The brilliant new Demi Moore movie you’ll probably hate

After writing about film for the Coeur d’Alene Press since 2006, I have a pretty good understanding of the readership’s moviegoing sensibilities.

In my earliest weeks of writing for The Press, for example, I quickly realized the extent of North Idaho’s political climate, as I received more than a few nasty emails from folks who didn’t like that I recommended Al Gore’s documentary, “An Inconvenient Truth.” I think even The Press’ weatherman razzed on me for that one.

Beyond political subjects, however, I understand that most moviegoers aren’t as adventurous when it comes to difficult, “unentertaining” movies, particularly those involving sex and violence. That’s not just a North Idaho thing. Most movie audiences want to be entertained! Escapist fun! Nothing wrong with that.

The desire for entertainment, I think, serves as the primary reason why audiences often believe there’s a disconnect between critics and a regular audience. Critics (and certain film aficionados) don’t always consume movies for entertainment. They often want to be challenged and/or engaged with difficult subject matter.

Since I’ve never been a full-time critic with easy access to the content available in larger cities and at film festivals, I tend to operate somewhere in the middle. I like strange movies and filmmakers who take novel risks in their storytelling, but I also like dumb action movies and superheroes (at least until the recent oversaturation).

It’s the reason why readers will see truly insane movies like “Titane” and “Mother!” on my year-end Top 10-20 lists, even though I rarely wrote about such wild movies in the paper. After watching eight different patrons walk out of the theater during a local screening of “Mother!” (more than half of those in attendance) I knew my opinion probably wouldn’t be too helpful for regular readers looking for a recommendation.

With all that said, I know better than to recommend a movie like “The Substance” to readers. The Demi Moore body horror/thriller probably won’t be playing in theaters by the time this column even makes it to print, as I was one of only four people at the screening, (and two of them left early during a particularly icky moment).

However, I still want to be on record as saying “The Substance” is one of the gnarliest and boldest movies of the year, anchored by a career-best performance by Moore.

“The Substance” hails from French writer/director Coralie Fargeat, who previously made a brutally violent (and terrific) thriller “Revenge” in 2017. The filmmaker credits her love of the body horror genre masters like David Cronenberg. If “The Fly” is the apex of the body horror genre, “The Substance” is taking a clear shot at the crown.

Lengthy, intentionally discomforting and relentlessly gooey (elevated by a nightmarish sound design), “The Substance” follows an aging movie star (Moore) who tries to restart her career by taking a black-market beauty product. However, the Substance is not some beauty cream. Rather, an injection of the serum triggers a grisly cell-replicating process that creates a younger version of herself (played by Margaret Qualley). The two bodies share a consciousness (sorta), but there are dire consequences if the “balance” isn’t maintained. Seven days in the new body, followed by seven days in the old body. No exceptions. Or else … gross.

Even the early moments of “The Substance” are populated with numerous close-ups of needles and injections … all stuff I find more disturbing than some of the grotesque material that dominates the second half. Fargeat’s film has some surface-level jabs at toxic masculinity and the nasty nature of Hollywood ageism, but the movie’s true thematic force hinges on Moore’s more introspective performance, though she screams convincingly through the body horror moments as well.

Look, “The Substance” is crazy gory. It takes one huge creative swing after another and practically dares you to endure the nastiness. Statistically speaking, if you’re reading this article, you shouldn’t go see it. You’ll walk out and immediately want to write me a mean email.

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Tyler Wilson can be reached at twilson@cdapress.com.

    This image released by Mubi shows Margaret Qualley in a scene from "The Substance."