If you love blood and other bodily fluids, “The Substance” is the movie for you. A cautionary tale about getting what you wish for but with unintended consequences, this film is not afraid to go to the extreme to deliver its message. The picture unfortunately does not know when to stop the gore-fest and becomes gratuitous at the end.

The movie starts with the installation of a star for Elizabeth Sparkle (Demi Moore) on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The overhead shot of the star continues with people excitedly examining it. Then comes the passage of time. The plaque in the sidewalk becomes cracked. Fewer people recognize who the person mentioned on the star is.

Cut to Elizabeth in her later years leading an exercise class on a television show. She is fit and enthusiastic about her job.

Harvey (Dennis Quaid) is her boss at the network. We hear him commenting on how she is too old-school. He wants a younger star for the exercise program.

Elizabeth is invited to a restaurant by Harvey. He is portrayed as a glutton. He tells Elizabeth that it is time for a change and fires her.

As Elizabeth is driving back to her apartment, she is in an accident in a spectacularly jarring sequence. At the doctor’s office, she is miraculously unhurt. After the doctor leaves, a young male nurse gives her a USB drive labeled “The Substance,” which he says changed his life.

At first reluctant to pursue this avenue, she gives in and watches the content on the drive. She calls a phone number and is told to remember an address in an alley. She receives a smart card in the mail.

Traveling down the alley, she scans her card. A metal door slides halfway up. Stooping, she enters a hallway which terminates in a room with lockers in it. She scans the one with her number. Inside is the Starter Kit for The Substance.

She is informed that there will be two versions of her, a younger one and her current older self. Nonetheless, it is emphasized that they are one person. Each of her iterations gets to live for one week. Then she must switch back to the other person.

She injects herself. I won’t spoil how her second self is “born.” While one is alive, the other is unconscious. There is a feeding system that lasts for a week to sustain the unconscious one. Every day the conscious one must take an injection to stay alive.

The new younger self, Sue (Margaret Qualley), sees the audition notice for the replacement exercise show for Elizabeth’s now-cancelled show. She goes to the audition and wins the part. She explains that she can only work on alternating weeks due to a need to take care of a sick parent. Harvey gladly agrees.

Sue’s show is a hit. Her popularity grows and grows week after week. Elizabeth, when she is conscious, becomes lonelier and lonelier during each week while she sees Sue’s rise in popularity. Even though they are one person, she is jealous.

Eventually Sue starts to take chances by getting an eighth injection from Elizabeth to extend her time. The result is that Elizabeth’s hand becomes aged. Worse is to come as Sue becomes greedier and greedier in terms of extending her time.

“The Substance” is Grand Guignol at its finest. It is not afraid to portray the grossest scenes to its audience. I could hear people literally squirming in their seats and uttering cries of horror at certain stages in the movie.

The concept for how the Substance works is very clever. I found it completely convincing in its science. The execution of the creation of Sue and the preservation of Elizabeth was truly something I had not conceived of. It is shocking.

But once that is over, I thought that the excesses of bodily fluids and anatomical changes were over. Not so! The film lulls you into a false sense of security.

Of course this is a cautionary tale about the Fountain of Youth as well as of Hollywood’s ageism, especially when it comes to actresses. I will give the screenwriters credit for being willing to follow the set-up to an over-the-top conclusion. But the early hopes I had for this picture were dashed against the rocks of gratuitous overkill.

The theme of the shallow glitziness of Hollywood is pretty much singularly delivered by Dennis Quaid’s Harvey. We get close-up shots of him being obnoxious. He jabbers away with his platitudes and fake praises. He makes everyone involved with him a co-conspirator in the excesses of the industry.

What could have been thoughtful commentary on the themes “The Substance” explores becomes reduced to juvenile satire. I include the attendant bloody gore and anatomical horrors as being juvenile, if well-executed.

Indeed, the visual effects are top-notch. Demi Moore’s aging Elizabeth is superbly displayed. Whenever there are bodily fluids involved, you can count on quality ickiness. The third act really would be hard to outdo in terms of its willingness to gross you out.

I was not impressed by Margaret Qualley’s performance. In a way, her acting was disadvantaged by having a character who always was on the way up.

Dennis Quaid is so outlandish that he could have delivered this role in his sleep. There is no subtlety whatsoever in his portrayal of Harvey.

Demi Moore really gives a remarkable performance throughout her transformations. Her character Elizabeth admittedly gets the lion’s share of development. But Demi is able to fully capture the nuances of a declining star’s demise. Her Elizabeth gives a very subtle (at first) performance as she slowly realizes that her younger self has taken over her career. The loneliness and despair is achingly portrayed.

I liked the production design. It was a masterpiece of minimalism. I especially enjoyed the black-and-white bathroom in its starkness. The mirror becomes the symbol of what constitutes beauty to the beholder.

The music enhanced the eeriness of this film. The cinematography also was superb.

I cannot recommend this movie to any younger viewers. It is designed for a certain audience, viz. one that likes to be grossed out completely. But for me, it didn’t fulfill its promise. Nonetheless, there were aspects that I admired.

3 out of 5 stars

Have you ever dreamt of a better version of yourself?
You. Only better in every way.
You’ve got to try this product: The Substance.
It changed my life.

Demi Moore gives a career best performance as Elisabeth Sparkle, a former A-lister past her prime and suddenly fired from her fitness TV show by repellent studio head Harvey (Dennis Quaid).

She is then drawn to the opportunity presented by a mysterious new drug: THE SUBSTANCE. All it takes is one injection and she is reborn – temporarily – as the gorgeous, twentysomething Sue (Margaret Qualley).

The only rule? Time needs to be split: exactly one week in one body, then one week in the other. No exceptions. A perfect balance. What could go wrong?

Deliriously entertaining and ruthlessly satirical, Coralie Fargeat’s Cannes sensation turns toxic beauty culture inside out with a be-careful-what-you-wish-for fable for the ages. Explosive, provocative and twisted, THE SUBSTANCE marks the arrival of a thrillingly visionary filmmaker.

Cast: Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley, Dennis Quaid
Written & Directed by: Coralie Fargeat