‘The Substance’: Read The Screenplay By Coralie Fargeat That Injects A Fresh Dose Of Body Horror Brilliance
Deadline’s Read the Screenplay series spotlighting scripts from the year’s most talked-about movies continues with The Substance, Mubi’s satirical horror from writer-director Coralie Fargeat. Demi Moore stars as Elisabeth Sparkle, a once famous actress and now a fading fitness celebrity who decides to use a black market drug that creates a young, better version of herself.
The Substance had a splashy premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Best Screenplay award and scored a 13-minute standing ovation, establishing it as one of the year’s buzziest horror films. It hit U.S. theaters in September and has grossed $56.1 million globally year to date.
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In the pic, Elisabeth unintentionally discovers her fate while sitting in a men’s restroom stall where she overhears Harvey, the odious network executive, declaring at the urinal, “We need her young, we need her hot, we need her now.” Shortly after, Elisabeth is fired, and following a car accident she is presented with an opportunity to join an exclusive experiment.
Fargeat’s script is a biting critique of Hollywood’s obsession with youth and beauty. The film opens with a stark juxtaposition: the glamorous unveiling of Elisabeth’s star on the Walk of Fame, followed by a time-lapse of its gradual decay. The visual metaphor mirrors the industry’s relentless obsolescence cycle, a stark reminder of how fame is fleeting and everyone is replaceable.
The film also tackles the issues of ageism and unrealistic beauty standards, as experienced by two generations of women: the aging Elisabeth and her younger version, the aspirational Sue (Margaret Qualley).
The events after injecting the substance turn into a battleground as Elisabeth’s disregard for the rules governing her and Sue’s shared body required to coexist leads to her deterioration. Fargeat’s visionary third act is a grotesque showdown not for the faint of heart, complete with a blood-soaked finale that will leave a lasting impression — it was a unique experience shared with the audience in the movie theater.
Fargeat’s homage to classic body horror, from the transformation of the monster in Cronenberg’s The Fly and John Carpenter’s The Thing to inspiration from Brian Yuzna’s Society and Brian De Palma’s Carrie is evident in the The Substance‘s Kubrickian-inspired production design and color palette.
Read her script below.
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