The Substance, the latest film from writer-director Coralie Fargeat starring Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley is getting awards attention, with Moore already winning the 2025 Golden Globe for Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Musical or Comedy.
Whether the film The Substance is a comedy is up for debate. The movie is full of body horror and centers on a star of a certain age (Moore) who goes to extreme lengths for youth—taking a black market drug (a self-replicating substance, if you will) that temporarily creates a younger version of herself (Qualley)—with gruesome results.
With that premise, The Substance is full of gore and scenes involving complex prosthetics. If you want to watch it, it’s now available for streaming on Mubi, and the company released a 28-minute behind-the-scenes featurette that centers on an interview with Fargeat where she describes her inspiration for the film, as well as the technical aspects of creating some of the movie’s more memorable scenes, such as when the back of a young woman pulsates and splits wide open, and an audience full of extras gets gallons of fake blood firehosed all over them (a hose that we find out Fargeat herself was wielding).
It’s an interesting watch whether you’ve seen The Substance or not, both for Fargeat’s commentary and for seeing the magic behind the practical special effects.
Check out the behind-the-scenes featurette below.
