The best last-minute Halloween costume is also the hippest, thanks to The Substance
The horror genre is booming, as it should be. The last weekend of October’s spooky season helped Smile 2 widened his grin and Scarer 3 rise to become the highest-grossing unrated film of all time. In the meantime, Shudder is doing well with films like Dad’s head, MadS, OddityAnd Azrael. And on Halloween, The fabricprobably the goriest body-horror experiment of the decade, arrives on streaming courtesy of Mubi.
If you haven’t caught The fabric in its theatrical run, there’s good news: it’s still playing on the big screen, where you can watch Margaret Qualley spawn from Demi Moore’s ripped-open back in all its splatter scene glory. (That sequence is the opening act of the film, in case that sounded like a spoiler.) Writer-director Coralie Fargeat (Revenge) starts with that memorable image and then pushes, pushes, pushes the premise of exploring the damage done by one actor’s pursuit of eternal youth.
The fabric‘s final act makes for the perfect last-minute Halloween costume – even if more people than ever will see it for the first time on Halloween. Here’s how to be hip on October 31st.
(Ed. remark: I’m about to spoil important parts of it The fabricso don’t watch unless you’re in the know or desperate to look cool on Halloween.)
After her first injection of the carefully marketed green goo, Hollywood starlet turned workout TV host Elisabeth Sparkle delivers a sudden spinal explosion to ‘Sue’ (Margaret Qualley), who eventually begins to deteriorate and decides to own absorption of the substance. The overdose transforms the ‘younger, more beautiful, more perfect’ version of Elisabeth into a twisted mutation of both women. “Monstro Elisasue” has a melting face, breasts and a bent arm hanging from her shoulder, and a very Elisabeth Sparkle face sitting on her back in a silent scream. But Sue’s planned New Year’s Eve show must go ahead, so Monstro Elisasue takes the stage wearing a makeshift Elisabeth Sparkle mask, hoping no one will notice. Everyone notices.
A Cronenbergian creature that rips Moore’s face off a poster, smears some lipstick over her mouth, and affixes it to her disfigured body is a hilarious cross between the T on Fargeat and its leading lady’s skewering of Hollywood beauty. The sloppiness of Monstro Elisasue’s Sparkle mask also gives everyone permission to half-ass their own look on Halloween. Mubi is ready to help: Ahead of the holidays, the distributor wisely released a version of the Elisabeth mask that adoring Substance fans can cut out and decorate their own faces.
Does anyone near you get the reference? Only the righteous. Even if the ignorant think you’re dressed as Lady Gaga Joker: Folie à Deuxthat’s okay. We know You are the cool ones. You’ve seen it The fabric. And they’ll finally get it when the movie premieres on Mubi on Halloween.