
Film director Coralie Fargeat has a keen interest in the human posterior. Her film “The Substance,” which won at Cannes for its offbeat humor regarding an elderly Hollywood actress with a remarkable tolerance for self-inflicted pain, showcases more bottoms per minute than an ashtray of a chain smoker, making this even more impressive given the movie’s running time of nearly 2 hours and 30 minutes. Whether they are accentuated by spandex or swinging freely in the nude, each is captured by the camera with an intense desire, much like how a burger commercial craves its buns. It’s clear that in this horror film centered around body horror, a person’s value is solely as meat. With brave and fierce leads Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley, who are willing to let the camera dissect them into pieces of flesh – lips, legs, hair, wrinkles, and yes, backsides – for a movie that prioritizes shock value over plot development, expect a generous helping of their blood and viscera as well.