The Substance is chock-full of body horror, but is it actually scary?

The Substance is one of 2024's most talked about films, a masterclass in body horror that would make David Cronenberg proud. The Substance is the latest film from notable French filmmaker Coralie Fargeat (Revenge). Now that the film has become available to stream on Mubi, many of new fans have discovered the thrilling film featuring acclaimed performances by Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley.

Former movie star turned aerobics instructor Elisabeth Sparkles is ousted from her job just after turning 50. Believing she is now "too old," her boss (Dennis Quaid) intends to find her younger, hotter replacement. A distraught Elisabeth turns to an experimental drug promising to create the "perfect" version of herself, leading to disastrous results.

Given the film's extreme body horror, you might question whether you can handle its content. Here's what you should know (with as limited spoilers as possible).

The Substance is not a traditional scary movie but it's super gross

The Substance doesn't feature jump scares, demons, or ghosts. It is a satirical body horror with abundant dark comedy to balance out its most unsettling moments. But while you might not need to sleep with the lights on afterward, the movie has a lot of disturbing gross-out moments that might be too graphic for some to stomach.

Fargeat's work in this movie has been favorably compared to Cronenberg's, so if you've watched movies like The Fly or Scanners, you'll better understand what to expect from The Substance. But in many ways, Fargeat takes things much further.

One of the film's most defining scenes happens toward the beginning, shortly after Elisabeth injects herself with the activator, which leads to the other version of herself (Margaret Qualley) emerging from her backside. The movie shows Elisabeth's back ripping open in graphic detail.

There's a copious amount of gore, mutilation, and close-up shots of blood and other bodily fluids. You will see characters disfigure themselves, teeth falling out, skin stitched back together, and there are a few scenes of brutal violence resulting in tons of bloodshed. Everything in The Substance is very over-the-top. Tonally, the movie isn't "scary," but darkly comedic and sometimes quite campy.

If you're someone who doesn't get phased by gore, then The Substance will likely be fine for you, but it still pushes boundaries and is one of the most extremely grotesque body horror films in recent years. Apart from that, The Substance also features frequent nudity and certainly earns its R rating.