Overkill: An Analysis of The Substance and the Dramatization of Gore in Horror Movies
written by Reese Urbach
With horror becoming an increasingly popular movie genre, many directors are trying to outdo each
other in terms of “fear factor.” The Substance is no exception.
Director Coralie Fargeat uses body horror to tell the story of Elisabeth Sparkle, an actress on her decline, played by Demi Moore. She is fired from her own show when producers decide she has gotten “too old.” She wrestles with self-loathing and shame over how she has aged. When Elisabeth discovers the Substance, she is tempted by the bright green serum’s ability to bring back a “better” version of you.
We see the first of many truly disgusting scenes in this film when Elisabeth uses the Substance for the first time.
As promised, a “younger, more beautiful, more perfect” version of her is created. In this graphic and jarring scene, Elisabeth’s back splits open and Sue, played by Margaret Qualley, emerges from her body in a bloody mess.
Sue and Elisabeth are forced to share consciousness, rotating their time awake on a seven-day cycle. It is important to each person’s health that they both respect this cycle and remember that they are “one.”
In order to keep Sue’s body alive, stabilizer fluid must be extracted from Elisabeth during her dormant time. However, if Sue takes too much from her without letting her rest and replenish, Elisabeth’s body will start to deteriorate.
During her time awake, Sue auditions to replace Elisabeth’s old role on her show and immediately gets the part. As she gets more reckless and arrogant, she begins to stretch her time to bask in the glory of being a beloved TV star. As resentment builds between the two characters, they abuse their time awake to get back at the other person.
Elisabeth’s state significantly declines when Sue stays awake for three months. When Sue realizes there is no stabilizer fluid left on the night of her New Years’ Eve special, she begins to panic as her own physical deterioration sets in.
On her way to the live show, she loses several teeth and eventually even her ear falls off. She makes the decision to take the Substance, in hopes of creating a better version that can host the special for her.
However, since Sue is already a product of the Substance, her plan backfires on her. A monster conglomerate of Elisabeth and Sue emerges, with stretched skin, several eyes, limbs and teeth.
At the end of the film, the monster goes onstage in place of Sue. The audience is stunned and silent at the sight of this morbid creature. When Monstro Elisasue tries to thank them for coming to the show, she is barely intelligible and eventually explodes all over the audience.
Blood and guts cover the audience in an overly violent and unnecessarily long film sequence. This scene arguably takes the film from creepy to camp-y in a matter of minutes. The slow-motion filming adds to the obscene drama, which could leave most viewers wondering, “Why is this scene so long?”
Because it can be.
Directors in the horror genre are continuously trying to outdo one another, looking more for shock value rather than actually trying to create a film that scares audiences. How much violence can they fit into one scene and how can they do it in a way that’s never been done before?