New horror movie debuts first full-length trailer featuring blood, sweat, and tears – and it’s already got a near-perfect Rotten Tomatoes score

The Substance releases next month

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

Upcoming body horror movieThe Substancehas a new, full-length trailer – and it promises a wild ride of blood, sweat, and tears.

Demi Moore stars as Elisabeth, an A-lister past her prime who we find out is fired from her gig hosting a hit fitness TV show once she turns 50 by sleazy exec Harvey (Dennis Quaid). Her luck looks like it might be about to change, though, when she’s offered a mysterious drug called the Substance, which promises to turn her into a “younger, more beautiful, more perfect” self. The only catch? Elisabeth must split her time equally between her current self and her new, younger body (played by Margaret Qualley), with one week in each body.

Elisabeth jumps at the chance and is promptly re-hired by an unsuspecting Harvey under her new alter ego, Sue. “The one and only thing not to forget: you are one,” Elisabeth is warned. “You can’t escape from yourself.” But that’s easier said than done, it seems, as we see Sue exclaim that “the balance isn’t working” and Elisabeth reporting a “slight misuse” of the drug. Does she want to stop taking it, then? “I’m fine,” she says. “Everything’s fine.”

Written and directed by French filmmaker Coralie Fargeat, who previously helmed the 2017 action thriller Revenge, the movie premiered at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, where Fargeat won the award for Best Screenplay.

The Substance hits the big screen on September 20. While we wait, check out our guide to the other bestupcoming horror movieson the way in 2024.

Sign up for the Total Film Newsletter

Bringing all the latest movie news, features, and reviews to your inbox

I’m an Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering everything film and TV-related across the Total Film and SFX sections. I help bring you all the latest news and also the occasional feature too. I’ve previously written for publications like HuffPost and i-D after getting my NCTJ Diploma in Multimedia Journalism.

Matthew Lillard thinks the Scream franchise is in a “good place,” but that the movies got “too violent”: “I don’t think Ghostface ever needs a shotgun”

Mike Flanagan is producing a new horror movie with Midnight Mass and Oppenheimer stars

The 32 greatest movie villains