I finished this movie a couple of weeks ago, and I'm dying for others to watch it and tell me what they think! This movie definitely had what I refer to as "the brass teapot effect." Let me give a bit of background on that. Years ago, my husband and I watched a movie titled The Brass Teapot. It was not a well-known film, and it seemed clear as to why via the premise. The story was about a couple who finds a brass teapot that spits money if you hurt someone else in its presence. It sounded crazy, but we watched it just for fun, and it convinced us within the plot that the teapot could actually be real. It was convincing in its craziness, so to speak. So now, when we come across something that gets us on board with an unbelievable idea, we say it has "the brass teapot effect."
Enter the movie The Substance! This movie absolutely passed that standard for me. It was pretty convincing in the idea that something called 'the substance' could be used to create a shinier version of yourself and that your body would be the matrix in which to do so. Demi Moore's performance is not to be missed in this body horror film, but hold onto your ass for the ending.
The movie starts somewhat slow, but with visceral imaging, I don't recommend cozying up to this film with a snack. Once the action begins, it is hard to turn away from the desperation you can feel from the screen to stay in a world where things are pretty, sparkly, and young. When the shit goes sideways, it will definitely make you appreciate just aging gracefully, as the alternative in this reality is horrific.
While I very much enjoyed this film, I will say the ending went off the rails a bit, in my opinion. Once you've invested so much time and emotion watching the struggle between age and youth, you may be left feeling a little shortchanged with the bloody mess that presents itself at the conclusion. To its credit, however, the ending did have me vehemently wishing that all that happened was some kind of crazy nightmare. The only spoiler I will write here is that what happens to Elisabeth Sparkle and Sue appears to be all too real, and very, very messy.
