The Substance: writer-director Coralie Fargeat should be commended for her commitment to a balls-to-the-wall concept, aesthetically and storytelling-wise. The film follows a prematurely has-been television personality and actress, who will do anything to remain in the public’s eye; that’s where the satire and criticism of the entertainment industry come from. What that “anything” entails, that’s where the body horror comes from. Here, Fargeat is unapologetically excessive with gore and gross-out images, as well as a healthy amount of nudity and “male gaze”-like shots of the female body. Demi Moore has a meaty role to play (the middle-aged actress who sees herself thrown overboard) but gives a merely OK performance. Margaret Qualley, who plays her younger counterpart (a charming attitude and a killing body), is more interesting and has more range. Dennis Quaid chews the scenery as the scummy and sleazy television executive.

Cinematographer Benjamin Kračun is very expressive with his lensing and framing; the production designer Stanislas Reydellet creates several striking locations where the action occurs. This makes this film visually very interesting if one can look past all the gore. Composer Raffertie creates a musical score that accentuates the uneasiness, and editors Jérôme Eltabet, Valentin Féron, and Fargeat herself do the same, accentuating all that is weird in the situation. The extremely effective prosthetic makeup work, alongside visual FX, completes the setting.