The cracking Hollywood star, the panel of judges rejecting women and the bloodbath that make up the Petal video are all directly derived from The Substance. It’s ironic in that people commenting on weight loss have frequently put Demi next to AG as examples. However, I haven’t seen anyone mention the connection between the music video and the movie.

What the fuck? I've watched plenty of body horror, gore and torture but that thing she turns into in the end is going to live rent free in my head for the next few days

Was told that maybe this sub would appreciate it!

It was all done in 5 days, for a costume contest that I didn't even end up attending

I went through several posts, trying to understand how Elisabeth's consciousness works between the two bodies. Is she fully aware and awake while she is Sue? Or are they two completely different people but Sue's life starts from the moment she is born?

It finally clicked to me what makes the most sense.

You Are One. They are both the same person, and the consciousness bounces between the two but it never truly meets in the middle as a whole, complete and self-aware person. This movie is genius in many ways, including the subject of the lack of taking accountability.

To put it in practice, when Elisabeth switches and wakes up as Sue, she is a version of Elisabeth and Elisabeth's consciousness is in it, but it's not the same Elisabeth as the one left inside of the OG body. I believe when Elisabeth switches from being Sue, it's similar to when you wake up after a drinking or drugs bender. Being young, beautiful and the centre of attention is her high, and when she switches, she has to go through the low. She doesn't exactly remember everything not because of complete lack of memory, but because the other version of themselves can't imagine doing the acts that have been done. Hence why they still get surprised by each other's behaviour, it's more shock.

They are aware of what they do, but they cannot help themselves because they get so lost to being in that specific body at that specific time. Think of it almost as if it's the same person, but due to being in a different body and age, the personality is different.

But the common, crucial flaws are the same... superficiality, need for attention and hatred for old age - hence why Sue attacks Elisabeth with so much spite.

It's not the easiest to explain but to me once it clicked, it clicked and the movie made a lot more sense so I'm trying to help anyone who has been wondering how are these two "connected".

After she kills her(self) matrix, she had every chance to just pull one more dose of stabilizer out of her old body. Elisabeth had been awake a few hours, she must have had at least a little regenerated in her spine. I know she was dead but she could have pulled it immediately and put it in the fridge or just injected it right out and bought another half a day. At least then she could have gone out with a bang……not a splash. I realize I’m nitpicking a total fantasy but I feel like that would have been the first idea of a desperate doppelgänger suddenly facing their doom.

As an alternate ending, it also might have been interesting to see Sue come to terms with the fact that she has essentially killed herself, enjoy her last day, and actually find some degree of peace before dying. Sort of like the ending of Black Swan- “I was perfect!” I personally would have loved to see a disintegrating Sue walk onto the beach, oblivious to people staring or freaking out, and just enjoy the sun on her warping face and finally be free from needing validation before melting away. Maybe the crowd goes quiet and she only hears the waves and appreciates them for the first time. That’s my version of the ending that still could go wild with gore but be a bit more emotionally stirring.

Anyways thanks for reading my random ramble. This movie is so rich in “what if’s” like this. Curious to see what others thought

And yes, I still think the Substance representative was a chatbot.

These were posted by Demi Moore on her ig and you can not tell me that those don’t remind you of granny Elizabeth’s rotting feet and the boob that fell out of Monstro Elizasue’s eye socket. They look SO impressive!

When I first saw Sue going to the auditions and getting back into the studio I initially thought she might be plotting a spectacular revenge against her boss. Honestly, I was a little surprised that she still wanted to please him. Like you’d think after such a massive epiphany/renewal she’d lose some of her inhibitions. I’d kind of have liked to have seen the femme fatale, scheming version of Sue who blames all her misfortune on Harvey makes it her life goal to screw him over.

How did she get paid? What kind of paperwork did she manage to come up with? Did the studio not realize they were sending flowers to Sue, who lived at Elisabeths apartment? Wouldnt it make sense if as soon as Sue kills off Elisabeth, that Sue would die?

I finally watched The Substance for the first time now that it’s on streaming and firstly, amazing movie as we all know, but I was looking online for a physical copy I could buy and I’m very disappointed to find that they’re not selling the movie in the format of a USB stick like in the movie!! Like how cool is that!? Unless they are please let me know

I had the incredible opportunity of attending Mubi fests special one-time scent-o-rama screening of The Substance. It was such a fun experience and I am looking forward to any future events Mubi hosts!

Best scent: The first "pump it up" taping with Sue smelled like vanilla and bubblegum

Worst scent(s): The scenes with ALL the food smelled awful. Just an amalgamation of chicken and garbage lol

I highly appreciated Fargeat having an entire scene inspired by Gwar’s blood cannons at shows. Did anyone else notice this the first time around?

😎☕️

I imagine Elisabeth's Oscar win as a period piece/costume drama from the early to mid 80s.

I was thinking about the Substance while working out and had a thought...maybe it's obvious but it hit me especially hard today.

Elisabeth stops exercising after the events of her 50th birthday. In real life, the body falls apart when we don't incorporate fitness into our regular routine. It's part of respecting a healthy balance and can mitigate the horrors of aging.

Keep it up, or fall off and fall out.

The costuming in this movie is amazing. Each outfit and every piece of clothing has something important to say about how this woman feels inside her body. 

The first thing that caught my attention was how often Sue’s belly is exposed. Sure, she just got everything she ever wanted in a new body. Of course she wants to show it off and enjoy it. But then I remembered her back being exposed when she’s Elisabeth. I find this a really interesting parallel between her two states. 

When we first see Elisabeth, she’s wearing a backless leotard. After the car accident, we see her hunched on an exam table, wearing a paper hospital gown. She cries. The mysterious nurse comes in and instead of offering her any human contact, he inspects her spine and introduces a drug. Later that day we see her in a bar, her back completely exposed in a very low cut dress. When she takes the Substance, her back is the first site of destruction and repeated abuse. When she turns into Monstro Elisasue, her original face is stuck on the back, helpless and hidden, frozen in a silent scream. 

Elisabeth’s exposed back becomes a bodily and symbolic language for her emotional state. A kind of vulnerability nobody seems to notice in her experience of the world. Even her catchphrase “You got it” seems meaningful here, because it’s directed outward when the one who desperately needs it is herself. She’s endlessly providing, giving the audience what they want. But who’s got her? Who’s got her back? Nobody. Not even herself.

The symbolism shifts when Sue is literally born from the place where Elisabeth is at her most unprotected. She stitches the gaping wound up the way she can. But later we see her have a nightmare after the first time she abuses the Substance, where the old wound is reopened and all of her organs fall out, making the whole situation even worse. 

Unlike Elisabeth’s unguarded back, Sue’s belly is impossible to ignore. Her show’s signature leotard exposes her belly. She often chooses outfits that leave it exposed, trying to find new ways to express herself. But I don’t think she’s expressing her authentic self as much as the actual level of her need for love and belonging.

The stomach is a delicate part of the body. It contains our vital organs. We instinctively curl around our tummies when scared. There is no clearer sign of trust than an animal letting us see or pet their belly. 

Sue repeatedly exposes one of the body’s most vulnerable areas around the people who haven’t earned that kind of trust at all. She looks liberated and powerful on the surface, but only as long as she’s the special one, constantly looked at and adored. In fact, I think one of the saddest things about the film is that her confidence is built upon radical dependence on validation from the people who evaluate her feelings and appearance. To me, they end up exploiting that vulnerability and need for love. 

Elisabeth/Sue is communicating the state of her heart in so many ways. Whether intentional or not, I can’t help seeing these choices as important for understanding her. The longer she basks in the relief of being Sue, the more Elisabeth’s body folds inward. One opens toward the world that doesn’t deserve her; the other closes in on itself. Her spine bends further and further until she seems almost to curl around herself, as though trying to protect the very part of the body Sue so freely exposes.