Between Revenge and now The Substance, French filmaker Coralie Fargeat is two for two.

If you are a fan of body horror along the lines of most of David Cronenberg’s films (Scanners, Rabid, Videodrome) and have also managed to dodge any information about Coralie Fargeat’s The Substance, stop reading and give it a watch. Easily the best film of 2024 in the “What the hell did I just witness?” category, The Substance is a total experience from start to finish. The winner of Best Screenplay in this year’s Cannes Film Festival, It’s a mix of Death Becomes Her and Multiplicity, but I highly recommend watching it without knowing too much about the film. This makes it hard to write since there are some wild surprises abound and I’m refraining from giving too much away.

Elisabeth Sparkle (Demi Moore, Charlie’s Angels 2) was once a popular star in Hollywood, but that light has faded since she’s grown older. Working in a line of fitness videos isn’t quite the same as making movies, but it helps to keep her afloat. When she overhears her manager, Harvey (Dennis Quaid, The Day After Tomorrow) talking about dropping her for a younger, fresher face, her spirits are hurt. During a doctor’s visit, she is gifted a flash drive labelled “The Substance”, which explains a set of rules to unlock “a better version of yourself”. Elisabeth eventually takes the plunge and as a result, her better version is revealed. The rules for The Substance are as strict as the ones in Gremlins, requiring great care for both bodies to maintain an optimum efficiency for the week each one gets to play.

After giving her new self a name, Sue (Margaret Qualley, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) decides to take on the duties and auditions that Elisabeth couldn’t get. As Sue’s popularity grows, so does her desire for more time. This leads to changes for both Sue and Elisabeth, as each side fights to hold on to their life (or lives). Can Sue and Elisabeth find a way to coexist without going at each other’s throats?

For The Substance, Fargeat’s filming style is a mix of colorful extreme close shots and fast changes between scenes. At least, this is how I perceived it. Dennis Quaid’s character is made to seem larger than life and repulsive, so we tend to get close ups of him eating and smoking while talking. Sue’s scenes are bright, rich and colorful. Elizabeth’s scenes are more standard. All in all, it gives the whole film a creep factor in that most of the shots feel nearly intrusive on their subjects. The horror starts off small, but escalates quite well. Fargeat has a way of making even the smallest of scenes (like throwing out garbage) something to cringe over. The sound quality in this movie is wild, reminiscent of what Leigh Whannell used for Upgrade. The creaking of bones echo. The voice on the phone feels like it’s right in your ear and fluids are extremely squishy. I winced, I laughed, and most importantly, I found myself muttering “What the hell?!” a few times.

Performance wise, the film belongs to both Moore and Qualley and they carry the film effortlessly. As Elisabeth, Demi is both haunted and courageous. At 62, this is a performance unlike anything I’ve see her do before and it reminded me of Nicole Kidman in The Hours or Charlize Theron in Monster. While her changes might not be as great for the Golden Globes with both Amy Adams, Mickey Madison and Cynthia Erivo in the mix, she deserves the accolades for what she puts herself though. I also wouldn’t be shocked if Moore’s name reaches the Oscars. Qualley is just as great, with Sue equally enjoying her fame and finding herself disgusted with who she’s sharing this life with. Note that there is a lot of nudity in the film, but given the situations both characters are in, I felt it made sense for the film.

Overall, The Substance is a wonderful off-kilter showing by Coralie Fargeat. It makes for a great late night film to watch that may make you wince, shudder and perhaps even cover your mouth once or twice. .