Heartbreaking truth behind 'horrifying' horror film The Substance

WARNING: This article may contain spoilers!

Viewers of brand new horror flick The Substance are only now realising that the blood-curdling blockbuster actually has a deeper, even more heartbreaking true story behind the grit and gore.

For those out of the loop with the eerie new thriller, The Substance tells the tale of an A-list aerobics instructor (played by Demi Moore) who suffers a heartbreaking blow when her boss (Dennis Quaid) fires her on her 50th birthday, leading her to believe she's 'too old' to be on screen.

Devastated, she catches wind of a clinic that produces a drug aimed at transforming you into your younger, spritelier self by creating another version of you that you'll simply switch between.

Enter Margaret Qualley, who plays Elisabeth's hot-shot alter-ego, Sue.

The one condition of the drug? The user must interchange with their older self every now and again, to prevent them from essentially rotting away.

Without giving too much away, the conflict ends in a gory battle for glory between Elisabeth, who regrets her decision to upgrade her looks, and Sue, who is driven by the success her perky new appearance gives to her.

The movie stars Demi Moore (Mubi)

Aside from the 36,000 gallons of fake blood and prosthetic boobs that have set viewers' tongues wagging, many have been left startled to discover that the story actually centres on a heartbreaking truth.

In fact, the truth is based on a real experience had by The Substance's director Coralie Fargeat, who explained that the entire movie is one big metaphor for the ever-changing standards of beauty that women feel forced to keep up with.

Speaking to Collider, Fargeat admitted: "Since [I was] a kid, I think about how I have to live with my own image and how I learned to be super violent about it.

"It made me feel that I was never good enough. At each age, you can find something that is not enough. I questioned myself about the violence of it."

She went on: "When I was past my 40s and aiming to my 50s, it became even more violent that [it felt like] now this is it, I'm going to be erased. It's the end of it. I felt that it was so absurd, but at the same time so real."

As we say, however, it wasn't until sinking their teeth into this gruesome hit that many realised the true message behind it.

Margaret Qualley plays Sue in the gory hit (Mubi)

"It's one of the most disturbing and disgusting body-horror film I've ever watched! And I meant that in a positive way because this movie is amazing," one viewer penned on social media this week.

Another went on: "Coming off of Skincare (2024) this was such a better look at what trying to stay relevant in a town like Hollywood does to a woman who at one point felt like the center of it all."

Have you watched it yet?