As a long-time fan of horror and sci-fi films, I have to say that “The Substance” has truly left me spellbound! The blend of practical effects with a twisted, thought-provoking narrative is a rare gem in today’s CGI-dominated world. The transformation of Demi Moore’s character into Monstro Elisasue is an unforgettable spectacle that will undoubtedly haunt my dreams for days to come.
SPOILER ALERT: This articles discusses plot details of “The Substance,” in theaters now.
The climax of “The Substance,” directed by Coralie Fargeat, has left people stunned on the internet, offering a potentially unmatched adrenaline rush for approximately twenty minutes in contemporary cinema.
Pierre Olivier Persin, the special effects artist, shared that director Coralie Fargeat preferred practical effects over digital ones when feasible. “Approximately 70-80% of what you observe is real and practical,” Persin conveyed to EbMaster.
Demi Moore portrays Elizabeth Sparkle, a once-prominent Hollywood actress reduced to hosting 80’s-style fitness videos. Regrettably, producers seek a more youthful host to replace her after discussions are overheard. Finding an opportunity to try a drug offering self-improvement, Elizabeth injects herself with a strange, neon-green liquid, giving birth to a younger counterpart named Sue, portrayed by Margaret Qualley. Sue secures the fitness job, sparking town-wide fascination. However, they must swap bodies every seven days without fail. As Sue indulges in the fame, success, and youthfulness for longer than her allotted time, Elizabeth starts witnessing side effects, such as a decaying finger. Matters escalate, and by the climax, Sue needs to prolong her stay in the body to host New Year’s Eve festivities. Yet, with Elizabeth’s body deteriorating, Sue injects herself with the serum meant for one-time use only, resulting in the creation of Monstro Elisasue – a grotesque fusion of both characters.
Persin labored on the film’s design for more than a year, making numerous adjustments. As he explained to EbMaster, “We came up with countless designs and employed everything from computer-generated sculptures to Photoshop, traditional sculptures, and drawings in our quest to find the character that Coralie preferred.
Ultimately, he resorted to crafting a conventional model (known as a maquette) to visualize the final shape of the transformed being.
Monstro Elisasue, known by this name, possessed multiple spines and puncture wounds. According to Fargeat, Persin, she expressed admiration for how he had crafted the spine on Monstro. She requested additional spines, but that wasn’t all. Persin explained, “She suggested, ‘Perhaps we can equip her with teeth, one of which could bite one of her breasts.’ So, I incorporated that feature. It was as if we had placed Elisasue in a blender and mixed up her form.
Given my busy schedule, I entrusted the creation of Monstro Eliasue’s suit to a reputable U.K. company. “I ended up having not just one but two suits ready, one for a stunt double and another smaller one for Margaret, which she wore during close-up scenes.
Persin and his group handled every detail, even the odd occurrence of fluid leaking from one of Monstro’s numerous openings.
The most striking aspect of the scene is the excessive splattering of blood, which leaves the crowd attending Sue’s New Year’s Eve performance visibly startled.
For the gruesome situation, Persin had a custom-made blood circulation system designed by Jean Miel, the movie’s special effects supervisor. “We incorporated this into his costume, and it functioned much like a firefighter’s hose that would squirt blood – there was blood splattered everywhere.
During Monstro EliaSue’s final instances, Qualley was enclosed within the half-suit for Monstro’s close-up scenes in these last moments. She donned a vest designed to regulate temperature, much like what racing car drivers use. As Persin elaborated, “This vest featured a cooling system capable of circulating cold water to keep her from overheating.
As Monstro EliaSue approached, Moore experienced different phases, each one earned a nickname on the production schedule. Persin explained, “We started with the ‘Requiem’ stage, similar to ‘Reqiuem for a Dream,’ which featured the initial appearance of half a face. Then there was the ‘Gollum’ stage; I made a preliminary design where she had a hunched back, but that part was relatively simple,” Persin added.
The process commenced with the finger, serving as our initial point of concern. To ensure accuracy, Persin needed to get it just right. “At first, I found it too large. It appeared unnatural and amusing. This led us to start anew. Coralie would visit the workshop or I’d send her video clips, but we created numerous designs for each stage. It was primarily a matter of trial and error, constantly starting over to improve it.
In total, Moore’s makeup took anywhere from 45 minutes to six and a half hours. The longest application was when Elisabeth had aged, but because she was in the shower, Persin had to apply “arm prosthetics, full leg prosthetics and a full face prosthetic.” But for Persin, it wasn’t as simple as applying prosthetics — he also had to apply blue veins and spots because Fargeat wanted the decaying to “look like poison.” So it was a matter of adding more blue to the veins. In the end, Persin found, applying them like fake tattoos, printed from a Photoshop file, worked the best and was the most effective.
Regarding the birth sequence, Persin confesses he lacked a visual guide when initially reading the script. His initial idea was to construct a large, mechanically-operated puppet. However, he decided to maintain simplicity and use hand manipulation or devices to preserve an organic feel, which was crucial for Coralie. Therefore, they utilized a full back prosthetic on the actress and added all the intricate effects during post-production. Persin shared this detail later on.
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2024-09-24 00:47