Viral on TikTok, director Coralie Fargeat’s film The Substance is considered a horror film with a fresh premise. The synopsis of The Substance itself tells the story of an artist who gets disastrous due to drug dependence to regain youth.
The film gained even more attention after being featured as the opening film at Jakarta Week Cinema (JWC) 2024. The Substance recently made it to the 2025 Best Picture Oscar nominations, making it the seventh horror film to make it to the Best Picture Oscar nominations in history.
1. The Substance Synopsis
Elisabeth Sparkle (Demi Moore) is an actress whose career is on the decline. The entertainment industry’s interest in her declined due to her aging physical appearance. This made Sparkle feel very frustrated.
An accident leads Sparkle to meet someone who has information on how to become young again. The man introduces Sparkle to a drug called The Substance.
Despite her initial hesitation, Sparkle finally had the courage to try The Substance on the black market. The drug proved to be able to bring out the best version of herself through DNA engineering technology.
However, she didn’t realize that this drug would bring her disaster. Furthermore, Sparkle senses that beauty actually holds suffering. There was immense pain that she had to face to achieve beauty.
Apart from offering an interesting premise, the movie The Substance also features a number of famous actors. Here is their list.
- Demi Moore as Elisabeth Sparkle
- Margaret Qualley as Sue
- Dennis Quaid as Harvey
- Gore Abrams as Oliver
- Hugo Diego Garcia as Diego
- Phillip Schurer as Mr. Scream
- Joseph Balderrama as Craig Silver
2. Airing Schedule
The Substance had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival on May 19, 2024 and received a nine-minute standing ovation.
In addition, the film was also selected as the opening film for Jakarta Week Cinema (JWC) 2024 which just took place at CGV Grand Indonesia. The Substance was widely released in Indonesian cinemas on October 16, 2024.
In the 2025 Best Picture Oscar nominations, The Substance will compete with Emilia Perez and The Brutalist. The Substance becomes the seventh film to make it to the Best Picture Oscar nominations, making it one of the best horror films of all time.
