‘The Substance’ Trailer: Demi Moore Stages Her Comeback

Aug 15

From Ryan Cordaro

I don’t want to seem like a parrot repeating the same things, but awards season is upon us, but aside from the other usual Oscar bait movies, it feels like we could get some oddballs in the race this year. It’s less crowded than last year’s race, which felt like it was overflowing with not only a bunch of Oscar movies but ones that I thought actually earned some wins. There really wasn’t any room for the oddball or even an underdog to break out, but this year, it feels like one could break through. If there’s any movie I’d personally want to root for just based on the trailer, it’d probably be The Substance.

Demi Moore plays Elisabeth Sparkle, the star of an aerobics show who is fired on her 50th birthday by her boss because of her age. When she returns home, she’s offered the second chance anyone would dream of: a miracle “substance” that will make you the best version of yourself. Younger, more beautiful, more perfect. Reviews are already out for the movie since it premiered at Cannes last May, and it even won the Palme d’Or for Best Screenplay at the festival. It’s not too often that body horror movies, let alone horror in general, get into the awards conversation, and if The Substance ends up being as great as I’ve heard it was, it could be a big contender for one of the best movies of the year.

Alongside Moore (Ghost, Feud: Capote vs. The Swans), The Substance stars Margaret Qualley (Kinds of Kindness, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood), Dennis Quaid (Lawmen: Bass Reeves, the upcoming Reagan), Hugo Diego Garcia (Death and Other Details, the upcoming The Killer), Phillip Schurer, Joseph Balderrama (The Batman, the upcoming F1), Tom Morton (The King’s Daughter, Detroit: Become Human), and Robin Greer (The Serpent Queen, the upcoming The Count of Monte Cristo).