I just finished watching the cult movie "Some Substance," which left me with quite a psychological scar.
At first, the movie's pace was neither fast nor slow, and the content was relatively normal, with occasional risqué scenes. However, it wasn't until the last half hour that I truly understood what "Cult" means. The earlier scenes were so beautiful and captivating, while the latter ones were utterly disgusting: the protagonist, dragging a deformed body, spins in the center of the stage, spraying blood like a blooming blue lotus, which made me feel quite uncomfortable. The director slammed the gas pedal, using a truck of bloody violence and grotesque curiosity to equally crush every viewer drawn in by the glamorous and erotic scenes at the beginning 🤮.
Returning to the movie itself, the plot is actually not outstanding and has some flaws. For example, the protagonist, who seems to be unproductive, surprisingly masters surgical techniques and carpentry; in the chase between the mother and the child, the mother drags her aging body yet moves agilely, engaging in a back-and-forth fight with the child, which feels very out of place.
Regarding the theme of the film, the director seems to want to explore how the patriarchal (the power figures in the film are all male) capitalist system, with its capital choices (audiences always prefer the young) and the male gaze, destroys women. However, from the plot's perspective, this tragedy is also caused by the protagonist's own greed and the vicious competition (female competition) between the mother and the child, which is confusing and leaves me uncertain about the director's intentions.
But putting aside these themes, the film itself is quite well-crafted in terms of visual impact and horror atmosphere, making it definitely a cult movie worth watching in recent years.