‘The Substance’ Will Leave You Queasy & Amazed
TIFF #1: Coralie Fargeat’s wild ride keeps your eyes peeled even when you’re desperate to look away.
Have you ever dreamed about a better version of yourself?
I’ve never come as close to throwing up or passing out while watching a movie until I watched Coralie Fargeat’s The Substance. When it comes to theatrical viewings, horror movies aren’t typically my flavour of choice, so it’s important to take that with a grain of salt.
I know many body horror fans will read that statement with excitement, almost acting as a positive indicator. To others, a positive indicator would be that the film recently won the Midnight Madness People’s Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival. And rightfully so. For all of its gore — and believe me there’s plenty — what happens in between is still a riveting story that comments on its core themes in bizarre fashion.
There was about a five to ten minute stretch in this film where I was simply going through it, trying to wrangle my innards together while sweating profusely. Through a mixture of its unsettling score, cinematography, set design, sound design, and my front row seat to it all, it triggered a sensory overload within me. All these ingredients working perfectly as all body…
