‘The Substance’ Is An Allegory For Addiction
As Sue thrives, Elisabeth deteriorates — which makes her more dependent on Sue and reluctant to quit The Substance.
The Substance is one of the most talked about horror movies of 2024. In particular, Demi Moore is receiving high praise for her performance as an aging actress dealing with the pressures of staying young and beautiful in Hollywood. The film follows Moore’s character (Elisabeth Sparkle) as she seemingly finds the answer to her problems — a “substance” that allows her to birth “a better version of herself”.
At face value The Substance is about the extreme importance our culture places on adhering to beauty standards (especially for women, as Dennis Quaid’s character makes clear). The film also works as an allegory for addiction. Elisabeth’s life is split into two parts: her real self and “Sue”. Sue is the person Elisabeth is while using. As Sue thrives, Elisabeth deteriorates — which makes her more dependent on Sue and reluctant to quit the substance.
One addiction movie that The Substance will remind viewers of is Darren Aronofsky’s Requiem For a Dream (2000). Requiem follows four characters who are addicted to drugs and shows how their addiction affects them. Elisabeth Sparkle can be seen in the character of Sara Goldfarb (Ellen Burstyn), who takes a diet drug to help her lose weight, but it ends up costing her sanity. The film ends with Sara institutionalized and undergoing electroshock therapy which renders her catatonic.
The Substance ends with both Elisabeth and Sue reaching “rock bottom”. As using the substance has irrevocably ruined their life, “Monstro Elisasue” is all that is left of both characters. She shows up to her old life unrecognizable and reviled by those who see her. After an epic public meltdown she returns to a monument to her old life (Elisabeth’s sidewalk star) and dies.
At first, the escape Sue provides seems like everything Elisabeth wants, but in the end it turns her into this monster. She cannot return to her substance-free life. Like many addiction movies, The Substance captures the feeling of diminishing returns, hopelessness, isolation and feeling trapped with no way out.
