The Substance’sending is a tragic conclusion to a wild body horror comedy, underscoring the film’s views about self-worth and self-destruction in the entertainment industry. The film focuses on the titular “Substance,” a mysterious serum and medical by which someone can create a younger copy of themselves. This allows them to spend a week in a “perfect” body for every week in their normal form, although there are strict rules about how to maintain the process.The Substance’s lead characters are two sides of the same person, aging star Elisabeth and her younger self, who dubs herself Sue.
The film is a dark comedy about the entertainment industry, but it’s also quietly a tragic horror story about the lengths Elisabeth and Sue will go to achieve their ambitions, even at the cost to themselves. Steadily seeing each other as rivals for their shared time, the two sides of Elisabeth ultimately set up their own undoing. The themes ofDemi Moore’s arc inThe Substanceelevate the body horror comedy and add a personal level of tragedy and gravitas to the story. Here’s how the ending ofThe Substancehighlights the thematic core of the film.
Elisabeth & Sue’s Final Transformation In The Substance’s Ending Explained
The Monster At The End Of This Movie
The final transformation inThe Substanceis tragic and horrifying in equal measureand speaks to the overarching themes of the film. After killing Elisabeth, Sue initially believes that she’s gotten a chance to fully live her life without the burden of her older self. However, her body quickly begins to fall apart without the serum. This leads her to try and reuse the one-use-only Activator serum, only for the resulting transformation to be a grotesque hybrid of Elisabeth and Sue. Notably, Elisabeth is resurrected by this, but only as a face trapped on Sue’s body.
Seen by the public as a monster, Sue is forced to flee the New Year’s show and is ultimately only able to make it so far before her body collapses upon itself and self-destructs. It’s a melancholy turn in the film, withSue more or less killed and Elisabeth reduced to a facewith little time left. This transformation reflects the bitter side of Elisabeth and Sue that became increasingly prominent in the film, their physical form finally reflecting their monstrous choices. However, the film doesn’t relish the transformation and instead paints them both as pitiful and tragic figures.
Why Sue Kills Elisabeth & What It Means
Sue’s Final Fate Doesn’t Go Well
A big element ofThe Substanceis the mysterious company’s repeated efforts to convince Elisabeth to see Sue as an extension of herself. However, as the film progresses,Elisabeth and Sue increasingly view each other as foeswrestling for control of the same life. This animosity builds until Sue decides to remain in control despite the repeated warnings of the fallout, resulting in Elisabeth being reduced to a haggard new form. When she finally does regain control, she tries to kill Sue. However, her own ego and horror at her actions result in her sparing her younger self.
The Substance Is Continuing A Clever 2024 Horror Trend
Coralie Fargeat’s The Substance uses body horror to question the oppressive and obsessive quest for control over the aging of women’s bodies.
However, upon awakening,Sue doesn’t share that same mercy and ultimately kills Elisabeth. Thematically, this moment underscores how much Elisabeth has lost control of her desires and self-worth. Her younger ego outright killed her real self. In the plot, this ultimately proves to be Sue’s undoing, as she quickly falls apart without Elisabeth around to safely provide the necessary serum for her continued existence. Thematically, by destroying her true self and assuming full control of her life, Sue quickly burns out and is transformed into the film’s final monster.
Who Is The Supplier Of The Substance?
One Of The Film’s Biggest Questions Is Never Answered
One of the underlying mysteries ofThe Substanceis the identity of the organization that makes it. Elisabeth only hears about it from an unnamed nurse she encounters following a car crash, who believes she’d be an ideal candidate for the process.The inventor of the serum inThe Substanceremains a mystery throughout theDemi Moore movie, with the organization behind it only communicating through unseen phone calls or messages. Elisabeth picks up the serum from a dead drop in downtown Los Angeles, never communicates with anyone directly about it, and never learns who made it.
Harvey
Dennis Quaid
The film notably doesn’t position the organization as the problem, however. They are blunt in their advice and appraisal of Elisabeth’s increasing tensions with Sue, but don’t try to convince Elisabeth one way or the other to abandon the serum. When Elisabeth contemplates ending the process, they explain the rules and leave the choice in her hands. Elisabeth and Sue’s fate is decided by them and them alone.This underscores the film’s themesabout how Elisabeth and Sue’s self-destruction is caused by their own decisions.
What Happens To Harvey & Pump It Up?
Harvey Represents The Predatory Aspects Of The Entertainment Industry
One of the biggest tragedies ofThe Substanceis the lack of clear consequences for Harveyand the other producers who benefit from Elisabeth and Sue’s suffering. Introduced as a slimy and misogynistic producer behind Elisabeth’s workout show “Pump It Up,” Harvey relishes getting to fire Elisabeth — inadvertently playing on her insecurities and pushing her to utilize the serum. Harvey’s harsh attitude earns him accolades and a successful show thanks to Sue. Although his New Year’s show goes down in flames, there’s no indication he’ll be blamed for it.
Demi Moore’s Upcoming Horror Movie Is The Role I’ve Always Wanted Her To Tackle
Demi Moore can achieve scream queen status due to the release of the body horror movie The Substance, which she has long been in the running for.
The themes ofThe Substancehighlight how the entertainment industry can make people feel interchangeable, with a handful of cruel figures at the top dictating the careers and lives of others on a whim. There’s no clear comeuppance for Harvey, whose final prominent moment in the film sees him and a group of similarly old rich white men ogling the young performers and telling Sue to smile. Harvey will likely find a new star for “Pump It Up” and suffer no clear consequences. It’s a tragic reminder thatpredatory producers like Harvey still exist and succeedin Hollywood.
The Real Meaning Of The Substance
Elisabeth Becomes Her Own Worst Enemy
The true moral ofThe Substanceis a tragic one,highlighting how someone can (literally) become their own worst enemy. Elisabeth is underappreciated and sidelined due to her age, despite decades of success and celebrity status. Although Harvey (a man whose age is comparable to her own) is at the height of his career, her age makes her a liability. However, he and the serum aren’t what brings Elisabeth down. Instead, her own self-doubt, sense of inadequacy, and deepening self-esteem problems lead her to ignore her own beauty and potential.
Her attempt to get ready for a date but inability to go through with it illustrates this, a chance for self-acceptance and inner peace that she sacrifices in lieu of the admiration of others.Sue’s success forces Elisabeth further into self-loathing, fueling Sue’s ambitions further. Their increasing mental divide turns two sides of the same person into bitter enemies. Elisabeth and Sue are their own worst enemy, and it leads to a tragic ending for both.The Substanceis a powerful story that uses body horror to highlight how societal expectations can shape a person into an unrecognizable thing.
How The Substance Ending Was Received
Fans Were Split Over The Over-The-Top Ending
Critics loveThe Substance, awarding it an 89% fresh Rotten Tomatoes score, which makes it Certified Fresh. It also earned Demi Moore an Oscar nomination. However, audiences gave it a slightly lower 75% approval rating; part of that is the ending.One audience member wrote, “The last 20 minutes felt unnecessary and overly horrific. I expected the ending to reveal that the events were merely imagined—flashes in her mind before she decided to take the substance. Ending it this way would have made her character more powerful.”
However, critics mentioned the ending as an important part of the story. Critic Peter Travers wrote forABC News:
“For all it’s shocking shifts into R-rated gore, “The Substance” is never less than a gripping takedown of the drug of youth obsession… Kudos to Moore who brilliantly seizes the role of her lifetime—her final showdown with Qualley is a bloody marvel with special effects that deserve their own awards attention.”
Not everyone was happy with howThe Substanceending wrapped up the story. In oneRedditthread, the OP wrote that the ending “ruined” the movie for them. They wrote, “I think they overdid it slightly with the blood going over and her face creepily moving over her star. The whole movie had a pretty serious tone, and the ending just did a complete 180.” However, another person responded that they loved it for that reason, writing: “It almost felt like a celebration with beauty standards literally being ripped apart and splattered.”
The Substance
Cast
Elisabeth Sparkle, a fading celebrity, turns to a mysterious drug that promises to restore her youth by creating a younger, more beautiful version of herself. But splitting time between her original and new body leads to horrifying consequences as her alternate self, Sue, begins to unravel her life in a disturbing body-horror descent.
