Too Scary; Didn't Watch - THE SUBSTANCE with Avital Ash

Episode Date: October 23, 2024

Aging is scary and aging is a gift and we have a lot of feelings about it!!!!!! The wonderful Avital Ash (Workshops Her Suicide Note) joins us to discuss Coralie Fargeat's latest movie, The Substance!Movie & Guest Intro @ 11:22Trivia @ 19:04Recap starts @ 26:03TrailerFollow the show: @TSDWpodcast on Twitter, TikTok, and Instagram.Check out our Patreon for bonus episodes and additional content!Rate Too Scary; Didn’t Watch 5 Stars on Spotify and Apple Podcasts and leave a review for Emily, Henley, and Sammy.Advertise on Too Scary; Didn't Watch via Gumball.fmSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This is a HeadGum Podcast. This is Emily Henley and Sammy and you're listening to Too Scary, Didn't Watch. Hi everyone. Welcome to Too Scary, Didn't Watch, a horror movie recap podcast for those too scared to watch for themselves. I'm Emily and I'm too scared to watch scary movies. I'm Sammie and I love watching scary movies and so I watch them so that you don't have to and we are missing Emily again today. She is still on her honeymoon. I think we've lost her to France.

I don't think she's coming back. I don't know if you've noticed, but she's had like a slow evolution. I feel like she is wearing different clothes, her hair is looking different. She has boat shoes on, little yellow socks. She's French now. I'm like, you are fucking French.

She's eating baguettes. Like it is nonstop over there. Yeah, I did get a text requesting that I take French classes with her upon her return. So she's serious. She's serious about it. Is she going to have a French accent when she gets back? That'd be so funny. It's going to be one of those girls who goes abroad and comes back with an accent. I hope so.

I really hope so. And I'm really sad that she's going to be missing today's episode because I'm really excited to talk about this movie. But I'm happy that she'll get to listen to it because if she can't be here, at least she can enjoy it as a as an audience member. It's the next best thing, obviously. as an audience member as the next best thing, obviously. Anyways, if you wanna jump straight to our recap, there are timestamps in the show notes

because first we have a little bit of haunted housekeeping, which is just a final reminder that we have a live show coming up this weekend, Sunday the 27th at 5 p Pacific, 8pm Eastern, virtual show on our Patreon, patreon.com slash TSDW podcast. We will be recapping Terrifier 3. I haven't seen it yet. I'm not excited to see it. I'm not excited to talk about it. I hate these movies so much. Same, same, same, same. I mean, we're in the same boat. So you speak my language. So let's all just mentally prepare for that.

I heard about one scene in it that made me so mad already. Hopefully there are a lot of tiny hats though. Hopefully. Yes. Art the Clown is still seems to be wearing his tiny hat and we'll just have to really I felt really flood my body when you said that. Really hold on to that. And also I like bought supplies for my Halloween costume that I

plan to wear during this live show. And it's quite possible that I will look absolutely insane and nothing like the thing that I'm trying to be. So we have that to look forward to as well. I have to buy all everything for my costume. Fuck, I have an idea. I just have to make it happen. Okay, this is motivating me. Yep, it's gonna be great. I can't wait. It's gonna be great. Other than that, Henley,

did anything scary happen to you this week? The other night, I was lying in my bed, doing some late night Amazon.com shopping, which I know is bad for the environment and I hate Amazon, nonetheless, I do purchase a lot of things from Amazon. There was a time that I was really good and I feel like I didn't buy anything from there

for like a year and then I came back and now I'm embarrassed, ashamed to say I buy almost everything on Amazon. It's like ridiculous how much I buy on Amazon. And I'm saying it aloud to hold myself accountable and shame myself in public because I also don't feel great about it, but I'm saying it aloud to hold myself accountable and shame myself in public because I also don't feel great about it, but I do do it as well. I feel so guilty about it. It's just adding more landfill to the ever increasing landfills.

But anyway, so I had to put in my, so I was using my, also this is embarrassing, I was using my mom's prime account because who's going to pay for their own prime account? Nice. You know, got to use my mom's prime account. My mom uses my prime account. Oh, well, you know, that maybe speaks to some relationship dynamics that are in play in both of our relationships. But I had to add my credit card to it. And this is a credit card that I've had for years and years and years. And the number has not changed. And I know it, memorized

it, it is right up here. So put it in, didn't think twice, got to the security code though part and was like, security code, you know, those three little numbers that I've put in thousands of times, probably thousands of times. I know it, I certainly know it. Couldn't remember. Could not retrieve that. Could not retrieve it. It, like, actually, like, this is a number that I would... It's, I mean, it's like my own birthday. Like, I know the number.

I know those types of moments where you're just like, this, what the fuck is happening? Remember I told you when I lived with Jenna and I forgot her name one day and was like, fuck, that's her name? I knew her, I had lived with her for a year. I just had a moment where I forgot her name. And sometimes that just happens. You've never told me that. It came back pretty quickly, but there was enough of a moment for me to think about how I didn't know her name. That is Jenna's worst nightmare too. You know that's a worst nightmare

for her. Her best friend doesn't even know her own fucking name. I mean, I don't think it would make anybody feel great. No. Anyway, so I just put my phone down and I didn't speak of it to Tim. I didn't speak of it to anyone in my head. I was just like, it will come back. It will come back to you. And I was going to bed and I was like trying to retrieve it, trying to retrieve it. I woke up the next morning, like throughout the day,

being like, could it be this? Could it be this? Could it be this? Maybe it's this. And I like got so lost in the weeds. And I went on a, because I also don't have my physical credit card. And I also have not had this physical credit card

for years. Like it's been missing for years. Did you freeze the physical card aspect of it, I hope? No. Well, it seems like if it's been years that no fraudulent transactions are happening, you're probably all good. No, I'm all over my credit card statements.

I know that there are no fraudulent charges happening. I just have, it is somewhere, it's in a pocket, it's in a purse, it is somewhere around, no one is using it. And anyway, so I don't know where it is. And so I can't look at it to find out what the security code is. And there's probably a way to look at it like online, but I couldn't figure that out. I'm not sure that there is. I don't know where it is. So I can't look at it to find out what the security code is. And there's probably a way to look at it online. But I couldn't figure that out. I'm not sure that there is.

I don't think there is. I couldn't find what. I was looking at my Apple Pay. It's in my Apple Pay. It doesn't come out there. Anyway, I did ultimately remember it. So it's fine. But it was like a 72-hour experience of me being like,

I'm going to have to get a new credit card. What a pain in the ass. That's the thing I hate the most, is having to get a new credit card. What a pain in the ass. That's the thing I hate the most is having to get a new credit card. It is really annoying. And I did remember, I did remember the numbers of oh, it can be the sigh of relief, but it was a lot, it was multiple days.

And I don't know. Can you imagine if I forgot Jenna's name for 72 hours? What would you do? You would be able to pretend like. Be like, hey, good morning, you. Girl, you start calling her girl so much. So good to see you, girl. Get it, girl.

I've noticed that I call May girl and I hate myself for it. I'm like, girl, like, we got to change your diaper, girl. Like, I hate myself saying that, but it comes out. No, I love it. I love it. It's great. Okay. Okay. Anyway, what about you? How are you doing? How was your week? I'm doing okay. I'm very sleepy. It's been a Okay. Okay. Anyway, what about you? How are you doing? How was your week? I'm doing okay.

I'm very sleepy. It's been a very sleepy week. I've really gotten into a habit of taking a nap every single day and I don't. That's amazing. So glorious. It is glorious, but I'm also still tired. So I don't know what's going on there. We'll see.

I will admit I have not been eating the healthiest. I did have two pints of ice cream this week. Oh, this week. I thought you meant like right before this. No, but it does sound pretty good again. I'll be following up on that checking to see if I need to be upping any antidepressant dosages or anything. Season's changing. You know, sometimes that happens. But the scary, I don't really have that much of a scary thing to talk about,

but realizing that everything just sounds like I'm so depressed, because what I'm about to say. That's how I feel. Usually when I give updates, I'm like, like last week when I made so many jokes about taking seven sleeping pills and drinking a handle of scotch, like people were like worried. They were like, don't do that, you'll die. I was like, I'm kidding.

It's a joke. No, I was going to say that long time listeners of the pod will know that I hate showering. That is a regular thing, not just in times of depression. That's been a lifelong thing. If you read my journals as a child, it's like a constant New Year's resolution to shower more. I was having a fine time showering this summer because I do better at showering when it's hot. If I get sweaty and like feel gross, I get motivated to shower and I'm like, oh, it's hot and I'll cool down in the shower and I come out and like, oh, now I'm like wet. So that helps me cool down in the in this hot, hot heat. And it's starting to get cooler. It's like annoyingly hot again today, but my house has been cooler and my bathroom is downright cold. And I think my water heater is like on its

last legs. It's whistling really loudly whenever I have hot water on for the entire duration of the shower. And it gets cold immediately. And I saw I took a shower today and it was the most miserable experience of my life. Came out like, shivering so much. I feel like I got to get a new water heater, but I'm sad that maybe my hatred of showers is coming back because I felt like we were on a pretty good path there for a bit. Just real quick, we talked about it before, a portable heating thing. I bought one.

Okay. So it's in the bathroom. It hasn't arrived yet. I bought it when Amazon, sorry. It's arriving theoretically today. Honestly, I use it year round. I use it in the dead heat of the summer. I can't take a shower without it. It's nice to be warm when you get out of the shower. It's comforting. Yeah. So, you know, scarier things have happened, but it wasn't... No, that's like a lifelong fear that we're talking about.

It's a lifelong fear that happened to me today. You're right. It's the scariest thing that's ever happened to anybody, was having one bad shower. Anywho, let's get into this week's movie. I can't freaking wait to talk about it. You all have been asking about it. When are you going to cover this movie? Of course we were planning to cover this movie. This is movie that is like, top of mind. Yeah. Very top of mind for us. So here it is. We're doing it today. It's The Substance. It is in theaters now written and directed

by Corley Farjat. Farja, I looked up the pronunciation and I forgot it again. Starring Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley, and Dennis Quaid. And Corley Farjat, if you'll remember, directed, wrote and directed a movie we previously covered called Revenge. And if you listened to our episode of that, you will also remember our wonderful guest.

She is returning to us again to discuss Corley's newest feature. It's Avital Ash. Welcome back. Hello. Thank you. It's good to be back. Our corely correspondent. I love it, I love a title.

I'm so official. Yay, we're so happy you're back. Revenge was such a good episode. We had so many people commenting being like, bring her back. Yeah. Do more race. Oh, that's so nice. Yes. Oh, good.

It was so good. They're really missing happy. Anyway, I'm really happy you're back. How are you doing? I'm really happy you're back. How are you doing? I'm so happy you're back. Thank you. I'll be tall.

I'm going to start blushing. Did anything scary happen to you this week? Did you have a bad shower? Forget really important information. Forget three digits. I have been forgetting not what I was going to say, but just to commiserate. Well, also, I think I might need to go up on my meds. So I'm really relating to everything you guys are saying.

And yeah, I've been forgetting crazy things. Like I did my show in London, and then I went out to dinner with like two friends, and I walked off with one of them in the other direction, and my one friend was like, I really like her. And I suddenly was like, who did we just have dinner with? Oh my God, that happens to me all the time. I'll have like a memory of like,

this definitely happened this week. Who was I talking to? Where was I? What was I doing? This was, we walked out of the dinner and I immediately forgot who we were with. I had to turn around to see her still walking away to remember, it was crazy.

No, that actually makes me feel better because I've been having moments like that. Like today, someone asked me very seriously, they're like, how was the wedding? And I was like, what wedding? I don't know what you're talking about. And they're like, the wedding, you just went to a wedding. And I was like, what wedding? It's scary. Emily's wedding. It was Emily's wedding. It was like three weeks ago. It was Emily's wedding.

Oh my God, what's wrong with me? It's terrifying. I was just in Italy and Belgium. I just got back on Monday. And a similar thing, I was traveling with two friends, and then one of them was off and I was with one, and then I did the same thing, and we'd been together for two weeks. And I was like, who else are we with? Someone's not here, who is?

It's so scary. What's wrong with uh-oh? Is it happening? It's terrifying. Oh, boy. It makes me feel better that it's not just uh-oh, is it happening everywhere? It's terrifying. Oh, boy. It makes me feel better that it's not just me. Yeah, it's definitely not just you. I have, this is not a great endorsement for it

because I still forgot who I was traveling with, but I have been taking a supplement that I think is helping a little bit. Ooh, is it like a ginkgo biloba type thing? No, but I guess maybe similar. I don't really know. It's called Bacopa and I really like it. What is it called?

If you want to look it up, Bacopa. Don't get it on Amazon. I definitely didn't get it on Amazon. I like it. Okay, good. I need any supplement recommendations. But then the scary thing, I guess kind of almost a sister dear to the ice cream story is because I was in Italy,

we were in Modica, which is famous for its chocolate making. And then of course, Belgium is famous for its chocolate. So I brought back a lot of chocolates and they lost my bag and I had no chocolate. No. Did you get the bag back? But I got it back. I just got it back.

Okay, okay, great. Is the chocolate okay? Like you said, was it like melted and then, you know what I mean? Thankfully, no. One was like a little crushed you said, was it like melted and then, you know what I mean? Thankfully, no. One was like a little crushed, one box, but the rest is still intact. But I'm in a writer's room and I told them about all the chocolate, so then it's been really hard to make it through the weekend, being like,

I was supposed to just bring it in the next day, now I've just been having to sit alone with the chocolate all weekend. Oh, I could not do that. Don't touch it! Oh, that's hard. I have to bring it in! That's tough. That's tough. It's tough.

Thank you for understanding how scary this situation is. Self-control. Like I said, I have no self-control in that. I got this pint of ice cream being like, last me a couple of days. I'll have a couple of bites here and there. No, they had one sitting. Oh, it was so good. What was the flavor?

I was just about to ask. I like that you also wanted to know. Well, the first one I got was chocolate, and then the second one I got was mint chip. Those are kind of my go-to flavors. Oh, mint chip is my favorite. Chocolate. My fave.

Oh, really good stuff. I want the chocolate. Chocolate's good. Really good. Brand? Yeah, brand. You didn't say the brand. That's a really important question.

I think it was mag. The chocolate was magpies, and the mint chip was Van Luen, which was really good. I had not had their mint chip before, really good. You're not messing around. Silas every weekend gets to eat ice cream and he picks out a new pint of ice cream to eat. And he just picked out the churros flavor from Ben and Jerry's and it is really good.

It's cinnamon, it's like delicious cinnamon ice cream. Very good. That sounds so good. It's cinnamon. It's like delicious cinnamon ice cream. Very good. Highly recommend. Henley, what do you know about the substance? So I have seen the trailer for it. So I know everything that they tell you in the trailer. And then, yeah, I just know that it's like body horror specifically. And that's about it. I mean, I'm really excited to hear about it. I feel like people have strong opinions

about it. And I can't wait to be part of that conversation from afar. Pretending like I've seen it too. And Avital, you've seen it twice. Yes. Did you, you saw it early. I feel like you messaged us and you were like... Yeah, the night it opened. Ooh. How was that?

I think I had a panic attack leading to that. Oh, no. Because of the movie? Yeah. So, I don't know, it'll be an interesting recap. Yeah, but hopefully we can do some healing here today instead of just a re-traumatizing. Yeah, that's preferable.

I hoped watching it the second time would be a little bit healing, but I kind of felt pretty similar. Oh no. Which is funny, because a lot of people just found it to be very funny. So, you know, we'll get there, but I had a hard time laughing.

Yes, I know what you mean. I saw it with Jenna as well. And there were moments that were so, I was like, ooh, Jenna's going to be really struggling with this. And she looked like, yeah, she wanted to be crawling out of her skin. There were a couple key scenes, which obviously we'll get into, that were really difficult.

Oh, no. Yeah. OK, good. I'm glad to hear that. Yes. That's not just me. What were your theaters like? Like, was everyone laughing?

Was everyone having a good time? What was the vibe in the theater? Mine, yes, for sure. Definitely. And for you, is it the same? Yeah, yeah, it was a lot of laughing. And I'll be honest, I was laughing for most of it and then would have go in and out of moments

of being incredibly stressed and existentially freaking out. I think it was also a very male theater. I don't know if you had that at all. And so there was a part of me that felt like maybe even more resistance to people laughing because they were men. Yeah. You're like, get out of here, the male gaze. And there are moments that feel very male gaze-y in the film.

But also, and I'm not like a man hater, it just felt like such a female story that when the men are laughing, I'm like, you don't get it. But then I'm like, I don't get it. Like me too, I don't get it either. Yes. Okay. I'm so curious.

I can't wait. I can't wait to find out. Yeah, I'm excited to get into all of it. I'll tell you that the substance has a 91% on Rotten Tomatoes, 78 on Metacritic, and a 7.7 on IMDb. High, very high. Yeah, high people. It's getting pretty positive reviews.

Budget was $17.5 million, and so far it has made 32.3 million. Okay. This won best screenplay at Cannes. Oh, wow. And it was up for Palme d'Or, but I believe Enora won that. Mm-hmm, that's right. Which I'm very excited to see. Same. This is now Mubi's highest grossing release.

Mubi rules. I have a subscription to that. It's like a... Oh, I want to... It's not to be, it's different. It's to be with an M, movie. I didn't even know that this was a movie movie. It's a movie movie, baby. Cool.

Who knew? You did. It's, yeah, I didn't know that they were like doing distribution. I've thought, always thought of it as like a streaming channel, but I guess that's what they all end up doing. So you got to wear all the hats. They've got to get that freaking money. I love it.

We all do. We all do. Ray Liotta was cast in the Dennis Quaid role before he passed away, but a little casting. What if? And I think he would have been great too. Dennis Quaid is great. I agree. But Ray Liot he would have been great too. Dennis Quaid is great. I agree. But Ray Liotta would have also been great.

It would have been great to see both, side by side. Side by side. And apparently Demi Moore was not Coralie Farjat's first pick, but then she read her memoir, which talks a lot about her body image and specifically how she is depicted in film and the pressures of the industry to look a certain way. It just really spoke to Corley in the message of this film. So she's like, okay, Demi's my lady,

which this is also, is it Demi or Demi? I have no idea. I've heard both and I'm just saying Demi, but maybe it's Demi. I switch off. I don't really know. Demi Moore? I feel like I hear Demi more than Demi.

I don't know. Demi Moore then. Demi Moore, Demi Moore. And now it doesn't make any sense. Have you ever met anyone named Demi more than Demi. I don't know. Demi more than Demi. And now it doesn't make any sense. Have you ever met anyone named Demi before? Though I only know someone from Bachelorette is Demi. Oh, okay. A girl or a...

Because there's Demi out of Juibe, that's okay. I know a Demi, but it's a boy Demi. Well, if there's a boy Demi and a girl Demi, we're going to call her this one Demi as well, because we don't know... I don't know any Demis. Yeah, but either way, she's fantastic in this I thought. Yeah, I didn't know that's how that happened. That's really makes me want to read her memoir and also another reminder that I want to just read celebrity memoirs in general. Like, why

am I not doing that? Yeah. Yeah. That seems like a good audiobook option too. Especially if they read it. I usually listen. Well, I listen to Britney Spears' audiobook, which was read by Michelle Williams. That's right. I saw a clip of her reading. Oscar-worthy performance. Wow. Very, well, not a fun listen, but there were moments where Michelle Williams, like Southern drawl just kind of made me laugh. Just saying, recommend it. Did Coralie say who her initial choice? She did not, I would love to know.

It does not say. Okay. But it's brave for sure. It's a really brave movie to take on. Yeah, it's for Demi Demi. Yes, it requires... For demidimid. Yes, it requires a lot of vulnerability. 100%.

But, okay, Henley, I know you've seen this trailer, but we are gonna take a look again, because I think it'll be nice to see the style and have that in your mind as you're hearing the recap. So let's take a look at this trailer. more perfect. Pretty girls should always smile! Just a little teaser, a little taste, a little taste of the substance. I feel like I'm going to have a panic attack now. I don't know. I'm stressed.

I mean, damn, Mara Quali looks like an insane Barbie doll. She's so beautiful. Yeah, yeah. And Demi Moore also so beautiful. So beautiful. Yeah. Both of them. Wow.

Which I don't know, doesn't help for me. I mean, obviously that's so much of the point. Yeah, right, right, right, right. Yeah, adds to some of the like, uh, wow, I don't know how to feel. Wow, that's wild. Yes. Yeah.

The cinematography and set designs in it are all so cool, very stylized, all fisheye lens shots of closeups, very close to camera. And I think she's a very good director. But this movie's two hours and 20 minutes long, which I was not expecting. It's long. It's really long. And I heard so many people talking about it and nobody mentioned that

it was two hours and 20 minutes long. And so when I looked that up, I was very shocked. But I don't think it's maybe the second time of your viewing, it felt longer or maybe both times it felt long. But for me, it kind of went by quickly. Fast. It seems fast. felt longer, or maybe both times it felt long, but for me it kind of went by quickly. At the end, I was very ready for it to be over. Yeah, yeah. But I feel like- That's how I felt, like a lot of the parts

that are painful to watch are also like really drawn out. Which is interesting because Revenge, I think was like 70 minutes or something, right? It's super short. And they do also have like body horror elements, but not compared to this one. No, they really go for it in this one. And yeah, let's just get into it.

Let's get into it. I don't think we'll give you a panic attack. I'm excited. No, I'm excited. I'm excited. You may already know that I have four cats. That's right. Not one, not two, not three, but four cats living in my home. Joel and I love cats. We love our cats very much. Our cat's wellbeing is very important to us. And also having four cats is sometimes really a lot.

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our code Too Scary for 50% off your first order. One last time, that promo code 2SCARY for 50% off your first order plus free shipping. Who doesn't love a good murder mystery? This is a horror podcast after all. I know you guys aren't scared of a little murder, which is why I'm excited to tell you about a game that I've been playing called June's Journey. June's Journey is a hidden object mystery game with a captivating detective story taking you back to the glamour of the 1920s with a diverse cast of characters. Each new scene takes you further through a thrilling murder mystery story that sets the main protagonist, June Parker, on a quest to solve the murder of her sister and uncover her family's many secrets.

Ooooo, sounds juicy! I'm on level 3 right now and there are still so many unanswered questions. I can't wait to get to the bottom of this case. I also just really love unwinding at the end of the day with a good phone game, comfy on the couch, I feel like it signals my brain that it's time to relax and forget about work for the day. And I'm sharpening my detective skills, which will probably help me to be more perceptive

while I'm watching the many, many horror movies that I watch. So what's not to love? So discover your inner detective when you download June's Journey for free today on iOS and Android. We open on a raw egg, which you kind of see some of in the trailer, and it's injected with this neon green substance. And then the yolk duplicates itself inside of like the clear part of the egg making a twin. And we're in this like overhead bird's eye view. And then we're staying in that same overhead shot. And we watch like a star be constructed and

built on Hollywood Boulevard. And it's for Elizabeth Sparkle, which is the Demi Moore character. And then, like, staying in that same frame, you see her from above, like, kind of twirling and spinning and being photographed and, you know, being a celebrity. And people then take pictures with the star over the years,

and then gradually they start ignoring the star. Her star literally fades and cracks and gets run over. And then they have snowfall on it, which is interesting because… Not a lot of snow on the Hollywood walk of fame. Is it supposed to be in the future when it snows in Los Angeles? Great question. It's very 80s vibes, but also future vibes. So kind of a little untethered in time. So yeah, perhaps it's the climate change.

Yeah, and maybe letting us know that like this movie is not gonna be grounded. Yes, yeah, yeah, yeah. It's like a very sort of hyper real, farcical, but parts of it are grounded. Just from the trailer, everything looks like super oversaturated and... Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Okay, interesting.

Yeah, you're right, that's very like 80s. Well, I guess we'll get into this in a second with what she does. But then finally, and this feels kind of important, finally a man drops his burger on it and then he's trying to clean it up and he's getting ketchup everywhere and it kind of looks like blood maybe as he picks up his food. Okay, and then where this is super 80s, we're in this aerobic studio, and her first line is,

"'You got it, feel that power, ladies.'" And she's in her leotard. And it's interesting, because she's an Oscar winner. I don't remember if we see that at the top or... So that's where it's also this weird... Because normally that's not who's doing aerobics videos. Right, she's got this, well, maybe Jane Fonda. Did Jane Fonda win an Oscar?

Yeah, Jane Fonda did pioneer it, so... So, but we don't see any of her film acting. It seems like the aerobics videos are the main thing. Yes, this is what defines her now, it seems. And she like blows a kiss to the camera, she exits into a hallway which is lined with posters of her over the years, and people start wishing her a happy birthday, we realize it's her birthday.

And the women's bathroom's out of order, so she uses the men's room, which is why we meet Dennis Quaid. She's in a stall, and he comes in and he's like, we need her young, we need her hot, we need her now. Okay. Wanting to replace Demi Moore. Oh yeah, and this is maybe how we find out, because he's like, Oscar winner my ass, what was that?

The fucking 30s for King Kong? Um, just like, real bad guy immediately. He's like, I don't give a fuck what we promised her. This is network TV, not a charity. And then talks about how women's fertility starts to decrease by the age of 25, which feels like, okay, maybe that's why we're using the eggs up top as an example. Right, right, right, right. Yep.

How old do you think she's supposed to be? Do they ever say that explicitly? She's turning 50, I think. Okay, okay. I feel that too. I don't know why I feel that. Maybe because he says later something about, like, by age 50 something. Yes.

Okay. But she comes out of the stall, very sad. She's hurt at all. And does he see her? He doesn't see her. Oh, okay. He leaves. Then we get the title card, Elizabeth, with an S, which feels, I don't know why, but important.

That's not normal. And then we're in like a fly on a neck, which feels also very like revenge where there's a lot of bug imagery. And then close up on like breaking shrimp or munching shrimp, which also feels very revenge. There's a lot of like, like gross guys chewing gross food. Extreme closeups of gorging yourself. Oh, I really, that's one of the things in the horror movies that bothers me the most

actually. I think this is like the grossest shot of the movie. It's so disgusting to me. And I think shrimp is kind of gross in general. So I have a problem with shrimp, especially when they have the little exoskeletons on, which these ones do. I know. And not for me either. It just is nasty. But I would say it was far from the grossest shot for me.

Sure, sure, sure. Understandable. But it is gross for sure. And it's meant to be, he's, you know, kind of of like a skin crawling, which like you said, he's great. I feel like he really commits to it. And it is very over the top, but that's kind of what she's going for. Yeah, they're like caricatures. All the, pretty much all the,

I guess Margaret, Qualley and Demi Moore have a little bit more dimension, but they're not, it's not, like you said, it's not grounded in reality. These are like... Prototypes. Characters, yeah. Yeah.

Like it's a little silly. It doesn't feel like real people. Yes. And he's sitting across from Demi Moore. Oh, yeah, he says, renewal is inevitable, and at 50 it stops. So I guess maybe that is like super pointed, like, you're 50 now. And it's like a rejection meeting. We've inferred from his toilet stall conversation,

but he doesn't really say it straight out, but you get that they're like dropping her. And then he sees a friend and he runs off. And then you see the fly drowning in Quaid's wine glass, which also feels like very... Where the ants were getting killed in Revenge. And then I'll try to stop. I think those are like real obvious parallels to Revenge. Yes, but definitely you like feel the style similarities in both.

Yeah, you're like, the style similarities in both. Yeah, you're like, this is the same filmmaker. And then Demi leaves just in time to see them taking down her billboard. Oh, man. And she gets distracted by it. And then it doesn't really show, but I'm assuming she like blows through a stop sign or something

and her car gets hit. Gets t-boned. T-boned. Scared me. It was a jump scare. I feel like they did a good job having me also distracted by the billboard. Yes, it is kind of heartbreaking.

It's like, you know, you see yourself being erased, which I feel like is the heartbreak of the whole movie. And yeah, we'll get there. It's so hard to stomach because it does feel like, especially women just become invisible as they age. Even when you're getting all the surgeries and staying as beautiful as Demi Moore. But I don't want to get ahead of myself.

In the hospital, the doctor says that she's completely fine. It's like a miracle. And then he mentions that his wife is a huge fan. And he notices it's her birthday, wishes her a happy birthday, and she starts to cry. And he kind of feels uncomfortable and leaves. And then is that guy like an RN maybe? Yeah, I think so.

It's like a really, really hot male model-y, male nurse sticks around to talk to her. Yes. And he's like, one more exam before you go, and it's a little bit rapey. He kind of just like feels her back. He forcefully opens her gown and like feels her spine and then tells her she's a good candidate.

And we see he has this unique birthmark and then he like gives her back her coat. And then outside the hospital, she finds in her coat pocket, there's like a thumb drive, jump stick, what do you call it? Yeah, yeah, thumb drive, a little USB drive. A little USB drive that says the substance. And there's a phone number and a note that says, it changed my life.

From this male model RN nurse guy. Um, and then she gets interrupted by Fred, who knows her from 10th grade homeroom, and he tells her that she hasn't changed a bit, she's still the most beautiful girl in the world. And he asks her out and she sort of politely just is like, oh, maybe give me your card. Uh, but he tears off a piece of paper,

he's also just been at the doctor, like has his cholesterol or. But he tears off a piece of paper. He's also just been at the doctor, it like has his cholesterol or whatever. He tears off a piece of paper with his number and he drops it in the mud, which is also kind of, like then he picks it back up and it's like dripping and dirty and also kind of just gross. Yeah. Yeah. And she's like, oh.

Does he seem gross? Like, is he not giving? Yeah, I mean, he seems like sweet, but also not like a real person. He's very like over the top, like, oh, you're still as gorgeous as the day I last saw you. And like, I don't know. It's, it doesn't feel like fully...

Like how it's like a grandfather talks to a little girl. It's a weird vibe for sure. That's a good comp. Yeah, it seems genuine, like he's sweet, but also I guess it feels like it's supposed to feel like she's out of his league, kind of. He's just sort of like a, he's there. And then at home, she has this huge framed portrait of herself.

And on the table are these roses with a note that says, thank you for all these years with us, you were amazing. And then they close up on the word. Which is a big thing in this movie. There's a lot of things that you're like, "'I saw that, but they're gonna show it to you again in bigger letters.'" Underline it, bold it, yep.

Yes, over and over. And then she plays a video from the thumb stick and it's like, "'Have you ever dreamt of a better version of yourself, younger, more beautiful, more perfect?' And then it says, "'One single injection unlocks your DNA, starting a new cellular division that will release another version of yourself, younger, more beautiful, more perfect. And then it says, one single injection unlocks your DNA, starting a new cellular division that will release

another version of yourself. This is the substance. Kind of outlying the rules, which are still a little confusing. They're pretty vague. Yes. And a little unclear what is appealing about this situation, which I wonder if you felt as well.

Yeah, because there's not really any like, are there visuals in this video? I can't remember. I just remember it being like text on a screen. Yeah, now I can't remember either. Maybe the eggs again or I don't know. Yeah, I mean, I think, yeah, we're just meant to infer. Obviously she's struggling with not being

the youngest, hottest version of herself anymore. And so I think she's struggling with not being the youngest, hottest version of herself anymore. And so I think she's just... She's susceptible, she is vulnerable. It says, you are the matrix, everything comes from you. Everything is you. This is simply a better version of yourself. You just have to share. One week for one and one week for the other.

A perfect balance of seven days each. The one and only thing not to forget, you are one. You can't escape from yourself." They're not totally. This is where I'm also gonna be very curious to hear your thoughts. Yeah. She throws it away, of course. And she then drinks a martini alone at a bar.

There's like a couple near her that they show for a second, which maybe is just this feeling of like young love that she's aged out of. I don't know. And then at home she pukes, which also unclear if it's like she's had too much to drink or it's, I'm guessing it's a body dysmorphia. Yeah, eating disorder. Bulimia. Right. Yeah.

And then she shakes this snow globe of herself that has gold glitter and it's her in there and she throws it at the portrait and smashes it so that it's glittery goo all over her likeness and this portrait of herself. And then she gets the drive out of the trash, calls the number and she says she'd like to order and they give her an address which she writes on her hand. And then she wakes up, showers, Alka Seltzer, the maid is cleaning in the background, and she opens a newspaper to see a casting call. Who will be the next Elizabeth Sparkle? And also in big letters, like, 18 to 30 only.

I'm surprised they even went to 30. 18 to 28. I wonder why. In her mail, there's a number, 503, and she looks at the address on her hand, and she goes, and it's this weird, like, shady alley with those metal shutters, like, it's almost all the way. Well, first it's fully shut, she uses her number,

and it's kind of like a key that unlocks it, but the shutter only goes up so high, she has to bend down and go under it. And it's like this decrepit room and alleys until she gets to this one room, which, much like the bathroom that we're seeing as your background, it's like this decrepit room and alleys until she gets to this one room, which much like the bathroom that we're seeing as your background, it's like very sterile, full of lockers. And she opens the one with 503 and there's a box inside. So at home, she opens the box and it's full of all

these tools and like food, there's scissors, a syringe, activator, stabilizer. And then I don't know even know what you would call it, but like the two tubes that are like to switch. Yeah, it's it's seems like quite a complicated procedure that there are almost no directions for what I kind of appreciate it because obviously it's not like we're not going to get to the scientific truth of what's happening On really trying to explain it but I did get a little like she's just injecting herself with this thing like yes Yeah, hasn't talked to like a single human about it like no She doesn't like interface with another besides the RN who like pointed her in that direction, right?

That's correct. And every time they do any of this procedure doesn't interface with another besides the RN every day you switch every seven days without exception and remember you are one. Okay. So she's naked in this white tiled bathroom that is your background right now. And we get Vio again from the video, you are the matrix, everything comes from you, everything is you, this is simply a better version

of yourself and she uses, she does like a tourniquet on her arm and injects like almost like heroin. And then nothing happens for a second, she turns around and sighs almost like, I knew nothing was gonna happen. And then she doubles over and falls on the floor. She's like retching and clawing and her eyes are going wide. And then inside her back, the spine is like...

Inside her back around her spine is like bubbling. Like huge moving undulating bubbles in her back. And then her pupil replicates like the egg in the beginning and moves it in her corner of her eye, and then like her back along her spine just splits open. Ah! And then it almost looks like an elbow is like coming out of her spine. You can't quite tell what it is, but some flesh coming out.

And then they do this a few times where they cut to these visuals that I also don't totally know if they're integrated or it's just like to heighten the sense of like acid trip vibes, but it's like light tunnels moving and then a heart that's on fire, like the shape of a heart, not like a human heart. Yeah, I've totally forgot about those things. Yeah, I have no idea. I think, yeah, probably just to be like, whoa, crazy.

Whoa, psychedelic. Yeah. So the implication is that she splits open and a younger version crawls out, basically. So she goes inside out? She's not inside out, she's hollowed out almost. Yeah. Or just, it's like a birthing sequence, essentially, but just through her back. Birthing's a good way to put it.

Okay, okay, so she... But she's still, like, in her. Like, you keep saying you're one, so you're, like, still one body? So she's, like, unconscious when... Oh, she's unconscious. So suddenly we're, like, in a POV. She's passed out, but we're, like,

something's coming out of her and then we're in that POV and moving towards the mirror, and we get, like, the wiping of of her and then we're in that POV and moving towards the mirror and we get like the wiping of the smudgy mirror and that's when you see Margaret Qualley. Oh, so Demi Moore is like a separate body passed out in the corner. Yo, I was thinking it was like the same body somehow. Well, they keep saying you are one.

It is confusing. It is confusing. Cause I'm like, but they're not really one. No. And Margaret Qualley is of course also naked and she's examining herself. And there's like a yellow light inside her eye when we get real close and that goes away,

which also feels like it's just sort of psychedelic stuff. And then she pukes this neon green, which is kind of the color of the substance. And then I guess she knows what to do from the kit. She sews up Demi's spine. Oh, Jesus. Which is like our first real body horror. With like thick black thread, like a very...

It doesn't look like a great medical job. So you're just going to be healing from that all week? Yeah. Okay. Alone on the floor. I only realized now the RN was probably pretty good at it. That's true. So he had an advantage.

Mm-hmm. Yep. But then, again, just kind of instinctively knows what to do. She gives her this food matrix, like a little food pouch that she hooks up to her via IV. And then she lies in bed, then she's in the shower, and she's like really feeling her tits and ass. Um, it feels very male gaze-y to me.

Yes, and they're big tits and they're fake. I was like, I got confused because I was like, I feel like Margaret Qualley, I don't remember her having big boobs. Maybe this is a weird thing to say, but I feel like I notice if someone has big boobs. And so she's wearing like prosthetic boobs. I didn't know that.

Yes, they're, okay, that's, cause I had a similar, oh, I didn't realize she was bashing me. Yeah, that makes sense. That's also why she looks so much like a Barbie is because she has like fake Barbie boobs. Cause it's literally prosthetic, yeah. Yeah, yeah.

Wow, okay, thank you for solving that mystery for me. Yes, which probably I feel like makes you feel more comfortable in like, Yeah. Wow. Okay. Thank you for solving that mystery for me. Yes. Which probably I feel like makes you feel more comfortable in like as an actor being nude. It's like... Totally. It's not mine. It makes me feel a little bit more comfortable in hindsight as a viewer because I feel like it's a woman director, but there's still so much like lingering on her body that it does

kind of make me feel a kind of way. I had similar thoughts in Revenge of she just loves to do these very slow rotating shots around the women's bodies. And it's, yeah, I don't quite know how to articulate it, but it's the same thing where I feel like, I know that you are either, like, in this case, maybe satirizing the male gaze, but it's also like...

ACCOMPLISHING THE SAME THING AS THE MALE Gaze. Yeah, I feel like it doesn't quite distinguish anything differently. And so, yeah, I have the same feeling where it just kind of is the same thing. Even though you're a female director, I feel like you are still creating this same shot. Yeah, I think I would feel angrier if it was a man,

and we give her a little bit more grace. Yeah. But it is, like, a little troubling. I think it hurts me more in this movie because Demi Moore looks amazing, but it still feels a little bit like we're going, here's the old model, here's the new model, and it feels a little more mean-spirited. Oh, yeah.

Which, of course, is like the point of the movie, but it still is just like... It's so... It's just reiterating the thing that it's trying to... Say it's bad. Yeah, like, criticize in a way that, yeah, I'm not sure, adds to the message of the film. I don't think it... I don't know. I don't know what the solution is, but it doesn't necessarily feel like it needs quite this amount of lingering on her body. But I don't

know. I don't know. But I had the same thought. And that's where I'm so curious. I'm excited to hear, like, as we go on, all the places it hits for you, because I feel like, for me, that feeling never goes away. And I'm still so impressed with her as a filmmaker, and I think it's so impressive and it's really bold, but it kind of that feeling of, like,

that old body being gross and it's just sort of relentless to me in the whole movie. And it ramps up. Oh, God. Not only does it not go away, it gets much worse. It really does. Also, I'm just so sad thinking about Demi Moore lying naked with a sewed up back,

passed out on a bathroom floor. It really made me sad. Oh my god. And it's interesting because I wonder if that's why she makes it so heightened so that it doesn't feel quite as upsetting, but that part still feels so real to me. Even though it's heightened, it feels like so close for comfort. Right, like she's just discarded literally like a shell on the floor. Yeah.

Wow, that is really, that's really different. I for some reason thought they were just shape-shifting in the same body. I thought so too. Yeah. From the, yeah. Wow, so okay, so is Margaret quality gonna like go out on the town now?

She gonna go? Basically, yes. Well, first she has a nosebleed because she needs to open her stabilizer, of course. So she has to like fill this stabilizer from Demi Moore's spine, like pull it like a syringe, and then that's like her fuel. And she does yoga in a t-shirt and a thong, of course, once she's got her stabilizer in her.

And she spots the casting call in the trash. So she sports Demi's signature yellow coat from the opening and goes off to this casting call. And the first thing we see in the casting call is these two creeps, again, very much like caricatures. signature yellow coat from the opening Just all the things that are hitting me, even though it's supposed to be so over the top, like as a Jewish person with a prominent nose, it just like immediately hurts, you know? And then it's Kuali's audition and she walks in

and she's like, I'm Sue. So now we know she's Sue. And then we're in a closeup on her lips and it's like Sue, Sue, Sue being rewound over and over. And then we're like, it's playing on a bunch of screens. This is all part of that, like, very stylized. And we're in an office with all these TVs playing, like, her lips over and over, and then Dennis Quaid enters.

And we get the title card, Sue. Which I think is interesting, both, we get the Elizabeth card and the Sue card, like, in these Quaid moments. Which I wonder if that's something about how who they are is defined by how men reflect them. Interesting. Yeah, that makes sense. Yeah. I didn't notice that till the rewatch.

But then Quaid is like, you're hired, we want a show that's just like you, beautiful and happy. And then he renames his assistant Isabel Cindy because who has time to say Isabel? Which is pretty fun. And then Sue mentions that she has to be at the town every other week to take care of her sick mother. That's pretty fun. and it's of Sue in her pink leotard, and it says, new show coming soon. And then we get a monologue of her, like, feeding off of Sue's, a monologue montage of her feeding off of Sue's spinal fluid,

and she's like, practicing the splits, and then, you know, for her exercise show. And then, same thing of like, not quite sure what this imagery is, but now instead of that heart on fire, it's like a dragon on fire. And then that becomes like the image of her robe. She's wearing this robe with the dragon. But first it's that like psychedelic.

Which also feels a little bit like Revenge the Phoenix. I had that thought as well. It does, maybe it's just a little like director callback. She's just having fun. She's throwing some fun stuff in there. And maybe it's again, just now thinking thinking, you know, probably an overreach, but in Revenge it is more of, she is actually a phoenix rising from the ashes and this is like, not quite because she's coming from... Well, it's all still within, I think the Dennis Quaid point is so important because it's all

within the structure created by the man who is defining everything. Like, it's never outside of that. And that's so upsetting. I hate it. And it never really gives us, like, an alternate. I mean, maybe it's up to the viewer and whatever, but it never really presents, like, an alternate way to view oneself as a woman, I don't think.

Yeah. And then we get a, you switch every seven days a woman, I don't think. Yeah. And then we get a, you switch every seven days on screen in case we forgot. Thank you. And don't ever forget, you are one, switch every seven days. Okay, honestly, I think that Coralie is picking up on something. She's picking up on the fact that we can't fucking remember shit these days. No one can. No one can.

We must be reminded. We did need all the reminders, yeah. Just watching the movie like, oh shit, how often were they supposed to switch? Wait, what was it? Sixty? What's her name? Who is she? I don't remember. Oh, this is the girl that came out of the spine. Right, right. And then she's naked again, of course, and she hooks herself up to Demi more.

And it's like a two-way hookup now where like, it's like a blood transfusion of like Sue going into Elizabeth, Elizabeth going into Sue. And then now she passes out and she also like hits the tile floor. Both times they pass out, it feels like a very violent, like just the way they pass out, you know, again, looking at your background, like it's all tile. It's very hard. I think they both hit their heads. It's like, ugh.

They have to lay a little pillow down for them or something. Make a soft landing. Yeah. Exactly. They're not looking out for themselves or each other. They just thud. And then with a gasp, Demi is back to life, and she examines Sue, and we cut to two eggs frying,

much like the opening, and Demi takes a shower, or Elizabeth, I guess I should call her Liz, Liz with an S. And then she's walking down the street in the same yellow coat and she's back in that work hallway but all of her posters are gone. And Dennis Quaid greets her with like, where have you been? And he gives her all of her belongings in a box like she's been fired and then gives her a gift that's wrapped. And it's like, we all chipped in for this, to keep you busy. And he says, it's French, my wife, she swears by it.

Oh, I love my wife. And then he like, scampers off. I forgot about that. Oh, I love my wife. Which also, I like that moment a lot, because it feels like kind of skewering the wife guy. Yeah. Yeah. Immediately, you know, so creepy with Sue,

but he loves his wife. Yep. And then Demi's marking the calendar with Sue days and her days, and she just kind of watches TV. She picks up the refill from that shady place, and it feels really dark and moody compared to when we're with Sue,

and it's bright and all these ass shots and slo with Sue, and it's like bright and all these like ass shots and slow-mo and the sun is pouring over her. So she's back, we're back with Sue in this like bright and she judgmentally like turns off the TV because Demi Moore's been watching like infomercials, like old person stuff, and her butt imprint is still in the seat and she kind of like scoffs. And then starts banging on the walls

and realizes that they're hollow and she just starts renovating. She's like smashing walls and drilling. This part is really, really interesting. Just a full carpenter all of a sudden, just absolutely really professional style renovation. She makes like a secret room within the bathroom so that she can drag Elizabeth's body into it

so that she doesn't have to look at it. She's so repulsed by her. She's like, I don't even wanna be able to see her. That's right. By her old disgusting body, which actually looks like insanely good. And then a livid neighbor shows up because she's like drilling at all hours of the night.

But as soon as she opens the door and sees how hot she is, he changes his tune and is like, let me know if you need any help. And then we're on set for her show called Pump It Up. And there's just so much gyrating and ass shaking. And she's wearing star earrings, which I liked. That also was very revenge. That was cool.

Which I don't remember, Henley, you were gonna maybe watch some of it. Did you ever? No, I was too scared. I was too scared. Wait, no, but I feel like I did watch the trailer again or something. I feel like I watched something from it.

Maybe I watched a short scene from it. Maybe that one scene? I think I did. I think I did, but I don't know. I don't actually know for sure. Because she has those star earrings the whole movie, so it feels like just so, in my mind, associated with her. But I think these are a different color. I think those were pink and these are white.

Yeah, but they're definitely like you recognize them as the same sort of vibe. Yeah, it was fun. And then Quaid enters as they finish shooting, and he's like, wonderful. Quaid, by the way, his name is Harvey, I feel like. That's right. Important to note, they're like, always are like,

oh, we got to go talk to Harvey, and like, so funny. Yes, thank you. Great point. I know making it seem like just Quaid is a creep, but Harvey is a creep. but Harvey is the creep. Harvey's the original. Quaid is crushing it. Yeah.

Yes. And now in the hallway, it's all the Sue posters. Of course. And she gets all dressed up, again, like moving, I guess her body's maybe already in the secret room. She says to Liz, I won't be out too late, so just wait for me. And then says, don't eat too fast, which is, I guess also maybe that same eating disorder thing, but she means that like, she's trying to really stretch her time in the sun. Not being super responsible with the time limit. Seven days is the limit, by the way. Yes. In case we forgot. And they will remind us again

and again. Sue brings home this like hot, hot biker, and you see, because he leaves the helmet on the couch, and they're hooking up. And then Elizabeth is, like, struggling for air. You can hear her kind of wheezing, and her food pouch is empty. So Sue gets a nosebleed because they are one. And she's like, I'll be right back. And she goes to check on Elizabeth. And then the text on screen, you switch every seven days

without exception, in case you forgot. And then there's all these single use files that are labeled single use. And she goes back to the spine for more fluid, even though she's not supposed to. Which also, it's closeups of injecting into the spine, by the way. All the spinal tap shots are so awful.

So we're just seeing her like- And they get worse and worse. Dabbing her in the spine to get an extra dose of spinal fluid, which is the stabilizer fluid that she needs. Do we get the sense that this is all against Demi Moore's will? Do you know what I mean? Yes.

Oh, she doesn't even know it's happening. She's passed out. Okay, okay, right. But she probably can feel it. Yeah, and she like makes noise. You just said she like gurgled or whatever. So she is like responsive in a certain way. Yeah, most of the time it seems like they're totally like vacant.

But there are these moments where you're like, oh yeah, she's still, ugh." And we're about to get to one where they kind of blur. Okay, I'll get there and then I'm curious, see what you think. But she comes back and the biker's like, -"What did you do? You seem even more beautiful than before." And he unzips this cat suit that she's wearing. And this is where I'm curious what you think. And her innards, like, sort of tumble out of her back. Oh, what?

While she's hooking up with this guy, and then Demi Moore wakes up and you're like, okay, was that a dream? I mean, clearly, because she isn't... So you don't, it's this blurring of like, yeah, maybe she's kind of with her, with Margaret Qualley's character, with Sue. It's something like they, yeah, seem like they have the same memories

or the things that they're doing when they're in their, like, body A get kind of carried over to the other body in, I don't know. But yeah, it's not like a scientific... They still surprise each other. Yeah, yeah, the fact that they still surprise each other is the confusing thing. That's the part that's hard to understand. The other part I find really hard to understand is the idea of like, you could get so addicted to being a hotter, better, younger version of yourself, but to just have somebody else.

Right, like it doesn't seem like it's her experiencing that. Yeah. That doesn't make any sense. And it isn't because her experience gets sadder and sadder. So she comes out and she finds beer bottles everywhere and the helmet with a note that's like, too drunk to bike home, keep an eye on this for me, and the name is Troy, which I also wondered if that's supposed to be like a Helen of Troy thing,

because she was supposed to be the most beautiful biker, her name is Troy. And when also wondered if that's supposed to be like a Helen of Troy thing. She was supposed to be the most beautiful biker's name is Troy. And when she reaches for the post-it, the note he left, she sees one of her fingers is now, like, aged and witchy and, like, decrepit. It looks like a goblin finger. And I can't tell, and this is part of how the movie really fucks me up, is I'm like, is that terrifying because it's so old and that is how, like, an old finger can look,

or is it also supposed to be a monster? And they're not necessarily... I can't tell the difference. Yes, I have the same feeling of just like it's using aging as the horror, which, but it's, yeah, using aging as the horror while trying to make the point that like, I don't know. You shouldn't desperately cling to your youth, but then it's like, but the alternative looks so scary.

Right. Right. It just hurt. And then she starts like scrubbing her finger above course to no avail and she calls the number to report a misuse of the substance that caused an alteration and she's trying to reverse it, but the voice says there's no going back. And Elizabeth's like, I don't know what she was thinking.

And the voice again is like, remember there is no she and you, you are one. Which again, the movie tells us over and over, but I don't believe. Right. Right. Yeah. And he also asks, do you want to stop? Yeah.

Like, like she can stop it at any time? And she's like, will it go back if I stop? And he says no. And so she doesn't want to stop. And then she cleans up Sue's mess, all the beer bottles, but on the TV now, there's Sue, her show is airing. And the neighbor comes back to hit on her, which she ignores. This is Liz now, Elizabeth, and she goes to pick up the refill. And everything's just feeling worse and worse. It feels very paranoid.

Like, the way that it's shot feels very frenetic, the noise feel... Or maybe it's later, but I think it's here, the noise is like the honking, everything feels very, like, overwhelming. Almost like an agoraphobe going out into the world. Yeah, yeah, it does, it feels like she's becoming more reclusive and doesn't wanna be seen. I think that agoraphobia is a good way of putting it.

Yeah, she's just like only going out to go get the refill of all the activator, or excuse me, not the activator, all the other stuff. Yeah, yeah. Yep. And she goes into a diner and you see her, like, start to take her gloves off. I think she takes one off and then she remembers her finger

and leaves the glove on. And there's an old man at a table nearby and he's like, it's long, isn't it? And she goes, excuse me, and he says, seven days. And then you see he has that same birthmark that the RN had in the beginning. And again, just in case you didn't get it, he like winks at her and then he spills his wallet.

And when he's picking up the contents of the spilled wallet, you see the number. That's like the number she has. And he says, and it's so heartbreaking. He says, each time you feel a little more lonely, don't you think? And she's acting like she doesn't know what he's talking about, and he says, it gets harder each time to remember

that you still deserve to exist, that you still matter. Ugh. Ugh. And then he says, has she started yet, eating away at you? And Elizabeth just runs out, she runs away, and she runs into Troy, who has his helmet back somehow, and he's like, watch out! And then, like, nearly runs her over, biking away. Everybody's just so horrible to her.

And then at home, she starts pulling out all these, like, old junk boxes, I think, to find Fred's number. Or at least she does while she's looking for something else. And you see that, like, you know, dirty number from the beginning, and she calls and asks him if he wants to grab a drink. And he's like, I'm in shock. Like, he's just so happy to hear from her. And then I think when she asks if he wants to get a drink, he's like, it's quiet for a while. He's like, I'm in shock again.

I'm still in shock. This is funny. I like this. It's cute. It's like a moment of hope, a little glimmer of hope. And they make a plan to go out and get a drink, and then she gets ready. But then she has like one last look at Sue. And so then she tries to like make her makeup better. And it's getting later, but she goes to get her coat and keys, but then she sees Sue's billboard outside the window. And she goes back to like try to fix herself up,

and she adds a scarf, and she like wipes her lipstick, and adds more concealer and new blush. And then she tries to leave, but again, the billboard, and she sees her own reflection in the doorknob. And she goes back to the bathroom again. This is maybe, I think, the most heartbreaking. This was the scene that I was like, yeah, struggling. Because it's so real. It feels so like... I feel like everybody I know has had those moments

where you're like getting ready and you're just like, oh, I look so bad. And you're just like, I can't like, it's like, it's like having a body dysmorphia, like anxiety spiral of just like, I can't leave the house. I'm disgusting. I'm disgusting. And like, and they just captured it really well, especially that like seeing her reflection in the doorknob, I've like had almost that exact moment where I like saw her. Or like in the bathtub. Yes, yes, in the bathtub and you're just like, oh, I just. And it's always, it's such an unflattering angle too, because it does that like fish eye. Yep. So that one really hit, really hit too close to home. And it is heartbreaking. Yeah. Yeah, same. Which at least there you... You feel like that's what she's going for, Coralie, and she's nailing it. You're like... And then finally she goes back and that time she's like wiping her face so hard with such force that it looks painful.

And I did read that they did way too many takes of that scene. And that it was painful for Demi. Yeah, and that she had to be like, that's enough, I think maybe her, the makeup person or somebody else on set had to be like, that's enough. Which I feel like you get a couple takes of that. Yeah. You know, it's so painful.

It's so painful to watch. Yeah, it's very upsetting. And it looks like it's hurting her face. Yeah. And then of course, Fred keeps texting, like, are you running late? Are you okay? And instead of going out, she just eats a bunch of chicken. And it's, like, also very gross,

kind of in the same way as the shrimp. And then we're back with Sue on her show. And she's gyrating, and she's like, contract, contract, over and over. And then all of a sudden, something that looks kind of like an elbow also, like a big lump, pops out right above her ass. And then it seems like nothing is there, but the director, they're like, oh, the director thinks he saw something on the monitor.

We're gonna go frame by frame. And it is this close-up of her ass, like frame by frame. And she's panicked about what they're gonna see. And she's like, I need five minutes. And she runs to her dressing room and examines it. And yeah, this is also like beginnings of body horror where she's like pushing this lump like around and up through her belly button. And what comes out is a whole chicken leg. What? And then, yeah, do you remember this? And then she like awakes with the start, Sue. So again, it's that like weird blurring of like, she doesn't see.

It's like they're having like these nightmares related to what the other person was doing. Yes, exactly. Before they wake up type of thing. So then yeah, she wakes up in the. She wakes up, sees the huge mess of chicken everywhere. So yeah, like she's feeling the chicken and then sees all of it.

And she calls to complain about how Elizabeth is wasting her seven days stuffing herself in front of the TV. And again, the voice is like, remember, there is no she in you. But it seems like there is. I think the intention is not for it to be. I think the intention really is that they're one and the same, and it's this sort of self-destructive... Yeah, I think I started to think of it as just kind of a fable,

you know? Like it's... You just gotta not think too literally about it. Yeah, yeah. I have a literal brain that can be hard to turn off. Although, revenge also gets very hyperreal. And it's funny to say that I think the rape revenge movie was a lot less complicated and easy to watch. Yep. Yep. That is unexpected.

Just... Okay, so she gets to the studio, and they're tearing down her set, Sue's set now. And they say that the show's been canceled and that the boss, Harvey, wants to see her immediately. And she's, like, freaked out and she goes into the office. And the rapist character from Revenge is in there. He doesn't have any lines.

Oh, I didn't notice that. Yeah, I was like, oh, cool. He's just like kind of one of the guys in the office. Just one of the guys. Just one of the guys. But I'm glad he's back. He was great in Revenge. And then Harvey's like, we can't keep you on the morning show.

And she gets teary. And she's like, but why I just started? And then he's like, we can't keep you on the morning show. And she gets teary. And she's like, but why I just started? And then he's like, ratings are through the roof. So they've decided they want you to host the network's biggest show, the New Year's Eve show. Mmm. So it was a fake out. And then of course she goes back to Elizabeth's spine, getting more fluid, more fluid.

And she's like kind of talking to Elizabeth saying, if you don't open the door when opportunity knocks, you won't get another chance. You of all people know this. And just like tapping her spine again and being like, just one't get another chance. You, of all people, know this. And just like tapping her spine again, and being like, just one more day. And then we're doing the cover of Vogue.

And just like more and more vials accumulate. And it's always just this, just one more day. And her spine gets so gross. It's like pussy and green. I really don't like that. You just see shot after shot of this, like, infected, swollen pussy just, like, getting stabbed over and over and, like, oh, it's so gross. So gross. It feels so painful.

I know. You're like... Yeah, it's brutal. Yep. Yep. And then she just, like, flops down on the bed. She's living her best life. And then she just like flops down on the bed, she's living her best life. And then Elizabeth screams, and we're with her and she's in the shower. But she's got varicose veins now,

and like very aged arm and foot, and gray hair and wrinkles. And it's again that same thing of like, I would think, oh, they're just trying to make her look like a monster, except I remember one time, I don't know why you need this context, but this is just, oh, they're just trying to make her look like a monster. Except I remember one time, I don't know why you need this context, but this is just again, with a terrible memory and forgetting all kinds of stuff. I'll never forget this. I just landed, I used the bathroom at an airport. And in the stall next to me, I could see somebody's foot. I don't know why she wasn't wearing a shoe. But the person in the bathroom next to me, I saw her foot. And she

just must have been old. but it looked terrifying. It looked like a witch or like a monster and it made me so afraid of aging. And that's like what this looks like. I think I took a picture, which is kind of fucked up, but I had to be like, is this real? Like, am I hallucinating? I think that's the thing that's complicated about it is like, it's so ingrained in us to fear aging. And so it's like, this is a criticism of that. And it's like forcing you to address that part of yourself that's like, believes that like that aging is bad and disgusting and like should be hidden from the world. And because that's what society

has taught us. That's what horror movies do that a lot. There is always like old people are the scary people or people like with physical disabilities. Like it's reinforced in media a lot that anything yet not like hot, young and beautiful is like disgusting and should be hidden away. And so it makes me happy that she's telling this story, but it is still reinforcing. Yes. So it's it's So it's complicated to parse out. Like I'm not sure how you would do it, or I guess I understand falling into this way of telling the story, but I would like to see

a more effective version of telling this message that like doesn't reiterate or doesn't use aging as the true disgusting monster. It's so hard. Okay, this is a huge, huge stretch, but here's where my brain's going. So with Margaret Qualley kind of going back to Denmi Moore and like, I'm sorry, I keep using just their actress names

because I just can't stop. like, I'm sorry, I keep using just their actress names because I just can't stop. And like just that image of her going back to the spine over and over again. It almost to me is saying like, in our youth, we kind of like destroy like the part of ourselves that can be like wise, wiser than that. And like, we need to instead like nourish that part of ourselves and like protect the part of ourselves that like is beyond the youthful part, like the part that exists outside of that obsession. And I know that Demi Moore doesn't exactly like

encapsulate that in this movie because she's shown like essentially no signs of wisdom, but I feel like that could have been the message in a way where it's just like, you're letting yourself destroy yourself by, I mean, I think that's what it's saying, but I don't know. I don't know, it just feels like maybe Demi Moore needed to be a little bit more of like a multifaceted

character to really hit that on the nail on the head. Yeah. Well, yeah, because and it goes both ways. It's like age resenting youth, youth resenting age and them kind of destroying each other because she's so desperate to like cling to this youth, but then also like hates Sue and like they're both very angry at each other. Yeah, so I feel like it's this kind of showing what not being in harmony with yourself leads to. And I think, yeah, it is ultimately a cautionary tale and it is so over the top and there's such caricatures. But to your point, I don't know if there had been

a little more wisdom or something else where you're like, oh, she's neglecting this whole part of herself, but you don't see that part of herself. Right. She doesn't have any outside real relationships. She doesn't have a child or a friend or like anyone outside of just this Dennis Quaid... is her most important relationship. or like anyone outside of just this Dennis Quaid is her most important relationship. You don't see hobbies either.

It's not like she's reading or, you know, it's just her work, the exercise class, and that's it. And yeah, it's not like it's Coralie's job to like give us an alternate, but it is hard not like seeing what else she could be doing. And the thing about aging is some of it is vanity, but some of it is also just fear of change, which is rational, and even though things will change,

and also a fear of not being able to use your body. Yeah, so scary. As it goes on and she gets a hunchback and it's harder to walk and all that stuff, that is part of it, where people can't hear, can't walk, their vision goes, like, it's legitimately scary. So in some moments, it feels like it's judging us for being scared, but you're like, -"But of course." You know? -"It's scary.

That's just life." Yeah. Oh, my God. Okay, so what happens next? So she calls the number again, and says she didn't respect the balance. It calls her a selfish bitch. And again, the voice is like, would you like to stop? You are the matrix. You can put an end to the experience and go back to just being you.

And again, she asks if it'll go back to how it was. And when he says no, she says, no, I can't stop. And she starts hitting herself. And she's like, stop it, stop it, stop it. And then angle on the it changed my life note. And she watches TV again, and then like gets her creaky bones up. It's like that where it feels like it's really hard for her to get up.

She has to like pop her leg back into place and her leg is all like lumpy and purple and swollen. And she gets up to get the gift from Harvey that we saw earlier and she opens it and it's a French cookbook. And then we intercut more gross food stuff where she's like watching Sue give an interview on a late-night talk show while she's cooking and it's like messy and gross and upsetting and kind of mimicking the shrimp scene and she is

mimicking every answer Sue gives like you know like every every answer on the late night she's making fun of. And then the host asks if she watched Elizabeth Sparkle, and she's kind of derisive of the show, saying that they're not really from the same generation, but she would watch with her mom, because her mom was really into it, but she calls it Jurassic Fitness. And, but then she's like, but my mom watched it, so we have some sort of connection.

And then Elizabeth's like, some sort of connection, you wouldn't exist without me. And she's like blending eggs with the beaters and they're like spraying all over her face. It's very gross. And the interviewer asks for her beauty secret and she does, I kind of love this, where she's like, well, then Demi Moore's like, tell them,

tell them who your beauty secret is. But she says like, she tries to be grateful and sincere and lead with her heart, is her beauty secret. Love that, love that. So good for your skin. I feel like that is, like, such an answer I've seen so much, too. Yes. And then Elizabeth throws, I think, eggs at the wall and starts putting, like, newspaper up, like plastering,

going full sort of agoraphobe shut in, like covering. I guess we haven't really described the apartment, but it's like fancy and big and like open windows. And so she starts covering up. Yeah, like floor to ceiling windows with just a straight view out to the billboard of Sue. So she's like blocking that from view as well. She's like, doesn't wanna look at that billboard.

No more billboard. That's right. Also Revenge, I forgot about that. The floor-to-ceiling windows being... They're very cinematic. They look great. Yeah, they do look great. Uh, and then, as she's like, you know, saying, stop it, stop it, hitting herself, banging her head

on the floor of the shower, which also seems really violent. And now the shower is like a weird little cube. Like, we kind of go up and it looks like a tiny, like, prison cell. There's almost no walls or doors. And then Sue awakes, sees it all repulsed, and she's like, I can't go back. And she kicks Elizabeth's body and calls her gross and old and fat and disgusting.

And then she taps her spine over and over. And yeah, this is like the grossest her spine gets. And then we get the chiron three months later, and we see the trailer for the New Year's Eve show starring Sue, and it says, tomorrow at 9 p.m. And then we're back on the billboard, which is now for the New Year's Eve show. And we see the roses on the counter,

like from the opening, only this time it says, break a leg, they're gonna love you, instead of like, you were great, or whatever. Like future tense. Yep. Past future tense. Yep. Past and future. Ah, so real.

And then her lover appears behind her and is like, are you coming to bed? And she's like, yes, but first, um, she has to obviously go get her fluid, so she says she'll be there in a second, and she goes to the spine. And it's like brown and gunky. No! And barely anything there. Ew. and she goes to the spine, and it's like brown and gunky... No, no! ...and barely anything there.

Ew! And so she panics and she calls the number again saying there's no more stabilizer fluid, and he says the only way is to let it regenerate, you have to switch. So it's been like three months of her not switching. And she doesn't want to do it, but she falls, and now she's like dragging herself

to get those cords to switch, because she has no choice. And as she does, she knocks over some stuff, so the lover like hears it and comes concerned. They switch bodies, which we know because you see Demi Moore's, like, old decrepit foot. And I think this is the scariest it got to me, because it did, she looks, now she's, she looks kind of like a monster, but she's just old. Right. It just is so scary.

Yep. And the lover sees blood on the floor, because her nose is bleeding as she's like rushing to change. And he goes, uh, are you cranky because of your lady business? This movie is mean to women, but also to men. So I guess that's good. They're all dumb. Yep. And then there's like a cut from the movie, This movie is mean to women but also to men, so I guess that's good. They're all dumb.

And then there's like a cut from her ass, Elizabeth's old ass, which is so scary. It's like bruised and lumpy and saggy and bulgy and veiny and like even bleeding maybe on parts. And then they cut to his ass, because he's like standing on the other side of the door naked and it's young and hairy and and he's trying to handle. And Sue now sees her reflection.

We see her face for the first time, and it's like her head is almost hairless. Her skin is like veiny and saggy and crepey. Her teeth are like decaying. She's got a hunchback. Her boobs are at her knees. And she finally yells at the lover, and he, it's a different voice coming from the other side of the door, and she scares him off, and he runs away.

Can you imagine? Can you imagine? Oh my God. Exactly to hear Margaret Qualley's voice and hearing whatever that voice is. This monstrous old voice. Get out of here. That was good. She calls. She wants to stop. And he's again, are you sure? Whatever.

She's sure. He says, we'll deliver. And she drags her portrait back into the living room. Oh, yeah, because at some point, Margaret Qualley, like, removes her portrait. And now she dresses like kind of an old babushka, like puts like a scarf and sunglasses to go get her final kit. And she runs into the neighbor who's all like, Sue, and then is terrified off from looking at her

because old people are scary. I mean, she is scary, but it does still feel like old people are scary. And then again, the world is like loud and scary and frenetic and honking. And she gets the kit, she drags Sue into the living room, thumping her head on the steps as she drags her, loud and scary and frenetic and honking. syringe, raises it above her body, and then hears that voice again. Are you sure? From the phone.

Once you stop, you can't go back from the call the night before. And again, in case we missed it, it's that same, like, flashback of the voice, you will simply remain on your own. Just on your own, on your own, on your own. She's like, shut the fuck up! And stabs Sue. And she sees the roses, which send her into this sort of hybrid-Sue-Elizabeth revelry, where it's like the glittery snow globe, the new billboard, and then she kind of changes her mind. And she's like, I can't do this, I need you.

I need myself. You got to get ready, it's our big night. And then she says, you're the only lovable part of me. You have to come back. So devastating. God, God. But she's given her this termination fluid, so Sue isn't waking up.

So then Elizabeth hooks them back up to each other with that blood going both ways. And then Sue wakes up and they're face to face animated for the first time. Like they've seen each other's bodies, but they've never been like awake at the first time. Like, they've seen each other's bodies, but they've never been, like, awake at the same time. They're both awake now. Yeah. And they stare at each other,

and then Sue sees the termination syringe and just fully attacks her. Okay. And this is also very troubling because it does just feel like elder abuse. Like, it's so violent. It's really violent. Yeah. It's also like, you did this to her, Sue it's so violent. It's really violent. Yeah.

It's also like you did this to her, Sue. Like you fucking did this to her. You're mad at her for wanting to kill you when you did this to her. Yeah. You motherfucker. Yeah, she's not, she's hard to like. Yeah.

Yeah. Neither of them really have many redeeming qualities, but definitely at least Elizabeth, you like feel sorry for her more. Yeah. But she like chokes her and she smashes a vase on her head and she chases her to the bathroom and Elizabeth locks her in, but Sue breaks in and is like smashing her into the tiles, just like bloody, and then holds her face in front of the mirror and then starts smashing it into the mirror until it's

like... Jesus Christ. And it looks pretty real. It doesn't feel silly. The prosthetics are really good. It will get even more so, very Cronenberg-y and really, really great makeup and effects team here. Yeah. Oh, it's also doubly heartbreaking

because right before she said, you're the only lovable part of myself, you have to come back. And then the only lovable part of yourself beats the shit out of you. Yes. Oh my God. It's devastating.

Too much. And like, obviously the whole scenario was so heightened and arguably silly, but, like, the core emotion is not. So it still feels really real. Yeah. And it's not like blood spray like a fountain, like you were saying, very Cronenbergian. It's very, like, her face is like a bloody, pulpy mess.

And she's crawling away, but Sue gains on her and then kicks her with, like, superhuman force across the apartment. She smashes into the coffee table, and then it gets a little silly, but it's still painful to watch. She kicks her repeatedly until they're both drenched in blood. And then we get the title card, Remember, You Are One. And then realizing what she's done, question mark, Sue starts crying. It's kind of a weird turn. Yeah, I'm not sure.

Maybe she's just like, Oh, shit, I wasn't supposed to fuck turn. Yeah, I'm not sure. Maybe she's just like, oh shit, I wasn't supposed to like fuck her up more because I need her spinal fluid and like, damn it. Yeah, maybe it's kind of unclear if she has like a moment of conscience or yeah, just this is my host. Right, right.

Like realizing that she is also ruining her own future in that moment. Yeah, I'm not sure which one it is. Well, then she's back in the hallway at the studio. She's all dolled up. She's in this like big puffy blue gown for the New Year's show. And there's all the like ladies with feathers. I don't know what you call them.

You know, feather ladies. Like can-can dancer-y type. Showgirls. Yeah. Yeah, showgirls. Yeah. Rockettes? Yep. Is that it?

That's a thing. Is that a thing for sure? I don't know. I don't know. It was too late. I was too late. I was just saying. I feel like we're drawing a good. Let's call them a rockettes.

We're getting a good visual image between the three of us there. I feel like. Sorry, sorry. Can-can showgirl rockettes. Can-can showgirl rockettes, yes. 100%. She's trying to keep it together, but there's like ringing in her ears and she keeps having flashes of the bloody Elizabeth and she excuses herself to the restroom where she coughs up

a tooth. And then I guess it makes her go, huh, my teeth are loose. Because then she starts pulling on her other teeth and tears them out. And she lets out this sort of like, bloody, gummy, silent scream. And then we angle on the green activator again, and it's like, have you ever dreamt of a better version of yourself, more beautiful, more perfect? Again, in case you forgot how it works

or what it told us. And someone knocks and she's like, I'll be right there. She says, she'll meet them at the stage, and she's like hustling down a hallway, and then Harvey catches up to her, and you saw this moment in the trailer with the eight shareholders, just white guys in suits, and he clocks her panic, and he's like,

is everything okay? And she nods, and he goes, so smile. And she does a tight, like, lip smile. And he's like, that's what we want tonight. Pretty girls should always smile. Eww. And then the Rockettes all run by. I mean, this is pretty funny. I did laugh at this part where, like,

he just gets distracted by them and he's like, feathers, feathers, and like, scampers off... Yeah. ...after the girls. Um, and she runs to the elevator and then her nail comes off and then her ear comes off. And this stuff to me is actually way less scary than just, like, the old body, personally.

Even though it's like gross to see her take out her tooth and the, but it's scary how much scarier it is to see just an old lady. Yeah, yeah, yep. She runs through a backlot and then back home where she injects herself again, I was kind of confused about this. It says, activate her single use, discard after use.

And I wonder if it's just like, Elizabeth didn't use the whole thing the first time. Yeah, she didn't use the whole thing the first time, but also didn't discard after use. So Sue is just having this little light bulb moment of like, maybe we can get a second use out of this, start over fresh. That's right. If you are wondering what she's thinking,

just in case, she says it too. She's like, I mean, and it is pretty heartbreaking where she's like begging it to make her a better version of herself. She's like, please, please make me a better version of myself. Come on. And then she does it, her back splits, the irises multiply, they kind of go crazy. We get that same light show and the heart,

it might be the heart on fire, it almost looks like an M. So maybe it's just that top of the heart, like the little McDonald's M. You just see part of that now kind of on fire. And now we're back in the POV, like the first time she came out of the spine of whatever has come out. And I took some screenshots.

We can try to describe this together. Yeah, I was wondering how we were gonna describe it. It's like a flesh monster with like sort of strands of hair and like lumps and sort of stretched muscles. There's like teeth in the neck and on the face. Like some of the facial features are in the right spot and some are not. And then there's, yeah, just like tumors, lumps, obscured.

Yeah, just. If they look like tumors covering kind of one eye. So it didn't work. Didn't work. It didn't work. It did not. It did not. This is actually not what she wanted. No. Not better.

You do see Demi Moore's, like, young face, like, on... The shoulder-ish? I think it's like on the... Yeah. Yeah, shoulder. Kind of trying to scream, mouth open, but... Oh, it's awful. Oh, that's awful. It's awful. Again, less scary to me than when you just see the old creaky body, because it is more of like a monster

and the other stuff just feels so real. But the boobs are still pretty scary. Yeah, it does feel more like separate, like a different thing, whereas aging is like, yeah, that's gonna happen to us. We will age. Age comes first of all. Yes, the monster before feels like a human and this feels like humanoid, but not quite.

Silliness. Yep. Yeah, it's still grotesque and hard to look at, but the scariest part are the human parts. You were saying the teeth on the boobs and then also it's one small boob up here and one low boob down here. And it's also scary to imagine Demi Moore like trapped in there too.

Like still like whole in the way that we saw in the beginning, like trapped within that. Yeah. Absolutely. Then we're back with the casting directors who are like, looks like everything sure is in the right place this time. And they say, please say your name. Which she struggles to do. You realize this creature can't really talk.

It's like much more labored to talk and it's kind of neither of their voice when she does talk. And she pukes the green liquid. And then we get the title card, Monstro Elysasu. Okay. And then she puts on the poofy blue dress. Oh, yeah, she like pulls it off. We don't see it, but presumably pulls it off of Margaret Qualley's body and puts on the poofy blue dress. she just like sticks it into like lumps of flesh.

No clear ears, that did really make me laugh as well. No. She's like a pin cushion. She just like sticks these earrings into her head. And then irons like the tiny bit of hair she has, these little straggly strands. And then she smashes the Demi Moore portrait, or the Elizabeth portrait and like cuts out the face.

And makes little eye holes in the face and puts it on like a mask. Okay. Wow. This is now she's showing some creativity in a way that I don't think I've seen before. The show must go on. She's got a New Year's Eve show to host. Yeah.

Nothing if not driven. No, both Elizabeth and Sue. She adds lipstick on top of the... Ooh, layers. ...little mask. She also does cutouts in the dress for the boobs. You gotta show the face, you gotta have the boobs out. And then we're in the eyehole POV for a lot of it.

You hear, like, she sees Dennis Quaid saying, pretty girls should always smile, that's when she adds the lipstick. But we're in and out of this, like, eyehole POV. And she makes it backstage where a stagehand, seemingly unperturbed by everything, is like, hurry up, we're on in five. And then she walks through a hallway

where people are oohing and eyeing, they're regaled by her beauty, and giving her words of affirmation. And I kind of think, I know it's a very different movie, but I think I kind of would have gotten on board for everybody just loving it and like not noticing. That might have just given me a little bit of a release and then I could have been laughing

if it had like really committed to this piece. But of course, no, she's imagining. We realize no one is there, she's like in the empty hallway. And then on stage, all the feather rockettes, showgirls are there. And this is that same kind of like Oscar winner but 80s and snow on the Hollywood star of like, they're all there for this New Year's Eve show for all ages, but they're topless.

Like all their boobs are out. Oh, okay. And there's a little girl in the audience who's wearing like Sue's blue dress and tiara like a big Sue fan, trying to look like her. And Dennis Quaid in the audience is like, you will not be disappointed, she's my most beautiful creation, I've shaped her for success. The lights go down, the on-air sign turns on, there's applause, and Monstro Alizasu drags herself

with some kind of innards dragging behind her. And the feather girls are all exchanging looks over the labored breathing, trying to figure out what's going on. And she talks into the mic, but hard to understand again. She's like, so happy to be here with you all tonight. I can't do it, but you can't really, she's trying to say that she's happy to be there,

and then the mask falls off. And then out of one of her eye holes, I think it is something starts to grow, and a boob just plops out of her eye. Just one little breast drop falls to the ground. Yep, just plops. And the little baby Su fan, like her mom, covers her eyes. And then a woman stands up and yells.

She just like stands up and screams, and then a man yells, the monster! And then another woman, and then everyone's screaming, shoot the monster, it's a freak. Feels very like Beauty and the Beast, almost. And she's saying, don't be scared, I'm Elizabeth, it's still me. And the men start pushing her till she's on the floor, pleading, it's me.

And then part of her, you hear Luke. Yeah, Luke is like so upset. Luke is not okay. Luke is not like this. Luke is like, I'm a grizzled old man. What are you saying about me? He's like, aging is really hard. He's all gray and sweet.

Pieces of her weird, maybe it's like the tumors, parts of her just start like exploding and then drenching them in blood. And then like a new piece erupts and drenches them in more blood and then it's just like spraying everywhere like a fire hose. And you hear again that two badder boobs aren't in the middle of her face instead of that nose. Next, and the blood spray continues, so it's like all this intercutting of shitty, dumb shit men have said. Everything is soaked in blood.

It's even a bit shining-esque now where you see like the hallway is soaked in blood. The whole even a bit Shining-esque now, where you see, like, the hallway is soaked in blood. The whole room, everyone in it, blood everywhere. We're almost at the end, thank God. Ah! And now she's running from these men, and bits of herself are just, like, falling and plopping off until finally most of her explodes, except for, like, the pretty young Demi Moore face that's still there.

And it kind of breaks free, almost like a spider. Or like a starfish. It's like the head... We're back in that overhead shot, and it's like just her face with little blobs around it. Like... Kind of Medusa-y. Yeah, Medusa-y for sure. Like, what even is the word? Not quite crawling.

Not quite... Yes, litter crawling, skittering. Skittering is the one I wanted. Yes, it's kind of like skittering down the street, and then it crawls to the Elizabeth Sparkles Hollywood star and gazes up at the palm trees and sparkles rain down, and she starts reliving those words of affirmation from her fantasy. And then the face kind of melts into this puddle of blood,

which looks a bit like the ketchup from the opening. And then a street cleaner comes and, like, wipes it all away, and it's fresh and new and clean again, and then you get the substance title card. Wow. Wow! Oh, my freaking God. I also feel like I need to call out, because we talked about in The Evil Dead 2013,

how much fake blood they used. Substance, for this final scene, they used 36,000 gallons of fake blood. So that's now the, I think, second highest. Evil Dead is still more. I think they did 70,000 or maybe 50,000. I can't even comprehend. That is so much fake blood. That's crazy. So much. Okay, well, first of all, I just have to say, Avital, you're so good at...

I was riveted the whole time. You're so good at doing recaps. You're so good at giving so muchps. You're so good at giving like so much detail but also like moving through it quickly. That's hard to do both. Yeah, very impressive. Okay, good. I was like, it's so long. I'm sorry. No, no, that was really, really well paced. You did perfectly. Thank you. Yeah, amazing.

You guys are so nice. How do you feel? Yeah, Henley, do you have the same mixed feelings? I appreciate a lot of it and I did have a good time in parts, but I, yes, was left with that same bad taste in my mouth of, in the end, it is just comes back to aging is disgusting and terrifying and physical deformities are disgusting and terrifying. Yeah. So the message gets a little muddled, but I think if you just don't think about it too hard, again, if I think of it as like a fable, then I can be like...

That does help. And I think that's the intention. I think so too. One thing that is also kind of snagging for me, which I want to think through more, is how in your face it is. And obviously that's intentional, the constant reminders and the constant underlining and the constant like exaggeration of like, this is the message, this is the message,

this is the message. Like, does that add to, I know that the whole film is supposed to be like maximalist, but can you have like a visually maximalist film while still also being subtle enough that it keeps things interesting? Because like that almost like makes it less interesting that it's so in your face.

Do you know what I mean? Like there aren't any things like forcing the audience to like put two and two together or like having any kind of like realizations like that doesn't really happen. It's definitely intentional, but I don't know why. two together or having any kind of realizations, that doesn't really happen. It's definitely intentional, but I don't know why. I don't know why that's the direction.

Or does she know, like you said, that we forget stuff. She knows you from our memories can't remember your goddamn security codes. Our memories are failing. We don't know who we're just hanging out with. You're not gonna remember her. So, I'm curious with your theater, towards the end when everything's getting soaked in blood and my theater was like, rollicking, is that the word? With laughter. Having a great time.

Yes, everybody's cracking up, but she's still saying like, it's me, Elizabeth. Like, it's... I was like, I couldn't laugh. Like, it just was so... It is devastating that, yeah. She's like begging to be seen as a human and they're all just like so disgusted and afraid of her. But no, my theater was the same. It was laugh, everyone was laughing.

I was probably laughing in part, because it is just like, it goes so hard. I think some of this is just the shock factor of like, oh wow, they're really dialing this up to like a degree that I was just very surprised. I did not expect it to go quite so hard at the end. And so, but yeah, I think it's also totally devastating. So, oh. And I think that's a great thing to achieve where people can be devastated and laughing.

And maybe like me almost having a panic attack is a testament to the movie, but it was a complicated Like me almost having a panic attack is a testament to the movie, but it was a complicated. It's very powerful. Yeah. It's very complicated. It's like making us look at parts of ourselves that are complicated. Cause again, it's just like everyone's relationship

with aging is complicated. Like, of course we all want to be like, aging is beautiful and a gift and it is, but it's like also like it's, we've been taught that it's bad and you should do whatever you can to avoid it and buy expensive skincare and get plastic surgery. And so it's just like, there's a lot,

a lot to unpack within each of us. And so it's effective at, I guess, making us uncomfortable in that sense, but kind of a little messy in some of the ways that it does it. But I guess either way, I appreciate what it's trying to say, even if I don't think it's necessarily the most effective way to get this message across, even if it does like reinforce some of the things that it's criticizing. But that said, and it's bold. It's bold. I respect that she goes for it. Yes. Yes. I hated how it made me feel. Yeah. Amazing that Demi Moore did this too.

I think that this is so cool for her career and so like brave of her to do and... 100% She was great. Henley, is there any part of you that wants to see it? I honestly like have been curious. I've been wanting to see it because I've heard so many people talking about it. And I think this is the type of horror that I can actually kind of like manage because it's so over the top and stylized. But also the parts, I mean, I think I would have the exact same reaction of being like also disturbed by the same things that you guys were disturbed by. But I really, because

it's so saturated and also, you know, there's part of me that wants to see it just because I want to see how hot Margaret Qualley is. And that's real. I know. And Demi Moore. Yeah, exactly. She's hot for half the movie. Exactly. Or not quite half.

That's the other part of it is that you're like, damn, but they are really hot. It's hard to look away. You don't want to be valuing that and putting higher value on that. But then it's fucking hard, man. It's hard not to. Yeah, but it's, you know, it's like empty. It's empty. There's nothing that'll ever give back to you, is kind of like the point. Yeah.

Both times I felt like sick after, and it's interesting because I know you guys did Speak No Evil, and I loved that movie, but it also made me feel awful. And I was trying to pinpoint what the difference is, and I can't quite in terms of why that made me feel awful, but I also loved it. And this made me feel awful, and I felt like it's so conflicted,

versus just being impressed that it made me feel that way. If that makes sense. Yeah, well, I think Speak No Evil, well, do you mean the first one or the second one? so conflicted versus just being impressed that it made me feel that way. Yeah. If that makes sense. Yeah, well, I think Speak No Evil, well, do you mean the first one or the second one? Yeah, the first one. Not the US remake. The second one doesn't make you feel awful, I don't think.

No, no. Not so much. I mean, Speak No Evil implicated you in the whole thing. Like, I mean, it was such a surprise at the end for me anyway how dark of a turn it took, because I wasn't expecting that. And so in a way, it was more forceful to me. With the substance, you kind of know from the get-go

what you're getting into. Do you know what I mean? Like there wasn't really that much of a surprise moment. Yeah. And maybe also that movie feels like it's more a cautionary tale about politeness, toxic politeness, which at least we have some control over. Whereas like, sure, we can control how we react to aging, I guess, but we don't get to control whether or not we age. So maybe it just feels much closer to home or something.

Yeah. Speaking of evil, like ruined my life though. So because because the other thing which we just talked about it because we just did the US remake is that it and Speak No Evil. Sorry not to dwell on it, but it really hits me. I love it because I want to talk about it. I just love that movie so much. Because what it really underlined for me anyway, is that like as a parent, you have no control over the safety of your children.

Like you do to a certain degree, but like really you don't because there's so many things outside of your control. And like, I know the message of the movie is like, of course, like if you're polite to people, you shouldn't be that polite. Of course I get that. But I think more so it's more like you might end up

in a situation you totally didn't mean to end up in, which could happen to any of us, you know? And I don't think they're bad parents, even though I think a lot of people think they are. I think the bad couple sort of exploits their concern in wanting to be good parents. Like, well, where were you when she was crying to the point where then they're sort of on the back foot and not sure what's real? Oh, God. Oh, speak no evil. I actually... Did you watch it or just adjust the description? I just had the recap. Just listen. Just listen. Just listen.

I'm amazed that you're still like... It's seared in my brain. I realized it was two years ago. Two years ago. Oh, wow. Yeah. And two years ago, it's been haunting me. Two years. It still stings just as much as. Wait, is it really, has it been two years or has it been one year? Maybe it's only been one year.

I'm not sure when we recapped it, it came out two years ago. And I feel like we recapped it pretty soon after it came out. So yeah, probably. It's been a long journey with me. It's been a while. And it is just potent enough

that it has staying power in your mind. I felt similarly where I was like, that ruined my week, but I also think it's a masterpiece. Yeah, I can appreciate it's being a masterpiece for sure, but I also fucking hate that fucking film. How dare it? It's a real day ruined. How dare it? That's a real day ruin. How dare it?

That's a tough one. The remake is a lot more fun, but... Yeah, we were chanting like, America. USA. USA. USA. That's the vibe. Oh, excited to listen. It's very funny. It's gonna be so fun.

Avital, thank you so much for coming back. Thank you guys. Thanks for having me. I feel sick again. I know, I feel kind of pretty bad too. So I feel like we got to wrap this up so we can all do some self care, light a little candle. Take a bath.

Do you hate baths as much as showers? Yeah, unfortunately. I love a Jacuzzi, but I don't have one. But if I had one, I would be getting in it right now. Light a candle, eat some chocolate. I'm going to order some food. If you have ice cream. I'm going to treat myself kindly tonight as I hope both of you and all of our listeners

do as well. But Avital, before we go, do you have anything that you want to plug or where can our listeners find you? Yes. I'm doing the solo show tomorrow, which is not gonna help. But if you go to avitalash.com, you can sign up for updates. And I'm gonna try to do some U.S. cities, because I've done a lot of the U.K. So please come see the live show.

It's gotten great critical reviews. Yeah. And the horror podcast that I co-host is gonna come back in the new year. Ooh. Yeah, I would love to have you guys on. Oh, my God, would love to. It's a very different podcast, but that would be so fun.

Jessica, who I co-host with, is about to pop with her second baby, so... Mm-hmm. It's been a busy time, but we're excited to come back. Only thing is is we don't recap. So you maybe would have to watch something. Okay, so I'm capable of doing this. I've been known to watch a horror film or two. She did. She watched...

Sleepy Hollow ever heard of it? Wow. You watched The Descent, which is my favorite horror movie and I think very scary. Oh, it's so good. I was also wedged between you and Jenna, who's seen it a hundred thousand times. It was a good, a good.

We were eating donuts and you were like laughing. Oh, I actually really love The Descent. We haven't done it yet. I just rewatched it. I love it so much. Oh, Sammy's favorite movie. It's great. It's so good. And that's the most fun is to have people talk about the movies they love Oh, Sammy's favorite movie. It's so good.

And that's the most fun, is to have people talk about the movies they love. So that's the vibe. It's called He's Right Behind You, and it really is just kind of like after the movie, friends gabbing about the movie. Because I love that feeling. Yeah, you guys gotta come on. Yes, we'll do it. Um, okay.

Um, we usually close with a voice from the movie. I'm gonna maybe do Dennis Quaid over the top. Pretty girls have to smile, always smile. So from all of us here at Too Scary Didn't Watch, goodbye. Goodbye. Goodbye. Bye.

We did it, we made it. Thank you all for listening to another episode of Too Scary Didn't Watch. If you enjoy the show, please remember to subscribe and rate us on Spotify and Apple podcasts. Five stars only or we will haunt you. And if you simply can't get enough of us, we have good news for you. We have lots of bonus content available on our Patreon at patreon.com slash TSTW podcast. You'll get access to video trailer reactions, two bonus episodes a month, the power to vote for upcoming episodes, and more. And last but not least, you can follow us on social media at TSTW podcast. We'll be back next week with a new episode. We love you.

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