Manuel São Bento

8.0

September 20, 2024

The Substance delivers an intense, visually mesmerizing commentary on the entertainment industry's obsession with youth and outward beauty. Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley offer remarkable, maybe even career-best performances, with Dennis Quaid excelling in his role as well. Coralie Fargeat explores how aging stars, particularly women, ar...

good.film

September 22, 2024

For a film that’s laser-focused on the human body, it’s gloriously on point that THE SUBSTANCE begins with a freshly cracked, bright yellow egg yolk. Eggs are the ‘giver of life’, right? They’re the origin of all of us. Gleaming and plump, the yolk suddenly gets pricked – not by a fork, but a syringe. That’s the first juicy visual ...

griggs79

10.0

September 26, 2024

Demi Moore's performance in The Substance is so potent that it's hard to tell what's more intoxicating; her inevitable Best Actress win or Coralie Fargeat's razor-sharp screenplay that's already got the Oscar in the bag.

Brent Marchant

4.0

September 27, 2024

There’s a big difference between being funny and being laughable, yet the latest from writer-director Coralie Fargeat has somehow found a way to be both. After amassing a considerable amount of largely well-earned cinematic goodwill in the film’s opening segments, the picture mercilessly squanders that support in the final act with an ove...

CinemaSerf

7.0

September 27, 2024

This takes a logical step on from Coralie Fargeat's earlier "Reality+" (2014) drama, only this time it takes a much more substantial swipe at all things vain. "Elisabeth" (Demi Moore) has been at the top of her fitness game for many a year when her boss "Harvey" (Dennis Quaid) decides that she's now too old and that a younger model is nee...

r96sk

9.0

October 10, 2024

Certainly an experience! <em>'The Substance'</em> is <b>a lot</b>. It's one of those sorta movies that I needed to let settle in my mind before I even started to think about reviewing it. I'm not even sure where to start. It's insane from pretty much the beginning to the very end of its 140 minute run time, some scenes are particularly...

badelf

9.0

November 08, 2024

I love French comedic films, and this one is no different. Coralie Fargeat crafted a seemingly simple story on the subject of Hollywood's obsession with youth and beauty, and then directed it right into the status of cult, horror, midnight, grade B (the good kind) movie genre. Brilliant! While on the face, this movie is about aging out...

VicSur

9.0

November 15, 2024

**The Substance (2024)** A Visceral Exploration of Youth Obsession and the Fear of Time "The Substance" is a bold cinematic experience that masterfully resurrects the practical effects of 1980s horror, delivering a visual and auditory feast that is both nostalgic and groundbreaking. Directed with a keen eye for detail, the film delves...

MovieGuys

7.0

December 04, 2024

"The Substance" is something of a cinematic mash up. First off, this story is somewhat reminiscent of "Death Becomes Her". The 1992 film starring Meryl Streep, Goldie Hawn and Bruce Willis. The notion of the fatal conceit in the search for eternal youth amongst the ageing Hollywood set is very much central to the story in both fi...

RalphRahal

2.0

December 14, 2024

A disaster. It's an insult to the illustrious careers of Demi Moore and Dennis Quaid, who both deserve far better. The film focuses too heavily on the body of Margaret Qualley's character, Sue, at the expense of delivering a meaningful story or message. The gratuitous gore towards the end seems to be an attempt to align with current tr...