The Substance (18)

Writer-director Coralie Fargeat’s audacious body horror is one of the most electrifying films in recent memory.

Popular TV aerobics show Elisabeth Sparkle (Demi Moore) is extremely famous. Billboard famous. And has been for decades. But when leering network executive Harvey informs her that she’s being put out to pasture, she turns to a cell-replicating substance that promises the temporarily benefits of inhabiting a younger, better version of herself: Sue (Margaret Qualley). Fuelled by low self-esteem, hatred and envy begin to grow between Elisabeth and her alter-ego and as an unhealthy psychological dependency on the drug takes hold, horrifying side effects begin to emerge.

Ripping into her best big-screen role in decades, Demi Moore is fearless in parodying her public image, glueing it all together with a vanity-free performance full of bruised ego, dawning horror and vulnerability. She’s a necessary anchor as this is not a subtle movie. The filmmaking is aggressive. The metaphor is a blunt object. The music is loud and thumping, and the colour palette is bright enough to peel the film off of your eyeballs. It’s animated by a white-hot internal rage that escalates throughout its epic 140-minute run time. Demented and absurd in the best ways possible, it’s an absolute revelation.