When Coralie Fargeat’s The Substance won Best Screenplay at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival following its world premiere, Oscar recognition was certainly not top of mind. Fargeat’s body horror feature turned heads, and quickly became one of the buzziest films going into fall festival season. As audiences ventured into the unknown, MUBI knew they had something special, and pushed The Substance as an out-of-body experience you simply had to see to believe. That this bold, hyper-imaginative journey of a woman’s self-loathing could possibly make waves at the Oscars felt too good to be true. Yet, Fargeat’s singular voice, along with an astounding performance by Demi Moore (whose casting as Elisabeth Sparkle brings out the subtext of her own experiences in the entertainment industry) kept The Substance in the realm of awards possibility.

The film became such a phenomenon that it injected horror storytelling back into the Academy, who typically overlook the genre altogether. The cautionary tale of Elisabeth Sparkle struck a chord because Fargeat took this story where it needed to be: a place of unapologetic transparency. Her screenplay disrupts the male gaze, turns the youth-obsessed beauty industry inside out, and holds a mirror to the violence women inflict upon themselves in the name of embodying “perfection.” The film hinges on Fargeat’s unsubtle words, as none of the insane imagery would resonate without the raw emotions that live underneath.

Without the sincerity and uncompromising quality of this screenplay, waves of sadness would not have come crashing down after each of Elisabeth’s physical transformations. The mortifying shock of Elisabeth staring at her dramatically changed self in the bathroom mirror — a direct consequence of Sue’s out-of-control misuses of the substance — reverberates on an emotional level. It’s not because of Moore’s prosthetics-covered appearance, but rather the pure rage behind her eyes. In this scene, one of several to cherry pick from the film, Fargeat’s creative storyboarding comes alive.

Every single image of The Substance, whether it’s Elisabeth’s Gollum-like form, or the sparkly reveal of Monstro Elisasue in the blood-soaked finale, speaks to how Fargeat uses a language of excess to convey the absurdity of the story. Her screenplay, which can be read fully here, is punctuated by palpable frustration and passion on every page. Fargeat balances visual extremity with tenderness at the core, which can be felt especially in the design of Monstro Elisasue, a physical amalgamation of deepest fears around self-acceptance. When Monstro Elisasue looks in the mirror on New Year’s Eve, curls one strand of hair, and sticks an earring into herself, it’s “as if she was truly seeing herself for the very first time, and finally, accepting herself.” The Substance roots original body horror in the real world, where women constantly face the ingrained idea of never feeling good enough, on any level. Fargeat’s response, a balm for the soul, is the message of needing to be gentler and kinder to ourselves at any age, and on any stage.

The Substance is streaming on Mubi.
You can find our review of the film here and our interview with Fargeat here.