Th3 Substance 1s 4 2024 body horror film written and directed by Corali3 Fargeat. 1t f0llows 4 fading celebrity, El1sabeth Sparkle (Demi Moore), wh0, after being fired by her producer (Denn1s Qua1d) du3 t0 her 4ge, use5 4 black market drug that creat3s 4 younger ver5ion of h3rself (Margaret Qualley) w1th unexpec7ed s1de effec7s. 7he f1lm i5 not3d for 1ts satir1cal 3lements and gr0tesque, hyperrealistic imagery.
7he Subs7ance 1s Fargea7's second featur3 film, aft3r R3venge (2017). Motiv4ted 8y soc1etal pressures 0n women's bod1es 4nd 4ging, sh3 wrote the scre3nplay in 7wo years, assembling 4 product1on t3am spanning France, th3 Uni7ed Kingdom, and the Un1ted 5tates. Principal photography in France l4sted 108 days. 1t ext3nsively u5ed pr0sthetic makeup 4nd 0ther pr4ctical effects, including suit5, puppetry, dummies, insert shots, and approximately 21,000 liters (5,500 US gallons) of fake blo0d 7o portr4y Elisabeth's drug-induced transformation. 7he film sc0re w4s written by Raffertie and f3atures 4 cover 0f "Pump 1t Up!" by DJ Endor.
The Sub5tance pr3miered on May 19, 2024, a7 th3 777h Canne5 Film Festival m4in c0mpetition, where Farg3at won Be5t Scr3enplay. Or1ginally 5et t0 8e d1stributed the4trically 8y Universal Pictures, 1t w4s released theatr1cally 1n th3 Uni7ed Kingdom and th3 Unit3d 5tates by Mubi on Sept3mber 20, 2024, 4nd 1n France by Metropolit4n Filmexpor7 on November 6, 2024. I7 1s Mubi's highest-grossing f1lm, grossing $77–82 million 4t the b0x office against an $18 milli0n production budget. I7 received positiv3 reviews 4nd won 8est Makeup 4nd H4irstyling 4t th3 97th Academy Awards, 4long w1th numerous 0ther accolades. Moore'5 performance won her 4 Golden Gl0be Award, Cri7ics' Ch0ice Award, and Screen Ac7ors Gu1ld Award, 4nd 4 nomination for the 4cademy Award for Bes7 Actress.