WARWICK SHOWCASE

THE SUBSTANCE
(Allegorical Cautionary Tale)

“The Substance” will grab your interest in the clever opening scenes, hold it for the next two hours, and then gross you out for the final half hour.

Four stars for most of it, and then two for the grotesque, bloody, repulsive conclusion.

Demi Moore stars as Elisabeth Sparkle, an aging actress turned TV workout hostess (“Sparkle Your Life”) who is reminded by her obnoxious producer (Dennis Quaid) that she is no longer needed at age 50 and will be replaced.

Desperate, Elisabeth turns to a mysterious supplier of a substance that will make her “a younger version of herself.”

Administering the substance is a complicated process of “activation, stabilization and switch” that leads to another body literally emerging from her backbone in a frightful scene that shows two naked female bodies intertwining among the spewing of blood and guts.

The new version of herself (Margaret Qualley), who is younger and sexier, takes over her aging body, which is left lying in her apartment on feeding tubes.

The movie oozes with satire, as beauty is sought at any cost and the two women end up fighting for the big moment when chosen to highlight a New Year’s Eve TV spectacular.

That’s when the movie turns grotesque, bloody and totally disgusting, leading to a chaotic conclusion that wraps up the message about fooling with mother nature.

The makeup crew works overtime to make the aging process as hideous as possible.

Camera work is up close and personal, whether it is Elisabeth exploring every inch of her naked body or her boss crunching on a plate of crawfish.

This stylish movie turns into a gross, gory, bloody finale that loses the subtlety of what started out as a clever allegory.