The scariest moment in The Substance has nothing to do with visible body horror or monstrous transformation.
It is all about what Demi Moore sees while looking in the mirror.
She has no purpose.
Thus she spends all of her time alone, eating in front of the TV.
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Then she remembers Fred, her dorky high school classmate.
She sighs in relief when he naturally, excitedly, accepts.
What happens next is devastating.
Maybe Fred is the thing she can use to fill those empty hours when shes not Sue.
Fargeat plays up Elisabeths anxiety with perfectly timed tension.
Weve all been in Elisabeths shoes, trying to hype ourselves up for a big event.
It tells you that your hair is too thin, or it wont ever sit right.
Who are you trying to fool in that get-up?
No one will want you, not even poor, dorky Fred.
Its pathetic to even try.
You shouldnt apply for that dream job.
You shouldnt go to that meet-up.
Maybe you shouldnt leave the house at all.
Maybe you even get to a point where youcantleave the house at all.
Poor, dorky Fred.
There was a moment where Fargeat could have shown a crack in Freds facade as well.
Another nice guy turning nasty in the face of female rejection is certainly not unheard of.
But Freds seemingly genuine concern makes Elisabeths inability to leave her apartment even more heartbreaking.
The date with Fred was the final off-ramp Elisabeth could have taken.
We are all at war with ourselves, and who knows better how to sabotage you thanyou?
After that aborted attempt,The Substancedescends intoRequiem for a Dream-levels of unsubtle disaster.
