me and I was reminded of that scene in the Elephant Man when he is the subway station with everybody ganging up on him for being different. The film packs a powerful message about not judging yourself based on looks and also about not judging other people. Demi should win an Oscar for her incredible performance. Dennis Quaid was hilariously disgusting in this!
I forgot about the food thing. Great point with the cheat meal thing. It’s the same person.
Its almost a death becomes her reboot, on acid lol the best movie of the year! 💯💯 In my top 5 of all time favorites👌
Aight so I say I’ll do a spoiler free section at the start which gives a plot description of the first 20 percent of the movie, after that I then get into a full spoiler discussion! Also- I assumed in America it’d be nc17 as it’s r18 here and that’s the usual concern, but it’s r in America also, my bad
Took the words right out of my mouth, sir, but I wasn’t particularly interested in watching this movie any time soon so thanks for saving me 2 hours 😎
Yeah I was going to post that haha NC17 is rare in the US. World rating systems are very weird. R Rated in the US gets either 15 or 18 here in the UK. 18 in UK is highest rating. Then PG13 in US in UK is 12 or 15 in UK. So overlap.
Took your advise and stopped the video after 20 seconds and saw The Substance in theaters the next day. Worth it! Now I'm back to watch your video.
Even Alberta slammed it with an 18A rating which is our local loser version of the MPAA's NC-17 kiss of death. Having said that it's opened really wide here at every major Cineplex/Landmark location as if Universal was still releasing it, which it isn't of course... I saw it at a Monday matinee with about a dozen people in the suburbs of Edmonton which is about as big an audience I have a feeling it was ever going to find in a city and province that loves pickup trucks, the oil industry and DJT... But I do have a feeling it's going to be a slow-burn word of mouth film that grows until Demi Moore lands an Oscar nomination for her best work to date... That makeup scrubbing scene alone should be used in every highlight reel of her career...
The audience had the same reaction in our cinema, a few young people walked in and i was a little scared they would make too much noise. But 20 minutes into the film no one made a sound anymore, until the end that is
That's so funny, I also felt the Poor Things vibe. Lots of Frankenstein vibes, like a loss of autonomy while trying to gain it too
Also thought of The Witches!!! Lol
BINGO! With Death Becomes Her definitely being a contributing concept too! I fully expected to see Liesel in her bead dress and tits out at any point in the film...
Sounds like The Portrait of Dorian Gray
Bruh how did she kick Demi Moore so far lmfao she yeeted her twice with that front kick goddamn, does she have super strength? 😂
Saw it yesterday, movie of the year so far and yes everytime you think this is it, it goes on and gets wilder
I love ur take. I also think what’s important is that because they are the same consciousness, they influence each other. So if the young version wouldn’t be so selfish and egoistical and do everything in her power to get the spotlight, then older version could enjoy a more enjoyable life, but if older version wouldn’t resent itself so much and would go on that date, then younger version maybe would be less selfish.
A darker, less comedy infused, more gore, more psychological introspection, equally as superficial in the contents of the characters initial motives, reimagined concept akin to that of...Death Becomes Her?
This movie really stuck with me. At first, I was really turned off by how the movie ended. But after recovering from the hell that movie puts you through, I think I can understand better why it went off the rails so much. However, I think ending the movie with both hosts dying could have been a more successful way to conclude the story. I know I’ve seen a lot of people who just can’t get over the ending and believe the movie could have been way better served being 1hr 45 minutes. Either way, as a whole this movie was fantastic, and I wouldn’t blame people for leaving at the termination point of the movie.
Seeing the world from two personas of the same mind made this a very interesting watch. The horror aspects were kind of secondary to me, but the effects I thought were really well done and nothing about this movie felt cheap to me other than maybe the blood bath at the end.
I hope this director continues working in this genre because she really seems to have a lot of knowledge of what has worked in the past and how to expand on those ideas.
Body horror isn’t a genre I was all that familiar with other than maybe The Fly. I have to say it affected me how I felt physically a lot more than I expected. And that is fully attributed to how well this movie was edited and directed.
Even the humor incorporated in the movie was very well timed and effective.
Rating this movie as a whole is very difficult because the things it did well I thought were extraordinarily well done. However, if the intention was to give this movie mass appeal I think the last 30 minutes made that very difficult to accomplish. I’ve seen many reviewers say “I would be too scared to recommend this movie to someone I didn’t know would love it” and I share those sentiments. Extremely polarizing movie. I’ll give it an 8/10 due to how strong the first 90 minutes are.
None of the reviewers on RUclips mentioned the parallel between Louis Stevenson's classic, "Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde". Margaret Qualley is Hyde. Soon Hyde likes being Hyde so much that he takes over more and more of Jeckyll's waking hours. Jeckyll starts to find his potion to return to Dr. Jeckyll is becoming less effective and wears off whereas in the beginning it took a strong dose to turn into Hyde.
Of course there were the other mentioned parallels to: Canadian horror director, the late David Cronenberg, American indie horror director, Brian Yuzna; the movie, The Thing (1982) by John Carpenter; Cronenberg's, The Fly; comparisons of Dorian Grey being filmed by Cronenberg; another aging black comedy; Blade Runner's short-lived replicants; Death Becomes Her; Lovecraftian descriptions, and a few others.
I wouldn't be surprised if the director of The Substance had watched all of these.
Can't remember people being excited about watching a Demi Moore movie since Ghost, guess every dog has it's day after all.
The 2020's are so random... It's like a pop culture jukebox set on shuffle mode... Who knew that Brendan Fraser would slap on a 300 lb latex fat suit and win an Oscar... Or that Barbara Walters "This is 2020" joke would take on a very dark and strange twist due to the Pandemic... Or that DJT would have been president, killed over a million people in said pandemic by minimizing and mocking it, nearly die himself all while denying it being an issue, then tell people not get vaccinated all while being boosted more than a SpaceX rocket to Mars... And then try to overthrow the government, kill his own VEEP and then still have the stones to run for re-election and still is a credible threat to democracy and world security...
And it’s not NC-17, it’s rated R in the US
Exactly. After it ended i walked out of that theater and directly to the movie poster looking for the rating. It needs to be NC 17, that was graphic and disturbing and R won’t get the message to not let kids see this movie. Well done but I considered leaving in the last 30 minutes. It got too gory and i thought if i didn’t throw up someone sitting near me would vomit 🤮
check out the picture at 34 seconds in this video...these are all the guys that are telling her "she is too old" !!!
Barbie walked so The Substance could run.
I love that it reminded you of Poor Things! This and Poor Things are my only 5 star films so far this year. I love that they absolutely, unflinchingly Went There. Adored it. Obsessed.
Probably my favourite film of the year! I'm such a wimp with body horror though so I was so anxious haha I loved it though!
Ditto! Easily the best horror film of the decade so far.... It's a word of mouth must see movie!
@@stickynorth I think this film will be an instant cult classic! As soon as it releases on DVD I will buy it! I can't even remember the last time I bought a film on physical media
this felt like one of those batshit crazy A24 films with a cameo from auntie ethel from BG3. On a sidenote i got lost trying to find the exit to the theater after watching this movie.
so many impossible sequences, it must all be a dream. she dreams she is young and beautifull. in reality she never went out of the room
It’s R rated in America as well
honestly could’ve been nc-17 lol, love this movie tho
I probably would’ve skipped-over this one but not now! You got me hooked! Sounds so-good! Clever and unique writing! ✌️😃
I couldnt tell if she really pulled that chicken out of her belly button, or if that was a dream lol.
I've watched this movie as you said with no expectation and knowing nothing except rotten tomato score about it. Booked cinema tickets yesterday at 4am for showing at 5pm and absolutely loved this movie. One of the best movies I've ever seen
Amazing fuck yeah!
For the people that are out there who hate themselves just remember that you are special God created you to be unique just because things don't always go y'all way or y'all don't see y'all self as attractive remember there are people out there who love and are grateful for you to be here sure life maay get ruff but it will be okay we all struggle we all want to feel special in our own way but y'all should never let failures and what you guy don't have bring y'all down
If you think there someone who appreciate you as person and your value then levae that person find someone else who will care if stress is eating you up too much then take a break out of your day if you can and B Breathe in and out and chill do whatever y'all like to make y'all self's feel comfortable
At end of the day just remember you are and can be a good person you don't need anything special to do it just be you
I'm 36 and the times in my life I've got the more attention by men (not boys, men) was between the age of 11 and 17. Just realised a few years ago how fucked up that is.
I’ve seen that with my wife. I remember when she couldn’t walk to her car with bags without some guy asking her if she needed help.
20 years later, guys barely look at her for more than a glance. They see her, see her age, and move on.
20 years ago, men and boys would gawk at her, today, they barely acknowledge her.
As far as inspirations for the finale of The Substance, there's a movie from 1989 called Society. The ending of that one makes The Substance seem relatively restrained!
Sounds like the movie MEN. The end was crazy!
No no.. men is different.
For me, this movie was like Joker meets Mulholland Drive meets Requiem for a Dream, and the ending went full Elephant Man/Basketcase.
You have become my go-to guy when it comes to movie/show reviews. I will definitely watch this soon!
I cannot wait for your review of Monsters: The Menendez Brothers Story. I binged it and really liked it.
Mate! I’m half way through and loving it wow
@@marshallstannus Demi Moore is actually 61 not 50 LOL!🤔🙄🤯🙆
I was taking the sue and Elisabeth relationship to be more about our relationship with ourselves so your perspective of mother daughter is really giving me more to think about with this insanely amazing movie!
I ain’t gonna see this too scary who are Sue and Elizabeth
We had an older couple who also walked walked out during the ending...it was too much for them. My son commented on that and I explained they probably decided to see it due to Demi Moore and Dennis Quaid being in it.
Same here. The only walk out in my theatre was a bloated MAGA rally type who left when The New Year's Eve show went wrong which is FARRRRRRRR longer than I thought he'd last given the material and messaging...
I guarantee he thought it was going to be Striptease or Showgirls 2...
@@stickynorth 😂
WE'RE SEEING THE FLY IN YOUR REVIEW.
Didn’t have access to the substance for the review!
@@marshallstannus I understand now why you were visually assualting my eyes.
And, Demi's Character ngives birth to Sue when sue crawls
I'm a long time fan of Moore and since I haven't seen much of her lately, her performance if The Substance was quite appreciated.
once in a lifetime experience, i went in just seeing the poster, and i walked out like a new person. i’ll be remembering this into my oldest years! 10/10 GO SEE IT 😦
You’re the first one I have heard saying there is a Mother/Daughter resentment referenced.
The only flaw I can see is that demi's character doesn't get any benefit from the process..she herself gets no reversal of age, she doesn't become young and in her prime again, her life gets no better... I dont believe anyone would do that for no personal gain. Much better for the plot to have her use the new girl to provide something... money to pay bills and maintain a lifestyle that demi may lose from the loss of employment for example. Otherwise a good horror.
She didn't really know what would happen exactly, that guy who gave her the Substance didn't really elaborate.
Sure she knew...' a better you will emerge'....not 'you will be better', you get a copy of you
They share consciousness..
Watching this video with the worlds biggest headache after just getting back from theater 😂
I'm going tonight Marshall!!! Super excited!!!! So I'm not watching anymore of your video until later when I get home! It's rated 18 here in the UK 👍Can't wait for 8:30pm!!!
Hope you enjoyed it! Let me know, thanks for watching
Tbh I’m super proud of the audience that I saw the movie with, Alamo Drafthouse movie goers are the BEST, we didn’t have a single walkout lol. It makes sense people would walk out but I’m always disappointed when I hear it happens.
I loved Revenge. Seeing this one tonight :)
Hope you enjoy it!
Good luck
Great review, thanks. Your analysis was very interesting. Definitely have to see this one.
Thanks for watching!
This is an interesting perspective with the mother and daughter idea considering Margaret qualley is andie macdowell's daughter
The filmakers previous movie, Revenge,is a very under appreciated film, another body horror flick. I can't wait to see what Coralie Fargeat does next.
i was the last person in my theater by the last 10 mins and i’m SO GLAD i stayed. possibly my top movie of the year.
This was such a good review, everything you said was how i interpreted it myself while watching
ever since watching this its literally all ive been able to write about 😭like any chance in my media and film studies classes i write about this
Im traumatized still 3 days later. Wow I thought Eraser Head was rough.
Me and my friends both agreed after watching this film that we need another rating beyond R rating just for this movie.
Margaret Qualley is a dazzling, brunette beauty. Golly.
Demi Moore is much more beautiful, despite her age.
I feel like Demo Moore appereane on the Fendi runway in 2021 made lot more sense in contrast to this movie.
I also love how glossy and shiny Margaret Qually is. Her lips are always glossy, she has glitter and blush all over her face just to amplify how young and erotic she has to appear to Hollywoods eye.
I saw this movie last week and I loved it, but it's not for everyone. The cinema was filled with teens expecting a Terrifier type of movie. Most of them went motivated by Tiktokers talking about this movie and saying stuff such as "oh, this movie is going to make you sick to the stomach" or "You are going to faint watching this movie", so they didn't understand the message underneath the body horror. Behind me there was a group of girls and they laughed during the whole movie, in front of me there was a guy with her girlfriend and they used their phones the whole time, so yeah, It's not a movie for everyone....
You totally nailed the analysis of the movie.
Their conscious does not swap, they are different people/separate cells.
The share consciousness I think..
The body horror gore was FANTASTIC!!!!
does the Demi Moore version ever take longer than the 7 days? just wondered what would happen to the younger version if she did do that?
Smart fellow, you are (50+ gal here).
Thanks for the insight :)
Wow bro you are so young and you can analyse the movie in very intelligent way
This is going to be your slow burner sleeper hit of the fall I think... It's definitely Demi Moore's finest work to date and definitely her most bold starring role since Striptease but in a much more nuanced and calculated way and that's why it's so much better for it... She gets to do some of her best character work ever without having to do much besides sit in a room and emote while removing makeup and making phone calls.. Now that's a sign of a good actor, script and film because like DM said, "this will either turn out to be a disaster of epic proportions or a masterpiece of similar scale"... It's definitely the latter... I'd call it the best body horror film of the 21st century and definitely will be talked about in the same sentence as the films and directors she referenced here including Death Becomes Her by Robert Zemeckis, The Shining by Stanley Kubrick, Polanski's Rosemary's Baby, Stephen King's Carrie, Cronenberg's many gross-out body films including eXistenZ with the spinal tap obsession and probably dozens more...
Good video and refreshing takes from a guy too
It's insanely good 👍
I wish I speak like that!! The scene of the performance "Pomp it up" has some, kind of sexual violence...
There were no walk-outs when I saw it, in fact it was the older women in the audience who started to laugh first when things started to go really off the rails.
I have never seen a movie before where, I want to watch it again, but also I don't because it traumatized me :(
when i saw it, 3 people left. one of them left 30 mins in
Loved your reaction!! Btw how’d u get access to watch the film?
Deliciously disgusting this film is! It has style+substance🧪💉A social commentary on aging with body horror elements using practical effects, impeccable sound+editing. No amount of change will ever be enough to appease everyone much less undeserving, misogynistic men who do not actually appreciate women for who they are, but only how fckable they deem women to be. Sue represents the younger version of Elisabeth, still impressionable, full of faux confidence bc the patriarchy has beholden a woman’s value to beauty and youth, still fertile. Elisabeth chases her youth in the form of Sue much like someone that keeps running back to the plastic surgeon’s office. And there are consequences bc one begins to stray so far from their original appearance, dare I say monstrous. The violence we put ourselves through comparing ourselves to our own younger version of ourselves when we look at pics of us a decade ago. We must be kinder to ourselves.
I like that her yellow coat symbolized the egg in the beginning and then we see Sue wearing the coat to emphasize they are one post injection.
*Outward beauty, but inner ugliness to thyself
Lucky enough to see early screening at hours in Australia then have seen again at normal releases since then!
If you have planned to see The Substance, don't eat anything as the movie has the most disturbing scenes you could ever imagine. In fact, I've just seen the movie, which I found quite bizarre, I promised not to see it today, but I saw it anyway because I was dying to see IT and the movie's ticket was cheaper than other days😂.