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Plenty of films satirize Hollywood, dating back to 1950’s Sunset Boulevard and beyond, but few are as giddily gruesome as The Substance. The film stars Demi Moore as an actress who’s been deemed past her prime and pushed out of Hollywood, so she signs up for a regimen that promises to make a younger version of her (played by Margaret Qualley). In typical monkey paw fashion, the substance in question has some serious side effects.
The Substance opened to strong reviews and pulled a respectable box office haul for a high-concept, low-budget, body horror flick. If you didn’t catch it in theaters, it’s now available to rent or buy, or you can stream it on Mubi, which is available as a standalone service or as a Prime Video add-on.
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The film also netted Demi Moore her first Golden Globe. In her emotional speech, underscoring the themes of the movie, Moore said, “Thirty years ago I had a producer tell me that I was a popcorn actress, and at that time I made that mean that this is not something I was allowed to have. That I could do movies that were successful and made a lot of money, but that I couldn’t be acknowledged, and I bought in and I believed that.”
She added, “That corroded me over time, to the point where I thought a few years ago that maybe this was it, maybe I was complete, maybe I had done what I was supposed to do. And as I was at kind of a low point, I had this magical, bold, courageous, out-of-the-box, absolutely bonkers script come across my desk called The Substance. And the universe told me that ‘you’re not done.’”
How to Stream The Substance for Free
The Substance was distributed by Mubi, a cinephile-focused streaming service and distribution company. Currently, Mubi is the only place to stream The Substance, and Mubi is available with a 7-day free trial. Otherwise, the film can be rented or bought from Amazon Prime or Apple TV.
If you’d rather not sign up for a whole new streaming service, Mubi is available as a Prime Video add-on. Prime members can get a 7-day free trial to Mubi to catch The Substance, as well as acclaimed indie films like Fremont, Boyhood, and Frances Ha.
Reviews for The Substance praised Demi Moore’s performance in particular, with Rolling Stone’s David Fear writing, “[I]f Moore’s extraordinary, best-of-career performance doesn’t kick off a full Demi-aissance, there is no God — this riff on The Picture of Dorian Gray goes ballistic in the best possible way. You want a climactic bloodbath that puts The Shining‘s plasma-gushing elevator to shame? You got it!”
The Substance
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The Substance will also be released on Blu-Ray on Jan. 21. Fans who want to experience the gruesome film in the highest definition possible can also pick up the 4K UHD release, which will be available on the same day from retailers like Amazon and Target.
This post was originally published on Oct 31 and has been updated
