The buzz has been off the charts for “The Substance” following its May world premiere at the 77th Cannes Film Festival where it won the award for Best Screenplay. Since then it has only gained momentum, recently showing at the Toronto Independent Film Festival where it took home one of the People’s Choice awards. Now the film heads towards its full release with many considering it a serious Oscar night contender.

“The Substance” is certainly a movie that inspires conversation. It’s a biting satire turned phantasmagorical fever dream with a heavy reliance on grisly body horror and two all-in performances. The film pours every ounce of itself into being provocative and incendiary – something it succeeds and fails at in equal measure. But it remains as fascinating as it is stomach-churning in large part thanks to and in spite of director, writer, co-producer, and co-editor Coralie Fargeat.

An absorbing Demi Moore plays Elisabeth Sparkle, an acclaimed actress who now stars in her own popular television aerobics show called “Sparkle Your Life”. On her 50th birthday she is abruptly fired by her slimeball producer, Harvey (a cartoonish yet appropriately detestable Dennis Quaid). The network wants someone “new”, “young” and “hot”, preferably in the 18-30 age bracket. So Harvey sends out a casting call for Elisabeth’s replacement.

The unexpected move leaves Elisabeth dejected and defeated. Adding to her anxiety, she’s involved in a violent car accident but miraculously escapes unscathed. While getting checked out at the hospital, she’s approached by a young nurse who tells her she is a perfect candidate for a revolutionary secret product. He slips her a flash drive containing information on “The Substance”, a serum from an unknown inventor that claims to empower its user to create “a better version of yourself”.

With little hesitation and even less caution, Elisabeth calls the number and follows the address she’s given to a grimy warehouse district where she picks up her starter kit from a drop-off box. Back in her apartment she opens up the kit that’s full of elixirs, syringes, needles, and tubes. There’s hardly any instructions but Elisabeth somehow knows exactly what to do. She strips naked and injects herself with a green “Activator” serum. What follows is a grotesque sequence that sees Elisabeth writhing in pain on her bathroom floor as her back splits open and a twenty-something version of herself pops out.

Here’s the thing, similar to Joe Dante’s “Gremlins”, there are some very important rules that must be followed. The biggest is that only one version of Elisabeth can be conscious at any given time. Each version is given seven days after which they must switch places with the other version. Failure to follow the rules leads to some pretty gnarly side effects which Fargeat puts on full display in the film’s twisted viscera-filled (and undeniably funny) second half.

Elisabeth’s younger “perfect” self (fiercely played by Margaret Qualley) calls herself Sue and wins the audition to be Elisabeth’s new replacement. Her show “Pump It Up with Sue” becomes a big hit leading an opportunistic Harvey to see dollar signs. He wants to push her even further and Sue quickly grows to love the limelight. But Elisabeth finds herself still alone and resenting her much different other self. Over time animosity forms between Elisabeth and Sue leading to rules being broken with horrific consequences.

The messages of “The Substance” are impossible to miss largely because they’re repeatedly hammered home in nearly every facet of the film. The culture’s warped beauty standards and Hollywood’s patriarchal hierarchy are tops among Fargeat’s interests. But you could also say the movie speaks to the lust for fame, the shallowness of celebrity, and the obsessive pursuit of recapturing youth. Just don’t expect anything beyond what you see on the surface.

Moore and Qualley help elevate the material. They both work hard to overcome a lack of character depth and keep the movie engaging. Their performances have been called “bold” and “daring” – descriptions too often associated with a woman’s willingness to take her clothes off (funny how men aren’t held to the same standard). I prefer to call them “committed” and it’s a good thing they are. They hold our attention and make it easier to look past the film’s lack of interest in making sense of its story. Glaring questions never get answers. Who created the serum? Is it free or experimental? Do they monitor the results? How do they keep something so outrageous a secret? Who knows?

Fargeat’s all-caps direction finds ways to both help and hurt her film. While she and her effects team do some gloriously gruesome things with the body horror, it overwhelms the final act which sees the movie’s thematic edge dulled by its descent into B-movie schlock. But worse, Fargeat commits some of the very same sins she seems to be condemning. Despite her themes, she seems as fascinated with the male gaze as repelled by it. While every man in her film is a leering, predatorial deviant, her camera isn’t much better, often crossing the line into objectification. It’s one of several missteps that undermine what “The Substance” is ultimately going for. “The Substance” hits theaters Friday, September 20th.

VERDICT – 2.5 STARS