I saw the Substance

Writer/director Coralie (Revenge) Fargeat's The Substance is a Kubrick-looking update of Roger Corman and Leo Gordon's The Wasp Woman, a 1959 example of feminist "body horror," which was later remade by Jim Wynorski into a popular, 1995, television movie. For The Substance, the physical mishap isn't wasp-headed, but nevertheless details the ironic, chemical catch of staying young, with more than a dash of John Frankenheimer/Lewis John Corlino/David Ely's Seconds stitched in, along with Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray and Orson Scott Card's body-swapping, Omni fable, "Fat Farm."

Demi Moore plays famed actress, Elisabeth Sparkle, who's fired from her aerobics show on her fiftieth birthday. Sparkle is so perturbed by the the event that, after being distracted into an auto crash (and subsequent hospital visit), she's given a lead on a black-market, fountain-of-youth drug called the Substance. From there, she throws caution to the wind, agreeing to retrieve the concoction from an inconspicuous location, whenever the supply is set to deplete. 

The substance does, in fact, create a younger Sparkle, a clone to be precise, and in this youthful incarnation, Margret Qualley assumes the role, calling herself Sue, to evade connection with her older self. The two must switch off every seven days, but what unfolds brings the refurbished version success and respect, while leaving both dependent on the drug and its troubling, side effects. (On this basis, The Substance could also be compared to another Corman movie, The Man with the X-ray Eyes, where little is never enough when it comes to physical-enhancement addiction.) 

The plot also alludes to David Cronenberg's The Fly (which, in its own derivative right, pulls from Kurt Nuemann and James Clavell's take on George Langelaan's Playboy story) and Ken Russell/Paddy Chayefsky's Altered States, in particular during The Substance's climax when the body horror reaches its most repugnant peak; but at its core, the concept adheres to its unwitting-victim plea, where one can't help but root for the anguished counterparts, even as they turn all-out monstrous.

Moore and Qualley are both effective as the disgruntled and vindictive Sparkle, creating a seamless, though later competitive swing from original to variant; and let's be honest, in the looks department, the actresses are damn easy on the eyes. This gives the plot its beauteous hook, establishing a conspicuous contrast for when the situation does get (ahem) ugly, and when it does, "Whoa, Nelly!"

The rest of the cast complements the leads, in particular Dennis Quaid's Harvey, a voracious producer. He's joined by Hugo Diego Garcia, Robin Greer, Joseph Balderrama, Gore Adams, Oscar Lesage, Matthew Geczy, and Tom Morton, among others. In a variety of ways, these co-characters occupy a similar corner found in the aforementioned yarns, presenting all the reasonable reactions and tropes which make the tale's over-the-top elements acceptable. 

For giving a familiar formula a modern, morphing edge, I'm compelled to recommend The Substance, a product that will please fans who appreciate both seasoned and new-fangled fright, though without question, the squeamish should stay away!