THE SUBSTANCE

Written by Coralie Fargeat

“EVERYTHING FLOWS, NOTHING REMAINS”
- HERACLITUS

“DON’T YOU KNOW PUMP IT UP

YOU’VE GOT TO PUMP IT UP”
- DANZEL
 ...sc

FADE IN ON A HIGH ANGLE TOP SHOT OF...

1 A RAW, UNCOOKED EGG LYING ON A FLAT SURFACE. 1

The round yolk stands proudly in the center of the

transparent and gelatinous egg white.

A syringe needle enters the frame and slowly approaches the

egg before planting itself in the middle of the yolk and very
slowly injects a fluorescent yellow product inside of it.

After a moment, the egg begins to shake and move as if

something were happening inside of it.

Little by little, a small growth begins to emerge on the side

of the yolk... which grows bigger... and bigger... until it
starts to form a second egg yolk which emerges out of the
side of the first one... before finally detaching itself to
become independent.

Both egg yolks now stand side by side.

The second yolk is rounder, shinier, fleshier.

In other words: more perfect.

Long beat on both egg yolks which stand side by side.

BLACK

The sounds of jackhammers, traffic jams, jigsaws, coming from

a construction site in the middle of the city...

We FADE IN on a STATIC TOP SHOT OF...

2 EXT. WALK OF FAME SIDEWALK - DAY 2

A SIDEWALK MADE UP OF LARGE GREY SLABS. Only one slab appears

to be missing like a big gaping hole right in the middle of
the pavement.

In the same static shot, WORKER’S HANDS appear within the

frame and start to carefully set in place thin sticks of
wood, nailing them to one another.

The linked sticks soon form a wooden frame shaped like a star
which stands out in the muddy hole of the pavement.

Little by little, the hands start to place various different

elements inside the star shaped frame: brass block letters
which begin to form a name: E…L…I…Z…A…B…E…T…H… S…P…A…R…K…L…E
Underneath, the small round crest containing the logo of a
camera appears.

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 2 -

 ...sc 2

A pink marble slab slides into the golden edges of the wooden
frame... sealing the pink star into the terrazzo pavement
which we now understand to be the famous HOLLYWOOD WALK OF
FAME.

Still in the same static shot with the star in the center of
the frame, workers’ hands come in and out making final
tweaks, then remove the plastic protective film. A broom
sweeps back and forth shining up the now finished star - in
the middle of which the golden inscription proudly stands:

ELISABETH SPARKLE

After a moment, still in the same shot, a buzz of excitement

from the crowd and camera flashes start to multiply as the
feet of a YOUNG WOMAN enter the bottom of the frame. Wearing
vertiginously high heels and with a conquering walk, she
poses for the cameras before kneeling down and placing her
hands underneath the star.

More flashes and voices trying to attract the attention of

the lucky lady: "Elisabeth!" "Over here Elisabeth!""Right
here Elisabeth!".

The flurry of feet around the high heels and the way they
move tells a story of their own: flattery, fawning,
happiness, recognition, ambition, success etc.

Then the young woman's feet and those of the crowd gradually
disappear one by one, just like the camera flashes, which
also grow rare and finally disappear, leaving the static
frame empty and silent, with only the star and its name:

ELISABETH SPARKLE

After a long beat on the star and still in the same shot, a
leaf flies across the screen, the wind brushing it past.

Then the feet of passersby which enter and exit the frame,
walking across the star in a pace that quickens as the days
go by and life carries on.

More and more feet enter and exit. A few marks and scratches
appear on the star, the concrete aging little by little as
time goes by, to the pace of more walking, more pedestrians,
tourists, alternating rain and sun, changing fashions,
pigeons landing on the ground, shopping carts being pulled
over it in an uninterrupted flow of everyday foot traffic.

Some feet occasionally stop to look down at Elisabeth's star,

then less and less, then almost none at all as we notice new
stars appearing at the corners of the frame, which start
drawing people’s attention away.

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 3 -

 ...sc 2

Finally, the white sneakers of a tourist wearing shorts that

walk lazily across the now worn and patinated star, clumsily
dropping a round burger bun, which falls on the ground,
smearing the star with a large ketchup stain.

The guy lowers his hand in a half-hearted attempt to clean up

the stain with a greasy piece of burger paper, then with the
big sole of his sneaker, thus leaving a large, disgusting red
trail across the star. The feet walk out of the frame,
helplessly, above all showing very little interest in
cleaning the whole thing up.

The star remains in the center, now aged and stained with the
red ketchup:

ELISABETH SPARKLE

Long beat over which we hear the aggressive and exhausting

cacophony of traffic then, little by little, music is heard
in the distance, stressed by the dynamic accents of a female
voice growing louder and clearer:

Keep moving! That’s great! YOU GOT IT!

Walk it back! Couple more! YOU GOT IT!

Again from the very top!

SMASH CUT TO:

3 INT. TV STUDIO / SPARKLE YOUR LIFE SHOW - DAY 3

PAIRS OF FEET WITH FLUORESCENT DANCE LEGGINGS stomping the

floor.

A BLINDING WHITE LIGHT.

A small blinking red dot indicates that this is being filmed

and recorded.

We're inside a TV Studio, in the very middle of an aerobics

class.

Lights full on and flashy-colored aerobic outfits.

Fluorescent leotards.

Muscles tightening under each step.

Ultra forced smiles.

Super happy music broadcasting ready-made happiness.

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 4 -

 ...sc 3

In the foreground of this fluorescent group, high on

vitamins, ELISABETH SPARKLE, now close to fifty, leads the
class, with a wide, bright smile.

Her ultra-sculpted body strictly primed against the smallest

bit of flab or excess.

In the background, a large morning show title is visible:

SPARKLE YOUR LIFE

With Elisabeth

Keep moving! That’s great! You got it!

All the pairs of fluorescent leggings beat up and down in

rhythm like perfect soldiers and Elisabeth never stops
smiling as if her bright smile were etched to her jaw while
she motivates her audience with an energetic voice:

ELISABETH
I know it’s hard! Walk it back!
That’s great, couple more ladies!
Think about your bikini this
summer! You don’t want to look like
a giant jellyfish on the beach, do
you? So keep moving! Couple more...
we’re almost there... aaand...

The music ends on a final synchronized movement made by all

the dancers.

ELISABETH (CONT’D)
... give yourselves a hand! That
was a GREAT workout!

The troupe applauds while Elisabeth faces the camera with a

great big smile:

ELISABETH (CONT’D)
I’ll see you next week to work more
on the lateral abs, those are the
hardest to sculpt. In the
meantime... Take care of yourself!

She blows a kiss to the camera.

The cameras stop rolling, and the soundstage lights fade.

Elisabeth's smile fades instantly as she relaxes her body.

She's covered in sweat. Out of breath.

Really out of breath. She winces briefly as she massages her

knee.

An assistant brings her a towel and a bottle of water.

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 5 -

 ...sc 3

We follow her from behind...

4 INT. BACKSTAGE HALLWAY - DAY 4

...as she walks down the long backstage corridor of the tv

station with an energetic stride.

EVERYONE she meets or bumps into wishes her a "Happy

Birthday" with a broad smile. Elisabeth smiles back and
cheerfully thanks them.

Walking down the corridor she passes by dozens of framed

posters displaying her smiling face and shapely body from
every season of the show:

SPARKLE YOUR LIFE

On the successive posters, Elisabeth displays the exact same

bright smile but the colors and looks change as her physical
appearance alters over time, the hairstyles becoming less and
less frizzed and her face more and more photoshopped.

Elisabeth walks to the ladies room at the end of the corridor

but it turns out to be closed for cleaning. She glances round
to check she’s alone and finally... walks into the men's room
next door.

5 TV STUDIO - MEN’S ROOM 5

Nobody inside.

She leans over the sink, splashes water over her face, making
the most of the moment to refresh herself after the physical
effort.

She then enters one of the toilet stalls.

Static shot of the row of sinks in the empty men’s room.

The neons cast a perfectly white and unchanging light.

Long, silent beat.

Soon to be broken by the sudden, loud arrival of A STOUT

MIDDLE-AGED MAN, his ear glued to a cellphone, face red with
anger:

MAN
I don’t care if we have to see
EVERY FUCKING YOUNG GIRL in town in
the next couple of weeks. We need
her YOUNG. We need her HOT. And we
need her NOW.

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 6 -

 ...sc 5

This is HARVEY, the TV network director. Mid-50s, large belly

and wearing a loose suit, he comes to stand right in front of
the camera under which we guess is an out of frame urinal.
His phone wedged between his ear and shoulder he continues
his logorrhoea while unbuttoning his pants to take a piss:

HARVEY
I mean, how the old bitch has
managed to stay this long in the
first place is a fucking mystery!
(the person at the other
end of the line tries to
say something but is
immediately cut off)
Oscar winner my ass! When was that?
Back in the 30s for KING KONG?!
(he"shakes" himself off)
I don’t give a fuck what we
promised her! This is TV, not a
charity! So find me somebody NEW.
NOW.

He flushes the urinal and closes his fly.

HARVEY (CONT’D)
Did you know that women’s fertility
starts to decrease from the age of
25?

He leaves without washing his hands....

HARVEY (CONT’D)
Yeah I know...(he chuckles)...How
old is Elisa?

His voice drifts away as the bathroom door slowly closes with
the automatic closing system.

HARVEY (CONT’D)
....Ha ha so hurry up!

His laughter trailing off in the distance until the room is

completely silent again.

A beat on the empty room.

The white sinks.

The neon lights casting the unchanging light.

Then, the sound of a toilet flushing.

The door to one of the stalls finally opens slowly and

Elisabeth walks out.

She remains still for a moment in the middle of the

immaculate room, her reflection infinitely repeating in the
mirrors in front and behind her.

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 7 -

 ...sc 5

Her fluorescent leggings now seem ridiculously out of place.

She walks very calmly towards a sink, washes her hands slowly
and knowingly, her eyes focused on the water flowing out of
the tap... then she stops the water in one swift gesture.

She looks up slowly...

A beat, alone, facing her reflection in the mirror...

ELISABETH
The noise of plates and glasses that progressively grows
louder...

FADE IN:

6 INT. RESTAURANT - DAY 6

Greasy fingers that rip the head off of a shrimp: SHLACK!

The thick sweaty nape of a man’s neck, on which a fly

sporadically lands. A pudgy hand tries to flick it away.

It’s Harvey’s hand. Facing camera, he is in the midst of

another logorrheic monologue as he peels and shells the juicy
shrimp before stuffing them into his mouth...slurp...in
between two words...

HARVEY
...but it’s like when you’ve got
someone farting on screen...
slurp... People LOVE that! I’d
rather talk about RENOIR or GAUGUIN
but slurp... that’s how it is.
C’est la vie... People are just...
people. And I have to give people
what they want. slurp... That’s
what keeps the shareholders happy.
slurp... And let me tell you
something: people always ask for
something NEW. slurp... RENEWAL is
inevitable. It's nature’s way. You
either RENEW or you disappear.

"RENEW" seems to explode out of his mouth in a splutter of

shrimp.

He stares at a young waitress’ ass, which seems to RENEW his

appetite.

HARVEY (CONT’D)
At 50, it stops. And that's not me
saying so. That's biology.

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 8 -

 ...sc 6

We finally discover Elisabeth, facing him.

ELISABETH
What stops?

A beat.

HARVEY
What?

ELISABETH
What stops?

HARVEY
...? The... you know the... the...

Suddenly really uncomfortable, he makes a circular gesture

with his hand...

Then he brushes it all aside with a sweeping gesture.

HARVEY (CONT’D)
Anyway! Lots of wonderful things
await you afterwards, you'll
finally have time to enjoy your
private life. Kids, they put a big
smile on your face and you forget
about everything else!

ELISABETH
I don’t have kids.

A tiny, empty beat in Harvey's dull eyes.

He jumps to his feet grabbing his phone, looking terribly

busy, and calls out to a MAN (60) at the back of the room.

HARVEY
GEORGE!
(to Elisabeth)
I've gotta run.

He walks away, hitting on the young waitress as he passes her

by and opening his arms towards a man in his sixties at the
back of the room, grandiloquent:

HARVEY (CONT’D)
GEORGE!! These ratings are insane!
You’re a fucking genius!

Elisabeth is left alone sitting at the table.

Inside the wine glass, which she's barely touched, the fly is
drowning. It's wriggling all around desperately fighting to
escape this sweet, liquid trap...

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 9 -

 ...sc 6

Elisabeth stares at the fly, which twitches as if having an

epileptic fit, its movements growing slower... and slower...
until finally it is completely immobilized.

Dead and disgusting.

DISSOLVE TO:

7 OMITTED 7

8 INT. CRAIG SILVER MANAGEMENT OFFICE - DAY 8

A huge picture of Elisabeth with an ultra bright smile,

praising the merits of a whitening toothpaste:

WITH TOOTHBRITE (check clearance)

YOU GOT IT!

The smile is swallowed up as a hand closes the magazine

containing the ad.

CRAIG
TOOTHBRITE is ending your
ambassador’s contract.

CRAIG SILVER, 40, sits behind a big desk, facing Elisabeth.

ELISABETH
But we just renewed it a month ago!

CRAIG
I know. But they are within their
right to do so considering the
“significant change in your public
notoriety” with the end of your
show...

Elisabeth, speechless, her eyes glistening with the tears she

is trying to hold back.

ELISABETH
So what’s our next move? Maybe a
reality show? Or I was thinking
even a cooking show...or why not
a...

She stops when she sees Craig, visibly ill at ease, wiggling
about in his seat.

CRAIG
Listen... I know this is not the
best moment to tell you this but...
we are forced to cut back on the
number of clients we represent at
the agency and...

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 10 -

 ...sc 8

...

ELISABETH
“We”? Who is “we”?

CRAIG
Well you know... CRAIG SILVER
MANAGEMENT.

ELISABETH
Sorry what’s your name again?

CRAIG
What?

ELISABETH
What’s your name?

CRAIG
C’mon...Lizzie

ELISABETH
What’s your fucking name?

CRAIG
Craig Silver-

A beat on his contrite face. We hear the door slam violently

9 EXT. AVENUE - DAY 9

Elisabeth is at the wheel of her car.

We can almost hear the billion thoughts firing through her

mind, knocking back and forth.

She's speeding along a road lined with palm trees.

The noise of the traffic seems to be getting louder and

louder.

She drives past a big billboard flaunting her photo:

WITH TOOTHBRITE

YOU GOT IT!

She turns her head, trying to see the new billboard that two
workers are putting up in her plac-

WHAM!!! A car hurtles right out of a crossroad and

SMASHES straight into her car. The window explode as the car
spins violently, tires screeching against the asphalt.

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 11 -

 ...sc 10

10 INT. HOSPITAL ROOM - DAY 10

Elisabeth is in the ER.

She's sitting on the side of a bed wearing a disposable paper

hospital gown tied up in the back, with her legs dangling in
front of her. A slew of x-rays are on a backlit x-ray viewer.

A DOCTOR comes in accompanied by a YOUNG MALE NURSE.

DOCTOR
Well it’s your lucky day Ms.
Sparkle! We’ve X-rayed you from
head to toe and there’s not even as
much as a cracked molar. So you’re
good to go!

The young male nurse hands him a file. The nurse is wearing a
surgical mask that only allows us to see his piercing eyes of
an extreme azure blue.

He appears to be stunningly handsome.

Elisabeth is in her own distant and muted bubble while the

doctor goes over her file, checking everything for the last
time and signing off on the paperwork.

DOCTOR (CONT’D)
...vaccinations...ok... not
currently on any medication... By
the way my wife is a huge fan...
blood type... date of birth... oh,
it’s your birthday happy birthd-

He doesn’t have time to finish– Elisabeth bursts into tears.

Long beat on Elisabeth, hunched over and shaken by hiccups as

she sobs.

ELISABETH
(muttering to herself)
It’s over...

The doctor looks at her, uncomfortable.

ELISABETH (CONT’D)
It’s all over...

A long awkward beat.

Beep beep - the doctor glances at his beeper clipped to his

belt.

DOCTOR
(relieved for the excuse
to get away)
An emergency, I have to run.
Have a good... euh ...bye.

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 12 -

 ...sc 10

He leaves. Elisabeth remains sitting on the examination

table.

After a long moment, she wipes the tears from her face and is
about to stand u-

MALE NURSE (O.S.)

One moment.

She turns around, surprised to see that the nurse is still

there. His striking, piercing blue eyes looking out from
behind his mask.

MALE NURSE (CONT’D)

There’s just one last exam to
perform.

ELISABETH
Oh? Didn’t he say I was good to g-

He separates the open flaps of her paper hospital gown and

places his stethoscope on her back.

While he moves the stethoscope around her back, we notice

that he has a small strawberry birthmark on his forearm.

We hear noises coming from inside her body, amplified by the

instrument: Boom boom... boom boom...boom boom....

His hands start to palpate along her backbone, the fingers of

his latex gloves following the length of the prominent
vertebrae, stopping and palpating each vertebra with great
attention, as if his probing fingers were measuring the
resistance of her spinal column.

Elisabeth is taken aback by this unusual exam...

ELISABETH (CONT’D)
Is there a problem...?

MALE NURSE
(still focusing on her
spine)
No it’s perfect, you’re a good
candidate.
(catching himself)
I’m mean, you’re good to go.

He goes to the coat rack to take her coa- the coat rack sways
and falls to the floor. Oops, sorry let me get that... he
rummages among the coats and finally picks up her yellow coat
which he places on her lap.

MALE NURSE (CONT’D)

Have a good day. I wish you the
best.

He leaves and Elisabeth is left there, in silence.

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 13 -

 ...sc 10

Confused by what just happened.

Just the noise of the swinging doors Thump-clomp, thump-

clomp, which finally come to a stop.

11 EXT. HOSPITAL. - DAY 11

Elisabeth walks out of the hospital. A beat to breathe in the

fresh air.

An ear-splitting chorus of car horns and traffic.

She puts her hands in her coat pockets as if to comfort

herself.

She frowns, feeling something inside her pocket.

She takes her hand out, holding... a folded paper packet with
something inside. She unfolds it and finds a USB stick, which
she is manifestly discovering for the very first time.

Written down on the back of the stick:

THE SUBSTANCE

Scribbled on the crumpled piece of paper: “It changed my

life.”

She takes a moment to look at the USB stick amidst the racket
caused by the traffic...

MAN’S VOICE (O.S.)

...Lizzie??... Lizzie Sparkle??

She looks up: A RATHER UNPREPOSSESSING-LOOKING MAN in his

fifties, with just a crown of hair left on his balding head,
is looking at her with a wide smile on his face as he adjusts
his glasses on his nose.

MAN
OMG I can’t believe it!

An embarrassed silence, she visibly doesn't recognize him.

MAN (CONT’D)
...Fred from 10th grade homeroom!

...

She widens her eyes, making us understand that time has not
been kind to him...

ELISABETH
...Oh... Fred...of course...

He passes his hand over his bald head.

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 14 -

 ...sc 11

FRED
Yeah... baldness runs in the family
- no escaping it.

ELISABETH
Oh no, that’s not what I mea...

FRED
You, however, haven't changed!
You’re still the most beautiful
girl in the whole wide world! I’ve
followed your career, what a
success! Wow wow WOW!

She smiles without letting anything show.

FRED (CONT’D)
And the funny thing is my mom used
to buy your toothpaste. So every
time I went home for Christmas, I
would think about you when I
brushed my teeth.

ELISABETH
Oh, that’s...

FRED
She’s dead now.

...creepy.

A taxi pulls up in front of them.

FRED (CONT’D)
Oh that’s for me. Hey! Why don’t we
go out for a drink some time now
that we’ve “reconnected”?!

ELISABETH
Oh uh... I’m kind of...

FRED
Oh, I’m stupid... of course you’re
super busy...

ELISABETH
(being polite)
But why don’t you give me your
card... you never know!

FRED
Oh! I’m not a “card” type of guy
but...

He rummages through his pockets and takes out a pen and some
sheets of paper with what are visibly medical test results.

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 15 -

 ...sc 11

FRED (CONT’D)
What do we have here... ok this
will do.
(he scribbles on one of
the sheets)
Please don’t look at my cholesterol
levels, they’re a disaster...

He rips off the end of the paper with his number written on
it... and it flies off and lands in a puddle of mirky water.

FRED (CONT’D)
Oh God...
(clumsily picking it up
and wiping it)
Programmer’s hands... Aren’t much
good away from the keyboard!

The taxi honks. He slaps the paper into Elisabeth’s hand.

FRED (CONT’D)
Now you’ve got it!

He chuckles, proud of his joke and jumps into the taxi as he

mimes the telephoning gesture: “call me!”

12 INT. ELISABETH’S APARTMENT / LIVING ROOM - END OF AFTERNOON 12

Elisabeth is standing in front of an oversized picture window

with a magnificent view of the city in a spacious, elegantly
decorated living room.

Hanging on the wall opposite the window is a huge full-length

framed poster of her. She's sporting a sexy pose in a blue
leotard with a big conquering smile on her face.

A bouquet of flowers still wrapped in plastic sits on the

table. On the small card attached we read: "Thank you for all
these years with us. You were amazing!". The word "were"
seems to stand out like a punch in the face.

Elisabeth plugs the USB stick into her television screen and
sits on the couch.

AN ENTIRELY BLACK SCREEN

After a moment, a MALE VOICE : it is deep and slow.

Underneath a very slight, almost inaudible crackling sound.

Have you ever dreamt of a better version of yourself?

The screen remains completely black as the voice continues:

We are merely the expression of a genetic code that freezes

at a precise moment.

But your DNA conceals billions of other possibilities.

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 16 -

 ...sc 12

Inside of you, there is another you. Or should I say,

billions of other “yous.”

One single injection unlocks your DNA, starting a new

cellular division, that will release another version of
yourself.

Younger. More beautiful. More perfect.

This is...

The title appears full screen at the same time as the voice
pronounces:

THE SUBSTANCE
A long silent beat over the title.

It then disappears. Silent beat on the BLACK screen.

And at long last, an image...

A yellow ball (like blu tack) upon a white surface

(high angle top shot like in a lab demonstration).

You are the matrix.

The ball is slightly dented and irregular.

Two male hands enter the frame and start slowly pulling on a
section of the blu tack ball.

Everything comes from YOU.

The hand pulls... and pulls... until the piece detaches

itself from the original ball.

And everything IS you.

THE HAND ROLLS THE NEW PIECE TO FORM A PERFECTLY ROUNDED

SECOND BALL WHICH NOW SITS NEXT TO THE ORIGINAL, THAT IN
CONTRAST SEEMS ALL THE MORE IMPERFECT.

This is simply... a better version of yourself.

Each hand presents one ball on its open palm:

You just have to share.

The left hand closes over the left ball making it disappear.

One week for one.

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 17 -

 ...sc 12

Before re-opening while closing the other hand.

And one week for the other.

Both hands re-open. Silent beat on the two small balls side
by side.

A perfect balance of 7 days each.

The one and only thing not to forget...

YOU ARE ONE

BACK TO THE TWO BALLS.

YOU CAN’T ESCAPE FROM YOURSELF

The two hands slam the two balls together-SMACK!

THE VIDEO ENDS.

Elisabeth remains still for a moment, watching the screen in

silence.

She then removes the USB stick, heads into the kitchen... and
throws it into the trash can.

BLACK

A muffled, distorted noise as if we were underwater...

FADE IN:

13 INT. COCKTAIL LOUNGE BAR - NIGHT 13

EXTREME CLOSE UP SHOT OF AN OLIVE FLOATING inside a

transparent liquid.

The olive is suddenly pierced by a wooden toothpick in a

muffled, distorted sound, like a heart pierced by a sword,
pieces of its slashed flesh floating in the liquid.

Back to a medium shot which shows the olive swimming inside a

Martini glass... Which Elisabeth brings to her lips... and
empties in one gulp... before putting the empty glass down...
next to the two others on the bar counter in front of her.

In a wide shot we discover that she is sitting at a bar, a

cosy speak-easy type cocktail lounge.

The mood is dark and classy, blanketed with black-velvet

surfaces and jazz music.

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 18 -

 ...sc 13

She glances around, looking at the different couples hidden

in the alcoves on dark couches...

It’s late.

She’s alone.

She signals the barman to serve her another drink.

14A INT. APARTMENT / LIVING ROOM - NIGHT 14A

THE BIG FRAMED PHOTO OF ELISABETH SMILING in the living room

plunged in darkness.

The sound of somebody throwing up.

On the table, the roses are now wilted, asphyxiated in their

plastic prison.

14B INT. BATHROOM - NIGHT 14B

From the dark long corridor, we can see Elisabeth kneeling

over the toilet.

She stands up and goes to the sink. Splashes water on her

face, then carelessly wipes it with a towel making her makeup
run; she stares for a moment at her reflection in the mirror.

The black lines of mascara running down her cheeks make her
look even more like a sad clown.

14C INT. LIVING ROOM - NIGHT 14C

Elisabeth stands in front of the big picture window. She

stays there looking at the city lights.

The lights continue to shine. The world continues to spin.

Without her.

Her eyes dart back and forth between different objects and
keepsakes lined up on the edge of the window sill. An Oscar
has pride of place among the other statues and awards, framed
photos and souvenirs where we see her smiling surrounded by
various people.

She picks up a snow globe with a small figurine version of

herself inside. The tiny figurine stands on a small pink
star, a replica of the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

She shakes the globe: golden confetti floats around inside

the liquid, creating a magical golden rain around Elisabeth's
figurine replica.

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 19 -

 ...sc 14C

A suspended moment on the sparkling confetti lingering

weightlessly...

All of a sudden, Elisabeth turns around and hurls the globe

with all her strength against the wall: BAM!!! The globe
smashes and shatters into pieces against the framed poster,
splattering everything in the process.

The smiling face on the poster is now dribbling the slimy,

transparent liquid; the glass is cracked right over one of
her eyes, as if she had gotten punched in the face.

Elisabeth grabs the wilted flowers from the table, heads to

the kitchen and...

14D INT. KITCHEN - NIGHT 14D

... throws them in the trash can.

BLACK

A long silent beat.

CLACK - LOW ANGLE SHOT FROM INSIDE THE TRASH CAN WHICH OPENS
AGAIN- revealing Elisabeth’s face framed by the black can.

She leans over, sticks her hand inside the black bucket...

... and retrieves the USB stick, covered in sticky residue.

15A INT. BEDROOM. NIGHT 15A

Elisabeth sits on the side of her bed on the phone, lit only
by the small bedside lamp whose soft glow lights her face.

The sound of the line ringing. Slow. Regular. The line

crackles slightly.

After numerous rings, someone finally picks up the phone.

A moment of silence.

Then a masculine voice, deep and cavernous:

Yes?

The sound of heavy breathing on the other end of the line.

Elisabeth hesitates, then finally jumps in:

ELISABETH
I’d like to... order?

A beat. Then the deep, terse, deadpan voice:

Address?

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 20 -

 ...sc 15A

ELISABETH (CONT’D)
1057 North Beverly Drive.

Please note: 35 North Byron Alley.(TBD)

Caught unprepared, she grabs a pen and scribbles the address

on the palm of her hand.

The line goes dead.

Elisabeth remains for a moment without moving on her bed.

BLACK

15B INT. BEDROOM / CORRIDOR - DAY 15B

A steady whirring sound that grows louder and louder...

Bits of light appear and disappear... Elisabeth opens her

eyes with a start.

She realizes that she fell asleep on her bed still dressed.
She’s dazzled by the sunlight that floods her bedroom.

She sits up and swings her legs over the side of the bed...
ouch... a major hangover.

She walks down the hallway dragging her feet where A CLEANING
LADY IN HER FIFTIES is running the vacuum.

ELISABETH
Hello Maria.

MARIA
Hello Ma’am.

16 INT. SHOWER. DAY 16

HISSSSSSSSSSSS TOP SHOT OF THE POWERFUL JET OF WATER spraying

Elisabeth's head and back, flattening her hair, water
streaming down her numb body. She looks up and the jet slowly
washes away the traces of makeup on her face.

CUT TO:

17 INT. KITCHEN / LIVING ROOM - DAY 17

SISSSSSSSSS - AN EFFERVESCENT ASPIRIN TABLET drops into a

glass of water.

Elisabeth sits at the kitchen table, wearing a white terry

cloth bathrobe.

The bubbles rise to the surface of the glass.

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 21 -

 ...sc 17

In the background in the living room, we see Maria vacuuming

slowly, crossing the frame in a straight line from left to
right.... then from right to left... like a small foosball
figurine moving straight in its axis.

Elisabeth picks up the newspaper that has been dropped on the

table with the mail, and quickly leafs through it.

She can’t help but take a quick look at the classified ads...
where she discovers the casting call to replace her.

A moment to regroup... then she throws the paper into the

wastepaper basket and sifts through the rest of her mail -
advertising fliers, a few bills... and stops on a white
envelope with her address written by hand. The envelope is
sealed with an “S” on the back. No stamp, no postmark, as if
someone had dropped it off there.

Elisabeth opens the envelope, and finds enclosed a white

plastic card that is simply marked: 503.

She looks at the back of the card: nothing.

She stares at the card for a moment... then at the palm of

her hand with the address almost entirely erased by her
shower.

In the background, the excruciatingly insistent noise of the

vacuum cleaner

18A EXT. STREET (ELISABETH AREA). DAY 18A

We follow Elisabeth from behind with a hand-held camera as

she walks down the street.

Her mustard yellow coat is a spot of color that keeps us

riveted to her and her gait.

18B EXT. STREET (LESS NICE STREET). DAY 18B

Still following Elisabeth from behind as she walks (her

surroundings are a little less pleasant)

19A EXT. AVENUE / DEPOSIT BUILDING (SKID ROW). DAY 19A

Elisabeth arrives at the given address: on the avenue, a

small seedy metal shutter door without any signs or
nameplates.

Just a small magnetic card reader on the side of the door.

She waves her card and the shutter starts to rise...then gets
stuck, halfway open. She waves her card at it again but the
shutter remains half shut. She looks around... before
crouching down to pass under the shutter...

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 22 -

 ...sc 19B

19B INT. DEPOSIT / LONG NARROW CORRIDOR - DAY 19B

She’s now in a long narrow decrepit hallway. On the other

side of the shutter door, a notification flyer from a pest
control company.

Nice...

She goes down the long corridor..., which leads to...

19C INT. DEPOSIT / LOBBY 19C

...a small, windowless lobby, harshly lit with neon lights,

with letter boxes, like post office boxes, on the wall.

Elisabeth scans the letter boxes... One at the bottom is

marked 207... and then another box, higher up, is marked 503.

She waves her card to unlock her letter box. BEEP.

CUT TO:

20 INT. APARTMENT / LIVING ROOM - END OF THE DAY 20

A CARDBOARD BOX MARKED 503 sits on the coffee table.

Everything is now tidy and silent in the apartment.

Elisabeth sits on the couch, looking at the parcel.

She finally opens the box and starts taking out what she
finds inside. She lays everything out on the table.

A small yellow fluorescent vial upon which is written:

ACTIVATOR
(single use/discard after use)

A plastic kit containing elements that look like needles and

syringes with the label:

STABILIZER
other self

Something which would appear to look like a sewing kit:

surgical scissors. Compresses. Surgical thread. Disinfectant.

A transparent perfusion pipe with a label marked SWITCH.

And two transparent perfusion bags filled with a thick yellow

liquid upon which are written:

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 23 -

 ...sc 20

FOOD FOOD

MATRIX OTHER SELF

----------- 7 ----------- 7

----------- 6 ----------- 6

----------- 5 ----------- 5

----------- 4 ----------- 4

----------- 3 ----------- 3

----------- 2 ----------- 2

----------- 1 ----------- 1

---SWITCH--- ---SWITCH---

At the bottom of the box, a small white note card with

instructions and icons:

«YOU ACTIVATE» - only once (intravenous)

«YOU STABILIZE» - everyday (intramuscular)

«YOU SWITCH» - every 7 days without exception. She turns the

card over and reads the inscription on it:

REMEMBER YOU ARE ONE

A moment on the equipment spread out on the coffee table.

21A INT. BATHROOM - NIGHT 21A

Elisabeth, naked, faces her bathroom mirror.

She looks at the sight the mirror reflects back at her

without clothing and makeup.

Her breasts. Her belly. Her face.

She slides her hand over her beauty mark with its singular
shape next to her belly button.

She's still a very beautiful woman but doesn't seem happy by

what she sees. We can sense a hidden anguish. Generalized.
Immense.

Basically she's just aging... and everything and everyone

around her leads her to believe it is the end of the world.
The end of her world.

As she looks at her reflection in the mirror, we hear the

man’s deep resonating voice:

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 24 -

 ...sc 21A

You are the matrix.

On the side of the sink, the equipment is carefully placed

upon a small silver tray.

Everything comes from YOU.

And everything IS YOU.

She picks up the syringe and fills it with the fluorescent

yellow liquid from the small ACTIVATOR vial.

This is simply... a better version of yourself.

She looks at herself in the mirror again.

Then she takes the tourniquet strap provided with her kit.

She makes a tourniquet on her arm, which she tightens with

her teeth.

She disinfects her arm with a cotton pad soaked in alcohol.

She taps her forearm to find a vein.

We can sense she's nervous. She ends up taking a deep breath,

sinks the needle into the vein and slowly empties the
contents of the syringe.

She waits for a few moments, tensed.

Nothing happens.

A beat. She breathes in deeply.

Still nothing.

She sighs... This is bullshi-

She turns away from the mirror and everything suddenly starts
spinning. She falls...
21B BAM! head first against the floor tiles. 21B

She's folded in two on the floor, violent abdominal pains

shooting straight through her stomach. The pain is
excruciating.

Her skin seems to come alive all of a sudden. As if something

were growing and moving underneath it.

She starts to sweat. Her eyes fill with sheer terror.

The pain is now unbearable.

The growth under her skin.

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 25 -

 ...sc 21A

Sounds grow muffled. As if she were hearing inside of

herself. There is something moving... evolving...

Extreme close up of her pupil dilating...

...Deforming...

...DIVIDING ITSELF INTO TWO inside her iris...

She curls up into a foetal position under the unbearable

pain.

Her eye rolls upwards and for a moment we fleetingly see... A

SECOND EYE INSIDE THE CAVITY before it disappears behind the
ocular globe...

On her back, her skin deforms itself and then starts rippling
like waves, as if something strange were moving inside of
her.

The skin covering her spine starts to crack... and split

open. Under the opening skin... we see a SECOND SPINE...

As if ANOTHER BODY were locked up inside her own body.

The skin parts in two and lets THE SECOND BODY APPEAR.

The sound is muffled, her pupil dilates like a black hole, a

ringing noise creeps up in her ears, growing more and more
deafening...

We enter her pupil, a tunnel of fluorescent light moving at

full speed towards a small white spot which grows bigger and
bigger with AMAZING SPEED...

BLACK

21C Silence. 21C

A long beat.

Very long beat.

Of silence.

And darkness.

And suddenly.

The subliminal shot of a heart on fire, blazing.

Boom BOOM... Boom BOOM... Boom BOOM...

The image returns, slowly but surely.

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 26 -

 ...sc 21A

Flickering like the batting of eyelids...

Slowly coming back to life...

At first we only see white tiles.

We soon realize that this is Elisabeth's POV, waking up on

the bathroom floor. Her vision is blurry, she is trying to
focus...

She turns to the other side and sees...

Elisabeth... lying on her back, unconscious on the white

tiles.

... ?

If Elisabeth is lying down on the ground in front of her...

Who is she??

Her POV: She lifts up her hand into her field of vision. The
nerve network is still being constructed making its blue
veins bulge slightly. The edges of her fingernails perspire a
mixture of fluid and blood.

She heads towards the sink and faces the steamed up mirror.
She attempts to focus. She wipes the mirror with her hand to
take the condensation away and discovers... A MAGNIFICENT
YOUNG WOMAN IN HER TWENTIES... perfectly formed... incredibly
beautiful... and young.

Her features are different from Elisabeth’s, but there is a

distant family resemblance.

She looks completely dazed.

All the sounds are muffled as if she were in cotton wool. As

if she can hear the inside of her body.

She approaches the mirror to look at her eye. She pulls down
her lower eyelid: inside of her iris, traces of yellow
fluorescent pigment are resorbing and forming a few small,
irregular yellow stains.

She slides her hand over her face, her hard nipples, filled
with life... Super hard pointy nipples like when she was
twenty.

She notices that her singular beauty mark is now on her right
breast, while her tummy is unblemished.

She turns to one side, exaggerates the curve of her back upon
which her long hair cascades down... like a Venus emerging
from the water... a creature of almost supernatural beauty.

She looks down... and sees her old self lying on the floor.

The matrix.

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 27 -

 ...sc 21A

She’s lying still, her eyes frozen, staring into emptiness...

...in a puddle of fluid and blood.

The matrix’s back along her spine shows the traces of a slot-
like opening, already half closed.

As if the shock of this vision were too violent for her,

everything spins and she throws up a yellow, fluorescent
liquid on the white tiled floor.

She then tries to get ahold of herself... the matrix is pale

and can’t seem to breathe anymore.
21D She opens up the sewing kit and forces herself to get it 21D
together. She starts sewing up the slit in Elisabeth's back.

The needle and thread start suturing the huge wound along her
spine...

Once the suturing is finished, she picks up the perfusion bag

upon which is written:"FOOD/MATRIX" and sticks the
intravenous needle into Elisabeth's arm.

A small bubble floats up through the perfusion pipe...

After a beat... the matrix starts breathing again and the

thick yellow liquid begins to empty very slowly along the
gradation of the plastic bag which indicates

FOOD

MATRIX

----------- 7

----------- 6

----------- 5

----------- 4

----------- 3

----------- 2

----------- 1

---SWITCH---

She sits down on the edge of the bathtub. She's shaking.

Gathering her thoughts.

The camera tracks back slowly and reveals them side by side
for the first time together.

The MATRIX is spread out on the tiled floor.

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 28 -

 ...sc 21A

SHE, the "new she," is sitting on the side of the bathtub.

Now they will have to share...

She stays silent and immobile for a moment.

22 INT. KITCHEN - NIGHT 22

NewElisabeth at the kitchen table in her bathrobe.

We see her sitting from behind, perfectly still.

Then we hear her start to make guttural sounds, which run up

and down the scale: bass / treble / bass hhh…hel…
Hiiii…heee…llo…oooo… which trigger a coughing fit.

She spits something into a napkin: fluorescent yellow mucus.

She tries again, this time her voice is clearer:

Hello...hello...hello

23 OMITTED 23

24 INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT 24

TOP SHOT on NewElisabeth lying in the large bed, staring at

the ceiling.

A million things are spinning inside her head.

She finally closes her eyes.

After a few moments, we see her turning over.

And over again.

After a while, she turns the light on and gets out of bed.

CUT TO:

25 INT. BATHROOM - NIGHT 25

The bathroom light switches back on, revealing the matrix in

stasis on the floor, who hasn't moved an inch.

NewElisabeth looks at her for a moment. She then kneels and

tilts her very carefully to lay her on her back.

She takes a terry towel which she folds in four and gently
places underneath the matrix’s head.

She readjusts her position to make her comfortable. Gently

puts her hair back in place and brings her ear close to her
face to check her breathing.

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 29 -

 ...sc 25

Everything is fine. After a beat looking down at her... she

turns off the light again.

BLACK

FADE IN:

26 INT/EXT. BEDROOM WINDOW / PALM TREE - DAY 26

A SHINY-LEAVED PALM TREE standing out against the BLUE SKY.

27 INT. TOP SHOT SHOWER. DAY 27

HISSSSSSSSSSSSS - THE POWERFUL JET OF WATER sprays down the

small of NewElisabeth’s back, flattening her long blond hair.
She runs her hands along her waist ... her belly ... her
thighs ... as if to appreciate her new shapes and forms.

28A INT. BATHROOM. DAY 28A

POV FLOOR LEVEL - naked feet come out of the shower and walk
past her former body still in stasis on the bathroom floor; a
few drops of water land on the matrix.

She wraps her bathrobe around her and stands in front of the
mirror. Facing the mirror, her voice is now perfectly clear
and controlled:

NEW-ELISABETH
...HELLO.

Strange feeling discovering her new voice.

She starts drying her hair off with a towel. A slight

tinnitus starts buzzing in her ears.

Ping.

A drop of blood has just fallen onto the white sink.

NewElisabeth brings her hand to her nose and looks at the end
of her index finger, which is blood red.

She opens the little door to the cabinet over the sink and
takes out the kit marked:

STABILIZER
Other self

The little card reads:

you stabilise

EVERY DAY

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 30 -

 ...sc 28A

She takes out of the kit: a long puncture needle... and a

sort of plastic tube containing individual, but interlocking,
mini-vials (clipped on the inside) numbered 1 to 7, making up
the whole of a compartmentalized syringe.

She looks at the instruction card... her eyebrows shoot up

when she sees the diagrams, a bit uneasy...

Ping, ping, ping, the drops of blood fall more quickly and
persistently forcing her to react.

She kneels down next to the matrix and gently turns her onto
her side.

She approaches the oversized needle... and starts lightly

jabbing the sutured skin... it resists... she pushes with a
bit more strength... it still resists... she pushes again
and... Swik!... it slides right in.

Extremely concentrated while trying to ignore the piercing

tinnitus that never stops, her eyes watch the long puncture
needle that progressively sinks into the spinal column.

The needle all the way in, she clips on the series of
compartmentalized vials (forming a barrel) and pulls lightly
on the plunger... progressively draining a transparent liquid
and filling the individual vials.

Once all the vials are filled, she carefully removes the
needle, unclips the first vial marked DAY 1 and Swik! Gives
herself an intramuscular injection in the thigh.

HER PUPIL DILATES - A beat while her body diffuses the

fluid.... the tinnitus diminishes in intensity... and finally
disappears.

The bleeding has stopped. Everything’s ok.

She breathes out to calm herself

But she’s distracted by a noise...

She strains her ears... is it the... sound... of...

A KEY IN THE LOCK??!!

After a suspended moment where everything freezes, her mind

processing the information...
28B ...she rushes down the hallway towards the opening door and 28B
throws all her weight against it, violently slamming it back
shut on the person who was trying to get in. She double locks
the door. CLICK- CLACK.

After a beat to collect her wits, she looks through the

peephole and discovers: MARIA, her bag toppled over on the
floor, not understanding what has just happened...

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 31 -

 ...sc 28A

NewElisabeth’s thoughts are racing. NewElisabeth rummages

through her coat pocket, takes out her phone and writes a
text message.
28C She looks through the peephole. Ping. Maria takes out her 28C
cell phone and reads the message... frowns, looks surprised,
but finally picks up her things and leaves.

Relieved, NewElisabeth lets go of the peephole cover.

SHLICK...

28D INT. FRIDGE - DAY 28D

The fridge door opens. NewElisabeth puts in the tube

containing the six remaining doses of Stabilizer.

29 INT. LIVING ROOM - DAY 29

NewElisabeth, in panties and t-shirt, faces the picture

window overlooking the city.

She turns around and looks at the big framed photo of

Elisabeth hanging on the wall, frozen in her blue leotard and
imperturbable smile.

She goes to stand in the middle of the room.

A beat standing completely still.

Then, perfectly straight on her central axis, she starts

sliding her two legs apart... her feet slowly sliding in
opposite directions on the hardwood floor... even more, until
she is in a full split with what seems to be disconcerting
ease.

Her knee no longer troubles her in the least.

She then turns into a straddle split position and leans her
torso forward, easily reaching the floor with her nose, arms
extended.

LOW ANGLE SHOT of the poster of Elisabeth on the wall... soon

to be blocked out by NewElisabeth’s upper body reappearing in
the frame while she straightens back up.

She leans her torso to one side, making Elisabeth’s smiling

face reappear behind her... then returns to her central axis,
masking Elisabeth’s face again, before leaning over to the
other side... like a metronome covering and uncovering
Elisabeth’s image to the rhythm of her stretching routine.

A beat. And the her eyes fall upon the wastepaper basket with
the newspaper thrown by Elisabeth before.

30 OMITTED 30

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 32 -

 ...sc 31

31 EXT. STREET (ELISABETH AREA) - DAY 31

We follow NewElisabeth from behind, walking in the street.

Her mustard yellow coat pulled tightly around her waist, but
the coat is now too big for her new, thinner and slender
frame, giving her a shapeless silhouette.

Her step is unsteady, very much aware of all the surrounding

sensory stimuli. The air on her skin. The wind in her hair.
The sound of her steps on the pavement.

Everything seems sharper. Heightened.

CUT TO:

32 I/E. SHOP WINDOW / STREET - DAY 32

POV FROM INSIDE A STORE - NewElisabeth is standing in front

of a shop window and looking at something off screen.

We track back to gradually reveal ...

... THE PERFECT ASS OF A PLASTIC MANNEQUIN, molded in a

FLASHY PINK leotard and frozen in a sensual hip sway position
with its hand on its hip.

A moment on the mannequin’s perfect ass in the foreground...

then on NewElisabeth in the background who looks at her
plastic counterpart for a long moment... before disappearing
from the screen as she enters the shop.

33 EXT. STREET (SHOP EXIT) - DAY 33

We follow NewElisabeth again from behind as she walks down

the street, now wearing a pink and white varsity jacket, a
pleated miniskirt and white sneakers. A sports bag over her
shoulder.

Her long hair undulates in rhythm with her steps. Her walk is
now more assured, swaying.

And with this outfit, which highlights her new silhouette,

heads start to turn as she walks by...

34A EXT. STUDIO LOT - DAY 34A

Establishing shot.

34B OMITTED 34B

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 33 -

 ...sc 35

35 INT. DANCE STUDIO / CASTING ROOM - DAY 35

The slender legs of a girl in the foreground through which we

see a small desk in the background, where the CASTING
DIRECTOR and his ASSISTANT are sitting next to a small camera
on a tripod.

CASTING DIRECTOR
We’ll let you know by next week.

GIRL
Thank you so much... I’m just DYING
to get the part...

The legs walk off screen.

A moment of silence - wide shot. The two men behind their

desk like two frozen points.

ASSISTANT CASTING DIRECTOR

Great dancer.

A beat.

CASTING DIRECTOR
Too bad her boobs aren’t in the
middle of her face instead of that
nose.

A beat. Then the other guy gives a grunt of approval.

ASSISTANT CASTING DIRECTOR

NEXT!

Still focused on them, we hear the door that opens and

closes, footsteps...

The two men look up:

A beat where their faces are frozen, as if something took

their breath away... and the camera slowly pulls back to
reveal...

AN ASS, frozen in the same sexy sway, hand on her hip and
wearing the same FLASHY PINK LEOTARD as the mannequin in the
store window... except this time it’s a human ass.

NewElisabeth’s perfectly formed ass.

CASTING DIRECTOR
Looks like everything sure is in
the right place this time...

ASSISTANT CASTING DIRECTOR

Please say your
name/age/measurements

NewElisabeth is caught by surprise. Her mind goes blank.

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 34 -

 ...sc 35

ASSISTANT CASTING DIRECTOR (CONT’D)

(a little louder)
Name??

The camera travels up her long legs...

NEW-ELISABETH (O.S.)
I’m...

...spirals around her slender waist and keeps traveling along

the arch of her back...

CLOSE-UP ON THE ROUND, BLACK LENS OF THE SMALL DV CAMERA that

is staring right at her like a compound eye...

NEW-ELISABETH (O.S.) (CONT’D)

I’m...

(The little red dot flashes...)

...and the camera arrives on her face, her eyes sparkling as

she looks straight into the camera and says:

36 SUE 36

BACK TO THE DV IMAGE THAT FREEZES PAUSED ON SUE’S FACE

Something instantly happens on screen.

She has an incredible presence.

ZZZZZZZZZZ THE HANDICAM IMAGE REWINDS and PLAYS again in a

tighter shot on her magnetic face that pierces the screen.

SUE
I’m... SUE.

ZZZZZZZZZZ THE IMAGE REWINDS AGAIN AND GOES EVEN MORE TIGHT
ON HER SPARKLING EYES.

SUE (CONT’D)
...SUE.

ZZZZZZZZZZZ THE IMAGE REWINDS AND PLAYS EVEN CLOSER ON HER

LUSCIOUS, CURVED LIPS.

WHICH REPEAT - WITHOUT ANY SOUND THIS TIME

SUE (MUTE) (CONT’D)

...SUE...SUE...SUE...

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 35 -

 ...sc 37

37 INT. HARVEY’S OFFICE - DAY 37

The shot widens and we discover that we are now in a large

office where the CLOSE-UP IMAGE OF SUE’S LIPS is multiplied
on a wall of screens.

Sue is standing in the middle of the room while we hear a

thundering voice from afar:

HARVEY (O.S.)
WHERE IS SHE ??... WHERE IS SHE ??!

Harvey charges into the room, followed by THREE YOUNG MEN IN

SUITS, and stops dead in his tracks... his eyes bright...
ecstatic as if in front of a mystical revelation:

HARVEY (CONT’D)
WHAT...

He takes her hand and makes her spin slowly like a small
figurine.

HARVEY (CONT’D)
...A GORGEOUS...

Makes her sit facing his desk.

HARVEY (CONT’D)
...LITTLE ANGEL.

He flops into his huge leather armchair behind his desk.

HARVEY (CONT’D)
Why on earth did nobody tell me
earlier about your existence? A lot
of people are going to get fired
for that believe me...

Sue, laughing flirtatiously... cheerfully soaks up the

compliments, savoring all this new flattering attention
surrounding her.

Harvey lights a cigarette. EXTREME CLOSE-UP on the flame

which sets the tobacco ablaze like a furnace.

HARVEY (CONT’D)
I’ll be brief.

He snaps his Zippo lighter shut - CLING!

HARVEY (CONT’D)
Primo: you’re hired.

A puff of smoke exhaled from his mouth.

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 36 -

 ...sc 37

HARVEY (CONT’D)
Segundo: we want something in your
image: BEAUTIFUL and HAPPY. People
want to be happy.

The embers of his cigarette light up again.

HARVEY (CONT’D)
Tertio : We’re airing in two weeks.
So let’s get to work. I’ll let you
organize everything else with my
assistant....
(he snaps his fingers
several times, as if
trying to remember her
name)
...

A voice echoes off screen.

FEMALE VOICE (O.S.)

Isabella.

The camera pans quickly towards ISABELLA (25/30) who is

totally silent...then quickly pans back towards Harvey

HARVEY
(frowning, as if suddenly
disturbed)
...?......? Huh? I don’t have time
for that! Let’s make it Cindy. It’s
shorter. Better. I’ll let you
organize everything else with
Cindy.

As he’s about to get up, Sue holds him back with a gesture.

SUE
Oh... before you go...

HARVEY
Yes princess?

SUE
I just have to mention... a small
scheduling issue.

Harvey's eyes change slightly...

SUE (CONT’D)
I will need to be out of town every
other week...
(a beat)
...to take care of my mother who’s
very sick.

Harvey looks at her fixedly:

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 37 -

 ...sc 37

HARVEY
Listen to me very carefully ‘cause
I don’t think you’ve heard me.

He comes over right next to her face, speaking very slowly:

HARVEY (CONT’D)
I WANT YOU for this show. So we’ll
organize around whatever mother,
brother, fucking sick dog or rabbit
you need to take care of.

He stands and stares at her, his eyes sparkling.

HARVEY (CONT’D)
Gorgeous and with a pure heart.
People are gonna LOVE that!

He crushes his cigarette out in the big crystal ashtray.

HISSSSSSS

MONTAGE SEQUENCE BEGINS to RUNAROUND SUE by Dion blasting at

top volume:

38 EXT. STREET (FULL GLAM & POP) - DAY 38

SUE FROM BEHIND WALKING DOWN THE STREET - there is a full

assurance in her swaying gait, she exudes a newfound
confidence. Heads turn outright as she passes by.

39A INT. FRIDGE/KITCHEN - DAY 39A

VIEW FROM INSIDE THE FRIDGE - the door opens revealing the
puncture syringe and five vials - Sue’s hand grabs it.

39B INT. BATHROOM 39B

SUE’S HANDS UNCLIP A NEW VIAL from the syringe barrel and
SWIK! She gives herself an intramuscular injection in the
thigh.

CLACK the empty vial falls into the trash can where there are
now 4 other empty vials.

40 INT. LIVING ROOM 40

SUE’S HAND SIGNING “Elisabeth” on a note where we can read:

Had to go abroad unexpectedly... this will cover the rest of
the year... thank you for everything...”. Sitting at the
kitchen table, Sue puts the note and cash in an envelope on
which she writes: MARIA

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 38 -

 ...sc 41A

41A INT. WALK-IN CLOSET - DAY 41A

POV FROM INSIDE A WALK-IN CLOSET/SHLACK! ELISABETH’S WHOLE

WARDROBE IS PUSHED TO EITHER SIDE OF THE CLOSET IN ONE SHARP
GESTURE, revealing Sue in the middle, who hangs up her new,
brightly colored clothing.

41B INT. BEDROOM. DAY 41B

SUE’S MANICURED HAND unwraps a new phone. She chooses LOUIS

PRIMA - When you’re smiling - for the ringtone, and puts the
PINK telephone down next to Elisabeth’s GOLD phone.

42 INT. APARTMENT CORRIDOR / LANDING. DAY 42

POV THROUGH THE PEEPHOLE looking out the front door: MARIA
reads the note and looks at the cash in the envelope.
SUE’S MANICURED FINGER lets the peephole cover fall back
down. SHLICK.

43 INT. BEDROOM. DAY 43

A BEDSHEET MADE OF POWDER PINK SATIN, flies above the bed,

replacing the previous white cotton sheet. The shimmering
fabric slowly falls back down towards the camera as Sue lets
herself fall back against the powder pink satin which looks
like the inside of a jewelry box.

TOP SHOT which tracks up Sue’s feet... legs... belly... in

OVERLAY THE GRADATIONS MARKED ON THE I.V BAG, which is slowly
emptying... while the music progressively fades until it is
no longer heard.

CUT TO:

44 INT. LIVING ROOM - NIGHT 44

An ORANGE AND GOLDEN DRAGON BREATHES OUT a gigantic flame.

The frame widens and we discover it’s an embroidery on the

back of a silk dressing gown worn by Sue; we see her from
behind, facing the picture window looking at the city’s
lights.

In the middle of the room plunged in darkness, the dragon

seems to be glowing as if symbolizing her newfound strength
and soaring ascent.

A slight tinnitus starts buzzing in her ears...

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 39 -

 ...sc 45

45 INT. BATHROOM - EVENING 45

On the floor, the last drops of liquid are sucked from the
matrix’s perfusion bag.

On the bathroom cabinet shelf, the syringe’s

compartmentalized barrel is now empty, the seven vials have
been used.

Sue looks at herself in the mirror.

It’s time...

She takes the pipe marked SWITCH and looks at the card that
reads:

YOU SWITCH

every seven day no matter what

She takes off her bathrobe and kneels next to Elisabeth.

She looks at her for a while... She unclips the empty IV bag
from the intravenous tubing... clips on the end of the small
pipe instead... and sticks the needle at the other end of the
pipe into her own arm.

She’s a little nervous...

She waits... lightly twists and turns the needle inside her
arm... After a short moment, blood starts to run through the
transparent nozzle on one side, and then the other; blood
starts to circulate between the two bodies.

Little by little, her vision blurs. As if life were leaving

her body. As if she could feel the cold void of emptiness
invade and overwhelm her. As if the world were losing its
colors. And life its very spark.

All of a sudden, everything starts to distort HORRIBLY, her

vision blurs, a HIGH-PITCHED buzzing noise blasts her
eardrums and...

SMACK! THE TWO BLU TACK BALLS SLAMMED ONE AGAINST THE OTHER

WHAM! She collapses head first.

BLACK

46 MOTORCYCLE IMAGERY 46

A beat of silence over a black screen.

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 40 -

 ...sc 46

Then THE BLACK STARTS SHAKING, BECOMING A DIRTY GRAINY AND

UNSTABLE IMAGE - where a tiny dot starts quivering in the far
background at the center of the screen while a very weak beat
starts echoing: Ba boom……ba boom……ba boom…

The small dot grows bigger and bigger... until it takes the
shape of a ghostly motorcycle, like a photographic negative,
which hurtles straight towards the camera lens... the only
audible sound is the heartbeat, growing louder... Ba boom...
ba boom... ba boom... the motorcycle hurtles DIRECTLY AT THE
CAMERA at full speed BaBoommBaBoom AND IS ON THE
VERGE OF EXPLODING AGAINST THE SCREE...

47 INT. BATHROOM - NIGHT 47

... and AHAAAAAAAAA! ELISABETH WAKES UP with a start, in her

old body, lying on the bathroom floor!

She starts coughing uncontrollably. Like a fish straight out

of the water whose gills have difficulty functioning.

Sue’s lifeless body has collapsed right on top of her, which

prevents Elisabeth from breathing. She tries several times
before finally being able to make her roll over. Elisabeth
stays in place for a moment, trying to catch her breath.

She removes the small pipe from her arm and gets up with
difficulty.

She staggers abruptly as if her muscles were weakened. She

regains her balance at the very last moment and leans against
the sink.

She looks at her reflection in the mirror. She looks like a

trainwreck. Her mouth is sticky and dry. Her eyelashes are
stuck together. She rubs her painful knee and just stands
there for a moment, head hanging down.

She twists and turns to look at the scar on her back. The
stitches outline a long gash going down her spinal column
from her neck all the way to her tailbone.

She puts on her bathrobe. Tightens the belt around her waist.

She's freezing. As if she were awakening from a heroin shot.

She looks down at Sue's body on the floor.

So young.

So perfect.

It's the first time that she sees her – that she sees
HERSELF... from the outside.

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 41 -

 ...sc 47

She takes the second IV bag (FOOD / OTHER SELF) from the
small bathroom cabinet and sticks it into Sue’s arm.

She heads out towards the corridor.

CUT TO:

48 INT. KITCHEN - NIGHT 48

SIZZZZZZZZZZZZ - TWO raw eggs plopped into a frying pan.

Elisabeth makes something to eat. She’s super hungry.

The hot oil in the pan makes a deafening sound.

The two egg yolks sizzling next to one another feel like a
strange reminder.

The silent apartment is plunged in darkness.

FROM THE LONG DARK HALLWAY with the doorframe at the very end
leading to the bathroom - we see Sue’s body lying inertly on
the tile floor.

IN THE KITCHEN - Elisabeth eats avidly as if to restore an

energy balance.

Long silence. Only the small humming noise from the fridge.

In comparison to the energy she had before when she was Sue,
everything now seems very silent and surrounded by a sluggish
cloud.

BLACK

FADE IN:

49 INT. LIVING ROOM - DAY 49

THE STILL LIVING ROOM BATHED IN SUNLIGHT, with the big poster
of Elisabeth in her blue leotard and imperturbable smile.

50 INT. SHOWER - DAY 50

HISSSSSSSSSSSSS THE POWERFUL JET OF WATER STREAMING DOWN THE

LARGE STITCHES like thorns along Elisabeth’s spinal column.

51 INT. KITCHEN - DAY 51

Elisabeth in her bathrobe at the kitchen table sifts through

the mail where she finds a new white envelope.

She opens it and takes out a big white note card on which is
written:

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 42 -

 ...sc 51

We hope you are enjoying your experience with

THE SUBSTANCE
Your two week refill kit has been delivered
to your deposit box

CUT TO:

52 INT. BATHROOM - DAY 52

Facing the bathroom mirror, Elisabeth twists and turns to

look at the stitches on her back:

The scar tissue has healed. She picks up the surgical pliers
and starts to extract the sutures (slightly painful and
uncomfortable). She twists with difficulty and tries to grab
the stitches one by one.

In the white sink, the black thread looks like spider legs.
She gathers it all, and throws the threads in the trash can.

She puts scarring cream on the long pink scar.

A phone starts ringing. We follow Elisabeth as she walks

towards the bedroom.

53 INT. BEDROOM - DAY 53

A short beat as she sees the name of the person calling on

the phone: HARVEY. She sits down on the bed and picks up the
phone taking on a confident voice.

ELISABETH
Hel...

HARVEY (V.O.)
I need you to come back.

Elisabeth straightens slightly all of a sudden. A fleeting

glow appears in her eyes.

HARVEY (V.O.)
To empty your office. Whenever you
want, no rush. This afternoon?
(without waiting for her
to answer)
Great, See you then!

He hangs up.

A beat on Elisabeth who remains seated on the bed, the big,

pink scar covering her back.

54 OMITTED 54

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 43 -

 ...sc 55

55 EXT. STREET (ELISABETH AREA) - DAY 55

Clack clack clack The sound of heels clicking on the

pavement.

We follow Elisabeth from behind as she walks, wearing her

mustard yellow coat.

She pulls up her coat collar several times to make sure the
scar isn’t visible.

Everything seems more aggressive. The noise of the cars

higher pitched. People are even more in a hurry.

No one turns around as she walks by.

Lost in her thoughts.

56A EXT. STUDIO LOT - DAY 56A

Establishing shot.

56B OMITTED 56B

57 INT. STUDIO / BACKSTAGE CORRIDOR - DAY 57

Close up on Elisabeth staring fixedly at something off

screen.

From the reverse angle we see it’s the long backstage.

All her photos which once hung like trophies have since been
taken down.

A beat on the long corridor, which now seems stark naked.

Harvey appears at the other end, striding towards her,

carrying a big cardboard box in his hands.

HARVEY
Aaaaahh, there's she is!!! Where
have you been??! We wanted to all
have a drink for your departure -
something big to mark the occasion.

He dumps the box into her arms.

HARVEY (CONT’D)
Anyway, I’ve gathered everything
for you, to save time. And we all
chipped in...
(proudly taking a wrapped
gift out of the box)
...we bought you just a little
something to keep you busy...
(MORE)

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 44 -

 ...sc 57
HARVEY (CONT’D)
You’ll open it at home. It’s
French. My wife swears by it!
(looking at his watch)
Oops! I’ve got to run! But come and
visit whenever you like! We’ll
always be happy to see you!

His excess of enthusiasm stresses the fact that he wants to

get rid of her as soon as possible.

And before she even has time to answer, he has already left
and disappeared down the hallway.

Elisabeth finds herself standing silently alone on the grey

rug that runs down the middle of the empty corridor.

Glug glug glug...

The water fountain right behind her gurgles... as if to

stress how pathetic the whole situation really is...

58A EXT. STREET (STUDIO AREA) - DAY 58A

Elisabeth walking with a slightly more stressed step.

58B EXT. STREET (LESS NICE STREET) - DAY 58B

Elisabeth, still walking, her surroundings are a lot less

pleasant.

58C OMITTED 58C

58D INT. DEPOSIT CORRIDOR - DAY 58D

Elisabeth goes down the long narrow corridor

59 INT. DEPOSIT LOBBY - DAY 59

She waves her card over box 503, BEEP.

60 INT. BATHROOM - DAY 60

Sue’s figure lying still on the tile in the darkness.

After a moment, Elisabeth walks into the bathroom and

switches on the light.

She steps over Sue and puts a new small cardboard box on the
sink. She opens it to find: two new IV bags and seven new
empty vials clipped together.

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 45 -

 ...sc 60

She puts them away in the bathroom cabinet and closes the
mirrored door where she sees her reflection staring back at
her.

She looks at Sue lying on the floor.

And the IV bag indicating that there are still 4 more days to
go...

61 INT. KITCHEN/LIVING ROOM - DAY 61

Elisabeth sits at the kitchen table crossing out days on a

monthly calendar in black.

She crosses out seven days in a row... then writes “SUE” in

each of the next seven days... then the same thing again
until she has covered the entire month.

She leans the calendar up against the wall, pensive.

She lightly taps the end of the pen against the table, bored.

She turns on the radio:

...at discount prices! It’s fish of the sea month at

COSTCO! SUPER COLOSSAL ALASKAN RED KING CRAB LEGS are
only $12.99 a pound, so come on down and reel in your
catch! HEY BUT WHO’S THIS?! WHO’S WHAT? WHO’S ON TOP
OF THIS? THE ASSURAN-
She switches off the exasperating commercials with a flick.

She remains seated in her chair for a moment.

Then she gets up and walks into the living room. She
disappears from the frame and after a little while we see the
TV turn on in the background.

Staying with the wide shot, the TV in the background,

spitting out its programs.

BLACK

The sound of a TV show in the distance slowly gets louder.

62 INT. BATHROOM - NIGHT 62

GROUND VIEW OF THE BATHROOM TILES - The door opens and a beam
of light comes through, shining on Sue lying on the floor.

We can see Elisabeth's feet and the hem of the white bathrobe
standing still in the foreground.

The I.V bag indicates two more notches.

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 46 -

 ...sc 62

Two more days to get through...

Elisabeth’s feet leave the frame and the door closes again.

BLACK

The sound of the TV dies down...

...comes back on with a new show... and dies down again...

Then rhythmic music, soft and muffled at first, slowly grows

louder in the distance...

The volume increases, louder and louder ...

63 INT. KITCHEN / LIVING ROOM - DAY 63

...AND BURSTS FULL BLAST as a door opens letting the light...

into the fridge.

We realize that our POV IS FROM INSIDE THE REFRIGERATOR,

while now it’s SUE in underwear and a small tank top who
bends over to put away the compartmentalized syringe filled
with spinal liquid for the next seven days, the music
blasting behind her in the apartment.

She grabs a soda can.

CLOSE UP ON HER MANICURED HAND AND RED NAIL POLISH, pulling

off the can tab KSHHHHH...

HER FLAT, MUSCULAR BELLY as she thrusts her hip to close the
fridge door.

We follow Sue, stretching and drinking, swaying in rhythm to

the music and enjoying the sensations of being in her new
body.

While the time she spent as Elisabeth felt dull and

pointless, now it’s as though a bundle of irrepressible
energy has taken over the apartment.

Sue walks into the living room and sees that the TV is still
switched on. Her gaze falls upon the large armchair facing
the TV with a slight concave impression in the cushion...

A barely perceptible scolding look flashes across her face.

She grabs the remote control, turns off the TV, and glances
at the framed photo of Elisabeth on the wall as if
reprimanding her - Tsk, tsk.

She heads for the bathroom.

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 47 -

 ...sc 64

64 INT. BATHROOM - DAY 64

She leans against the doorframe and looks down at Elisabeth’s

slumped body on the tiles.

A long moment as she looks down at the limp matrix, sprawled

on the ground like a rag doll.

CRRRRRUNCH - she crushes the can in one sharp gesture and

starts looking around, as if searching for something.

She knocks on various walls in the apartment: Tap tap tap

listening to the echo inside... Tap tap tap...

65A INT. BEDROOM - DAY 65A

...inside the bedroom: tap tap tap

65B INT. WALK-IN CLOSET - DAY 65B

She opens the walk-in closet.

Pushes the clothes aside. Knocks against the wall.

Tock tock tock...

It sounds hollow.

66 INT. BATHROOM - DAY 66

She goes into the bathroom, taps on the other side of the
wall.

Tock tock tock... Hollow too. There’s a hollow space between

the walk-in closet and the bathroom.

She remains still for a moment, staring at the wall, pensive.

BLACK

67 INT. SECRET ROOM IN CONSTRUCTION - DAY 67

BOOM!

The sound of a blow like a large sledgehammer in the

darkness. The blow makes the frame shake, and a trickle of
dust falls from above.

CUT TO:

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 48 -

 ...sc 68

68 INT. CASTING ROOM / DANCE STUDIO - DAY 68

BAM! GROUND-LEVEL VIEW of a dance studio rehearsal: a pair of

legs lands in the frame on the wooden floor doing a split,
followed by a dozen other pairs of legs doing the same thing.

CUT TO:

69 INT. SECRET ROOM IN CONSTRUCTION - DAY 69

BOOM! The sledgehammer hits the wall again, sprinkling

plaster around and letting a beam of light pierce through the
wall. In the hole that has appeared, we see Sue’s face,
wearing a dust mask and safety goggles.

CUT TO:

70 INT. CASTING ROOM / DANCE STUDIO - DAY 70

CLAP! CLAP! CLAP! Hands clapping together in rhythm. Sue, in

the foreground of the dance studio, leads the dancers who are
wearing comfortable workout outfits.

CUT TO:

71 INT. SECRET ROOM / BATHROOM - DAY 71

BAM! BAM! BAM! The hole widens as Sue keeps hitting the
bathroom wall with the sledgehammer, revealing a dark cavity
behind it; big clouds of dust fly into the bathroom.

72 INT. LIVING ROOM - DAY 72

The matrix is lying in stasis in the middle of the living

room, sheltered from the construction work.

She lies motionless under her large framed poster while the
blows from the sledgehammer blare off screen.

CUT TO:

73 INT. PHOTO STUDIO - DAY 73

PROFILE of Sue’s face in a photo studio.

SUE ON THE RIGHT! She turns her head towards the camera.

THE BLACK EYE OF A LARGE CAMERA

FLASH!

CUT TO:

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 49 -

 ...sc 74

74 INT. BATHROOM - EVENING 74

CRRRRRRRRR the crackling and dazzling light of a blowtorch

welding elements in the wall cavity.

CUT TO:

75A INT. LIVING ROOM - DAY 75A

POV SHOT FROM INSIDE A CARDBOARD BOX - Elisabeth’s award

statues, knickknacks, and photo frames are stored bit by bit
by Sue, who then closes the flaps of the cardboard box: BLACK

CUT TO:
75B DTTTTTTT the needle of a sewing machine runs up a shiny 75B
fabric at full speed.

CUT TO:

76 INT. BATHROOM - DAY 76

BZZZZZZZZ A drill screws wall plugs into a wall.

BAM BAM BAM! BAM BAM BAM!

The drilling stops, and we hear someone banging on the front

door.

77A INT. LIVING ROOM / HALLWAY - DAY 77A

Sue appears and opens it, finding herself face to face with
her NEXT DOOR NEIGHBOR (old bachelor in his forties) who
yells at her immediately:

NEIGHBOR
WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO STOP THIS
NOIS...
(seeing her)
Oh... I thought it was Ms. Spar...

SUE
(standing in her
doorframe, devastating
smile)
She moved out.

A beat where he stares at her, flustered.

SUE (CONT’D)
I’m the new tenant.
(she stretches her hand
out)
Sue.

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 50 -

 ...sc 77A

He stands there stupidly. Then, as if snapping back to

reality, he wipes his sweaty palm against his pants and
stretches it out to her, trying not to appear overly excited.

NEIGHBOR
(stuttering)
Ovl...Olivr...Ovlir...

SUE
You wanted to complain about
something Oliver?

A long pregnant pause. And then, as if reconnecting his brain

to his mouth:

NEIGHBOR
Oh no! No no... absolutely not...
it’s euh... great to have stuff
going on in the building... I’m
quite handy, if I could help with
my tools... I have a big hammer and
euh... I mean you know... Anyway! I
live right next door, you know
where to find me...
(gesturing to appear
“cool”)
...anytime...Day or...night.

He suddenly turns around and goes away, closing his apartment

door behind him, completely at a loss.

Sue closes her door laughing to herself...

77B INT. LIVING ROOM - JOUR 77B

...we follow her, swaying as she walks back down the hallway.

Entering the living room, we discover through the picture

window that a PUBLICITY BILLBOARD WITH A HUGE PHOTO OF HER
has been set up outside.

She’s sporting a sexy pose in her flashy pink leotard with a

wide smile and a hand on her hip:

NEW SHOW
coming soon
Sue walks towards the matrix lying in stasis on the floor,
props the I.V bag up on her belly, grabs her by both arms...

.. And slowly drags her down the hallway.

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 51 -

 ...sc 77B

77C Inside the empty living room, Elisabeth’s large framed poster 77C
still hanging on the wall is now facing Sue’s publicity
billboard in a bizarre face off.

Almost as if the two versions of herself were staring at each

other like a static paper version of a cowboy standoff...

ELISABETH’S GLOWING EYES...

FACING SUE’S SPARKLING EYES...

78 INT. HALLWAY - DAY 78

Sue drags the matrix along the corridor. She noticeably

handles her with a little less consideration.

The matrix’s hip knocks against the corner of a piece of

furniture and one of her arms grips onto something which
slows her down. We can sense Sue can’t wait to get this over
with.

79A INT. BATHROOM - DAY 79A

She reaches the bathroom, opens the door to the secret

room...

79B INT. SECRET ROOM - DAY 79B

...and drags the matrix to a dark and somber secret room

created in the empty space behind the bathroom wall, which we
now discover finished.

The new secret wall slides perfectly into the real one,
invisible to outside eyes.

Only a small, almost imperceptible air vent allows the air to

circulate. Otherwise, the room is dark, cavernous and
completely pitch black inside.

80 INT. LIVING ROOM - DAY 80

IN THE LIVING ROOM the face off continues in increasingly

tighter shots between Elisabeth and Sue’s pictures.

SUE’S SUPER PEARLY WHITE SMILE...

FACING ELISABETH’S LARGE SMIL... which swivels all of a

sudden and disappears out of the frame, leaving just the
plain white wall.

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 52 -

 ...sc 81

81 INT. SECRET ROOM - DAY 81

Sue stores the large framed poster she took down next to
Elisabeth inside the little secret room.

A moment with Sue staring at the matrix lying on the ground,

before she starts to close the heavy secret wall.

We see the beam of light that slowly fades on the matrix’s

still body lying on the ground...

The beam fades... and fades...

...and then TOTAL DARKNESS sweeps over her in a deep,

guttural sound.

BLACK.

A long moment of silence.

Then, a humming noise that slowly grows louder...

Much like a roaring sound...

Getting louder and louder...

82 INT. TV STUDIO / SUE’S SHOW “PUMP IT UP” - DAY 82

...As a big spotlight turns on and throws its full beam on:

AN ASS, molded inside a flashy pink leotard (the famous pose

with the hand on the hip).

CUT TO:

A second ass, molded inside a blue leotard.

CUT TO:

A third ass in a yellow leotard.

The camera’s huge eye.

The small red recording dot.

We follow FEET walking ahead in rhythm... past a pink,

curved, glossy material, which we soon discover to be huge
letter balloons through which we pull back to reveal a series
of pink letters spelling out the title of the new show:

PUMP IT UP
THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 53 -
 ...sc 82

With Sue

The shot continues to pull back revealing THE DANCERS

surrounding Sue.

SUE
Hi everybody! I’m Sue and it’s time
to PUMP IT UP! So here we go!

Her leg flies up in the air as the music starts, blasting

away at full volume.

Asses start to sway in rhythm to the dynamic and bewitching

music.

We track past the asses moving to the beat. To the left. To

the right. Heads bend upside down revealing blondes,
brunettes and redheads with long, abundant hair.

Thin WAISTS and PELVISES sway suggestively.

SUPER HIGH CUT flashy leotards, reveal perfectly waxed groins

underneath.

Firm and BOUNCY BOSOMS compressed inside the lycra.

A concentrate of energy and sexy girls swaying in rhythm with

provocative smiles inside the flashy and modernized scenery.

Everything now is younger, sexier and more dynamic.

Nothing in comparison with Elisabeth’s outdated show.

Sue’s face, enjoying the change in atmosphere.

It was clearly time for a makeover.

In the center of the action, she’s magnetically beautiful.

She lets herself bask in the spotlight as she tightens her

abs in rhythm.

Once.

Twice.

Ten times.

Thirty times.

Her gaze pierces the screen.

And every single pair of eyes is on her.

The cameramen.

The assistants.

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 54 -

 ...sc 82

Her face MULTIPLIED on the control room screens.

83 INT. HARVEY’S OFFICE - DAY 83

On the wall of screens in Harvey’s office.

84 INT. TV STUDIO / SUE’S SHOW “PUMP IT UP” - DAY 84

The group moves in rhythm, a constant crescendo, until the

music ends and in a final motion which freezes the group,
perfectly synched...

SUE
WOO!! THANK YOU EVERYBODY!

Sue’s chest rises up and down...

She’s covered in sweat and out of breath, but this time it's
because of the galvanizing effort she's just made with a body
full of hormones and adrenaline.

SUE (CONT’D)
I’ll see you all next week!

She is about to go but then suddenly she turns back to the

camera as if she’s forgotten something:

SUE (CONT’D)
Oh!
(eyes sparkling)
And in the mean time...

She winks and blows a kiss to the camera.

SUE (CONT’D)
... take care of yourself.

The lights switch off.

Silence returns on set.

A suspended beat, as if the air needed to cope with all the

sexual and bodily energy that has been stirred.

A voice echoes from the control room:

And that’s a wrap!

Everybody is suddenly bursting with happiness. WOOHOOHOO!!!

They hug each other, lie down or bend over to catch their
breath, in great relaxation and relief.

A thunderous and ecstatic voice rings out:

HARVEY (O.S.)
Where is she?? Where is she??

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 55 -

 ...sc 84

And Harvey charges in, opening his arms wide, grandiose,

singing her praises.

An assistant brings Sue a towel and a little bottle of water.

85 INT. TV STUDIO BACKSTAGE CORRIDOR - DAY 85

Sue steps into the backstage corridor with glistening eyes,

stops to drink her little bottle of water as she walks past a
big framed poster hanging on the wall advertising her new
show:

PUMP IT UP
with Sue

The first of many to come...

Eyes glistening, she sets off again....

CUT TO:

86 INT/EXT. TV STUDIO EXIT DOOR / STUDIO LOT ALLEY - DAY 86

SLAM! The building’s door opens out onto brilliant SUNLIGHT,

a BLUE SKY AND PALM TREES reflected in Sue’s sunglasses. Sue
comes out of the building wearing her varsity jacket and
sports bag over her shoulder. She walks towards the exit.

A voice echoes out from behind:

MAN'S VOICE (O.S.)

I’d be the happiest man on earth if
I had the chance to work with you..

Sue’s face freezes... as if challenged by this voice which

sounds familiar to her... she slowly turns and finds herself
facing... CRAIG. With a huge smile etched on his jaw, he
proudly stretches out a hand to her.

CRAIG
I’m Craig Silver, from Craig Silver
management.
(he hands her his card)
...You have so much potential, we
could make great things happen
together.

A different voice calls out as ANOTHER GUY steps into frame.

ALAN
And I’m Alan Weil from WEIL & CLARK
MANAGEMENT.
(he also hands her his
card)
(MORE)

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 56 -

 ...sc 86
ALAN (CONT’D)
WE’LL bring you all the way to the
top!

Then a THIRD ONE...

BOB
Bob HASWELL from H&H MANAGEMENT
(agency name TBC)
(new card)
How come you’ve never been on our
radar? We’d be the perfect reps for
you!

Sue looks at the three men who each hold out their card to
her... She ends up smiling at Craig... and takes his card.

Craig’s victorious smile... yes!... which immediately turns

into his jaw dropping when Sue tears his card into small
pieces before stuffing them into his shirt pocket and tapping
on it... She then arbitrarily chooses one of the other
business cards.

SUE
Nice to meet you....
(looking at the card)
...Alan!

She immediately turns her back on the three men, walking away
with a contented smile on her face.

BLACK

FADE IN:

87 INT. BEDROOM /HALLWAY /BATHROOM /SECRET ROOM - END OF DAY 87

POV FROM INSIDE A BIG RECTANGULAR BOX whose cover is being

removed. Sue’s face is looking inside it with sparkling eyes.

It’s a leather catsuit that she slowly takes out from a big
white rectangular box lying on the bed.

HER LOVELY FOOT WITH POLISHED TOENAILS slides inside the

black and supple leather.

We film up her entire leg, the camera turns around her thigh
and does an EXTREME CLOSE UP on the black and shiny material
as she slips on the ultra tight suit, as if we are an
integral part of the leather – as if the leather was becoming
one with the body, allowing the body to express its full
physical potential.

She slowly closes the zipper... the two swaths of leather

uniting, swallowing up her spinal column in the aerodynamic
casing.

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 57 -

 ...sc 87

She throws her blond mane of hair cascading down between her
shoulder blades; we follow down the length of her flowing
locks... then down her buttocks and leg, all the way to her
black stiletto heels which start walking across the white
carpet...

...then across the hardwood floor in the hallway...

... arriving on the tiled bathroom floor...

... and finally end their journey on the secret room’s bare
cement floor.

The high heels stand next to Elisabeth’s IV bag that is

almost empty. Just a few hours until it is time to switch.

88A INT. BATHROOM / SECRET ROOM - END OF DAY 88A

Sue looks at herself in the mirror, then we see IN EXTREME

CLOSE UP the stick of bright red lipstick coloring her plump
lips...

Her eyes glow from an inner fire...

An increasingly unbounded sensuality. Engulfing...

We hear horns honking outside...

Sue looks at herself for a moment in the mirror...

88B INT. SECRET ROOM - EVENING 88B

...then crouches down next to the matrix.

SUE
...I’m not coming back late... so
you just wait for me...
(she tries to spread out
the remaining food inside
the bag)
Don’t eat too fast...

She closes the heavy door and now the only thing visible is
the little square of light from the air duct, through which
we can see the high heels gradually walking away across the
bathroom tiles... then we hear the clack of the light switch,
which leaves us in DARKNESS

CUT TO:

89A EXT. STREET (ELISABETH BUILDING) - NIGHT 89A

Ground level on a tarmac road, close-up on a SMOKY EXHAUST

PIPE and THE BRIGHT RED TAIL LIGHT OF A CONVERTIBLE CAR.

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 58 -

 ...sc 89A

The camera jibs up and reveals Sue getting into a convertible

car filled with male and female dancers who welcome her with
whistles and giggles. The car takes off in peals of laughter
and screams, like a shooting cannonball ready to enjoy the
pleasures of the night.

89B INT. APT / LIVING ROOM - NIGHT 89B

A moment on the silent and still living room.

On the wall, we can make out the outline where the old
picture frame has been taken down.

BLACK

FADE IN:

90 THE STILL LIVING ROOM - NIGHT 90

The living room is still.

The moon ray on the white wall has moved - time has passed...

91 INT. SECRET ROOM - NIGHT 91

Elisabeth's body in stasis lying on the floor, her inert,

empty and glazed eyes, staring into nothingness.

Attached to her arm, the nutrition bag is almost empty. The

yellow liquid is slowly reaching the SWITCH mark.

A very slight muffled echo rings out in the distance.

92A INT. STAIRWELL - NIGHT 92A

Top shot on stairwell.

It's Sue, walking up the stairs of her building, back from

her night out, accompanied by a MAN (25-30), wearing a
leather jacket and carrying a motorbike helmet.

They stop regularly to kiss each other passionately.

They stumble and laugh. We quickly understand that they're

both completely drunk.

92B INT. LANDING - NIGHT 92B

In front of her apartment, he pushes her against the door and

kisses her, grabbing hold of her ass with both hands. The
ultra-tight leather of her catsuit seems to increase the
sensations... Sue is overwhelmed with desire...

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 59 -

 ...sc 92B

She finally frees herself gently from his embrace.

SUE
I have to go...

93 INT. SECRET ROOM - NIGHT 93

The last drops are sucked up from the I.V Bag. They go
through the perfusion pipe and up into Elisabeth's arm.

A beat.

We hear the sound of the front door opening and closing.

Footsteps amplifying, which start to run then slow down.

Sounds of chairs moving. Glasses chiming.

A low voice. A high pitched voice. The sound of laughter.

Suddenly, SMASH! The sound of broken glass.

CUT TO

94 INT. LIVING ROOM - NIGHT 94

...A broken glass smashed into pieces at Sue's feet right in

the middle of the living room’s hardwood floor. The lights
are now on and Sue looks up at the man who's holding up a
whiskey bottle in one hand, as if frozen in his gesture...

She looks at him fixedly... before bursting into laughter.

They’re completely hammered.

They let themselves fall back on the sofa.

A slight tinnitus starts buzzing in Sue’s ears, but she

ignores it, sits astride the guy and they start kissing.(we
see the silhouette of them kissing in the mirrored visor of
the motorbike helmet nearby)

The sexual tension soars. The man caresses Sue’s crotch with
his hand, brushing his lips over her neck. His tongue slides
up the silky nape of her neck. Sue’s skin tingles with goose-
bumps aroused by all the new sensations bursting inside her.

95 INT. SECRET ROOM - NIGHT 95

A very slight plastic squeaking noise is heard. Crrrriiii...

It's the perfusion bag which is now empty and starting to

shrivel with nothing left to suck up.

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 60 -

 ...sc 96

96 INT. LIVING ROOM - NIGHT 96

They kiss more and more greedily... plip ... a drop of blood
falls on the guy’s white t-shirt...

But Sue decides to ignore it; her eyes glowing more

feverishly every second, she takes off the guy’s t shirt...

Slides her hands down his naked chest...

97 INT. SECRET ROOM - NIGHT 97

CRRRRRiiiii The sound of plastic is increasingly high pitched

as the empty perfusion bag crumples up more and more.

98 INT. LIVING ROOM - NIGHT 98

Sue’s hands reach for the man’s trousers... and unbuckle his
belt...

99 INT. SECRET ROOM - NIGHT 99

CRRRRRiiiiiiiiii the perfusion bag desperately tries to

suck something in...

100 INT. LIVING ROOM - NIGHT 100

Sue unbuttons his trousers and slips her hand into his boxer
shor...

Plip plip plip plip the drops of blood fall on the man’s
chest at an escalating rhythm...

THE SOUND IS MUFFLED. THE IMAGE FLICKERS as if a black veil

were intermittently being thrown over the screen.

MAN
Are you alright?

Sue feels more and more overwhelmed... She starts hearing

noises from inside her own body... Boom BOOM... Boom BOOM...
her heartbeat accelerates.... BoomBOOMBoomBOOMBoomBOOM...

SUE
Give me a minute...

She gets up and we follow her as she hurries into the hallway
with a staggering step BoomBOOMBoomBOOMBoomBOOM
BoomBOOMBoomBOOMBoomBOOM

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 61 -

 ...sc 101

101 INT. BATHROOM / SECRET ROOM - NIGHT 101

She locks herself in the bathroom, and opens the door

communicating with the secret room to discover what she
already knows...

The nutrition bag is empty. It is now only a plastic

compression shrivelled into itself as Elisabeth's body,
increasingly pale, attempts to mechanically suck up what
isn't there...

Sue hunches over the sink as the drops of blood grow more
frequent; her tinnitus blares loudly inside her head, the
pain is unbearable.

She HAS to switch.

FUCK! What shitty timing!

We can sense all her frustration explode, while she looks at

Elisabeth’s lifeless body on the ground.

This body that she has no desire to get back into...

MAN (O.S.)
Are you alright?

Sue looks at herself in the mirror... the camera slowly

tightens on her shining eyes... as if an idea was taking
shape in her mind...

SUE
YES I’LL BE RIGHT BACK!

She opens the small bathroom cabinet and looks at the

puncture needle...

...the second nutrition bag...

Her foot presses down on the pedal of the trash can - CLACK –
revealing the seven small empty vials at the bottom of the
bucket...

She looks down at them for a long moment, her eyes

shining...(she grabs the vial)

CUT TO:

102 INT. SECRET ROOM - NIGHT 102

SUE'S MANICURED HAND clips one of the empty vials onto the
puncture syringe...

She flips the matrix onto her side... AND SLOWLY LIFTS UP THE
BANDAGE on her back...

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 62 -

 ...sc 102

After a short moment of hesitation during which she looks at

the puncture site, contemplating what she's about to do...
Sue casts aside her last doubts...

... AND SHE SLOWLY PUSHES THE LONG NEEDLE into Elisabeth’s
spinal column...

ELISABETH’S GLAZED EYE STARING INTO SPACE - her pupil

slightly trembles while Sue pulls slowly on the plunger and
the transparent fluid starts to trickle into the syringe...

SUE
Just a few more hours...

Once the vial is half full, Sue unclips it and SWIK! Jabs
herself in the thigh, as she does everyday, when it’s her
week.

HER PUPIL DILATES – She closes her eyes for a few moments, as
her body absorbs the shot... She can hear her heartbeat
slowing down, the ringing in her head abates...

She hurries to plug in the second perfusion bag, which was

normally meant for her, in Elisabeth's arm. A small gurgling
sound... then a bubble rises up inside the pipe... and the
thick liquid starts slowly making its way up the tubing...

Slowly but surely, Elisabeth’s breathing becomes normal

again.

CUT TO:

103 INT. LIVING ROOM - NIGHT 103

The man opens his eyes and Sue is once again straddling him,
like an apparition, very close to his face.

MAN
Mmmm...
(needing a moment to
reconnect)
...what did you do? You seem even
more beautiful than befor-

She starts kissing him. More and more greedily.

THE MAN PLACES HIS HANDS ON HER THIGHS... kneading the

leather while making their way to her ass...

104 INT. SECRET ROOM - NIGHT 104

INSIDE THE DARK ROOM - Elisabeth's limp and heavy thigh lies
still on the cold tiles.

Her foot dangling.

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 63 -

 ...sc 104

The second bag of food attached to her arm which slowly

empties...

105 INT. LIVING ROOM - NIGHT 105

CROSS-DISSOLVE ON THE MAN’S HANDS as they work their way up

Sue’s ass to her waist...

106 INT. SECRET ROOM - NIGHT 106

IN THE DARK ROOM - The yellowish paste that makes it way up

the IV tube with a small gurgling noise.

107 INT. LIVING ROOM - NIGHT 107

IN THE LIVING ROOM - THE MAN’S HANDS CLOSING AROUND SUE’S

WAIST, SLIDING UP HER BACK... arriving at her neck and slowly
pulling down the zipper of her catsuit.

The zipper slides slowly down Sue’s back...and we see...

...ALL SPEW OUT OF

OF HER INSIDE ORGANS
THE SUIT AS THE ZIPPER GOES DOWN AS
THOUGH IT WERE OPENING SUE’S BODY
IN TWO...
HER ORGANS SPLATTER ON THE FLOOR IN A BLOODY MAGMA-
LIKE MASS:

SPLOTCH!
108 INT. SECRET ROOM - DAY 108

AHAAAAAAAAAAA ... ELISABETH wakes up with a start inside

the secret room. She coughs, spits, clutches her throat... as
though she had been asphyxiated.

Sue’s body is lying next to her in stasis on the other side

of the switch pipe.

It takes a moment for the horrific nightmare to fade as

Elisabeth tries to gather her wits. Ouch... We can tell that
her whole body aches and that she is in a fog.

She looks confused when she discovers... the small empty vial
on the ground next to her... and the second perfusion bag
which has already been emptied half a notch’s worth.

She clips it onto Sue’s arm and she goes into the bathroom.

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 64 -

 ...sc 109

109 INT. BATHROOM - DAY 109

She puts her bathrobe on. A glance in the mirror: she looks
dreadful... and she has an enormous hangover. She touches her
back, it’s a bit sore.

110 INT. CORRIDOR / LIVING ROOM - DAY 110

She walks down the hallway dragging her feet. It’s day now. A
beat as she discovers... Sue’s clothing strewn on the floor:
her boots... her leather catsuit... her lingerie... They make
a trail down the hallway all the way to the bed, which we see
from afar: unmade, rumpled sheets attesting to a night of
lovemaking.

We can see that Elisabeth is trying to connect with her

memories of the night before... but she doesn’t seem to
remember a thing.

She makes her way to the living room where she discovers the
aftermath of the evening’s festivities: half-empty glasses,
full ashtrays...

She walks towards the picture window - a post-it note is

stuck on it:

Too drunk to take the bike home,

keep an eye on her ;)

TROY (812 674 839!)

Elisabeth reaches out to grab the post-it note AND SHE

IMMEDIATELY RETRACTS HER HAND as if she’d seen something
awful, something frightening...

She slowly lifts her hand into her field of vision...and in

complete shock she sees...

...her finger.

Her index finger is crooked and swollen, deformed with

arthritis... her fingernail is yellow and the skin withered
like an old woman’s finger - while the rest of her hand is
normal.

WHAT THE F...!

111 OMITTED 111

112 INT. BATHROOM - DAY 112

She turns around and hurries into the bathroom, runs the cold
water in the sink and puts her index finger under the faucet.
She scrubs and scrubs her finger, but to no avail, the
deformation is still there.

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 65 -

 ...sc 112

She stares at her index finger.

The horribly withered skin.

The protruding and swollen blue veins.

The deformed knuckles.

She closes her eyes, tensing her face...and her expression

hardens as what happened becomes progressively clear to her.

She looks at Sue’s body on the floor.

The stranded empty vial next to her.

She lowers the back of her bathrobe and twists around, trying
to see the reflection of her back in the mirror.

The puncture site is red, slightly swollen... and ouch...

painful to touch.

She closes her eyes a moment, her hand clinging to the sink’s
edge, with this deformed finger that stands out against the
white porcelain.

Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck...

113 INT. KITCHEN - DAY 113

Elisabeth sits at the table, on the phone.

The insistent ringing tone...

Bri-ing...Bri-ing..

Through the picture window, Sue’s gigantic billboard staring

right back at her in silence.

Her bright, dazzling smile...

PUMP IT UP
Bri-ing...Bri-ing

Yes?

Elisabeth sits up straighter in her chair when the cavernous

voice answers.

ELISABETH
Yes hi...

She winces a little, her back slightly in pain.

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 66 -

 ...sc 113

ELISABETH (CONT’D)
(clearing her throat.)
This is Elisabeth Sparkle.

Silence on the other end of the line.

ELISABETH (CONT’D)
...on Beverly drive?

Still nothing.

ELISABETH (CONT’D)
...I am uh...
(hesitant)
...503?

Yes.

ELISABETH (CONT’D)
Yes... Hi...

An embarrassed pause. She’s gathering her courage as she

stares at her deformed finger.

ELISABETH (CONT’D)
Listen... there has been a
slight...

She’s walking on eggshells, carefully choosing her words.

ELISABETH (CONT’D)
...misuse... of The Substance...

She nervously rubs her index finger.

ELISABETH (CONT’D)
A few extra hours were...
accidentally used...causing...
(a beat)
...an alteration.

Long silence at the other end of the line.

Nothing but the crackling.

Elisabeth wiggles, uneasy in her chair.

ELISABETH (CONT’D)
So... what’s the procedure to
reverse it?

A long beat. The line crackles.

What has been used on one side is lost on the other side.

There is no going back.

A beat.

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 67 -

 ...sc 113

Elisabeth’s shock and dismay.

ELISABETH (CONT’D)
No, but, listen I don’t know what
she was thinking she was drunk
obviousl-

Remember there is no “she” and “you”, you are one.

Elisabeth closes her eyes, tensing her face to try and put
her thoughts in order.

ELISABETH (CONT’D)
Right...

A beat.

ELISABETH (CONT’D)
But I can’t even remember what
happened during the extra time! So
there should b-

The balance is perfect at seven days.

Respect the balance and you won’t have any more

inconveniences.

A beat. The line goes dead.

Elisabeth doesn’t move for a long moment, as if she were hit

by a ton of bricks.

Then she gets up abruptly and starts automatically cleaning

up after the prior evening’s festivities, so as to try and
channel her emotions.

She empties the glasses and the ashtrays.

Disgusting.

She goes to the picture window, rips off the post-it note.

She crumples the post-it into a ball, which she throws into
the garbage.

She takes the trash bag out of the can and triple knots the
ties.

She throws the motorbike helmet out on the landing.

VIEW FROM INSIDE THE TRASH CAN AS IT OPENS - she throws the
trash bag inside, covering the camera and thus creating
DARKNESS

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 68 -

 ...sc 114

114 INT. BATHROOM - EVENING 114

It’s night. Elisabeth, in her nightgown, looks at her

reflection in the mirror with a harsh expression, as she
brushes her teeth.

THE GNARLED FINGER ON THE TOOTHBRUSH brushing back and

forth... mixing saliva and toothpaste... brush up... brush
down... up... down. Elisabeth lost in her thoughts...

She gargles, spits and puts the toothbrush back in its glass.
She picks up her night cream in a well-rehearsed ritual.

She puts it on her face, still absorbed in her thoughts as

the white cream penetrates her skin;

She puts the cover back on the jar of cream and is about to
put it back in place on the shelf... when she stops... she
looks at the jar and focuses on the inscription:

ULTIMATE YOUTH
Intensive regenerating night cream

She slowly unscrews the jar top and stares at the glossy
white cream inside...

And then slowly, takes her crooked finger and progressively

dips it into the cream... She sticks her finger all the way
in until it is completely covered.

She waits for a moment... carefully turning her finger in the

white cream... and then slowly removing it; the finger now
entirely covered in glistening white cream as though it was a
poultice covering the skin.

With her other hand she searches through the small cabinet
and takes out a crepe bandage, which she wraps and knots
around the cream-covered finger.

Like a little doll in a cocoon at the end of her hand.

She presses lightly on the doll... which oozes cream.

Good. It’s soaking in.

She looks in the mirror and shuts off the light : BLACK

115 INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT 115

Elisabeth lying in bed staring at the ceiling.

HER BANDAGED HAND carefully resting palm down on the sheets.

Her figure is entirely still in the darkness.

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 69 -

 ...sc 115

Dominated by the palm tree’s black shadow in the night, which

looks like a giant spider.

CUT TO:

116 I/E. BEDROOM / WINDOW PALM TREE - DAY 116

THE GREEN PALM TREE AGAINST THE BRIGHT BLUE SKY

IN THE BEDROOM, the sheets are bathed in sunlight; we can see

the outline of where Elisabeth was lying in the bed, and we
understand that she stayed perfectly still the entire night.

CUT TO:

117 INT. BATHROOM - DAY 117

THE HAND WITH THE BANDAGED FINGER spreads out over the sink.

Elisabeth stays still for a moment, then she starts

unwrapping the bandage... the anxiety in her eyes as she
unrolls slowly revealing her finger...

The dried out cream leaves a type of plaster-like crust

covering the skin.

She turns on the faucet and soaks her finger in the stream of
water to dissolve the white crust.

She delicately wipes her hand with a terry-cloth towel and

stretches her hand out over the sink to see the result...

Nothing has changed.

Her finger is still just as wrinkled and deformed by

arthritis; brownish age spots are scattered on her skin.

Elisabeth’s eyes fill with emotion which she does her best to
channel as she tries to wrap her mind around this excrescence
that is eating away at her hand.

Her hand starts shaking, betraying how upset she really is.
Her last hopes - that she knew were in vain - are swept away
for good.

CUT TO:

118 INT. KITCHEN - DAY 118

THE KITCHEN TABLE IN THE FOREGROUND where a new big white

note card is found:

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 70 -

 ...sc 118

We hope you are enjoying your experience with

THE SUBSTANCE
Your two week refill kit has been delivered
to your deposit box

In the background, through the door that leads to the living

room, we see the TV on, but we can’t hear the sound, covered
by a humming noise that grows louder...and louder...

...and Elisabeth is crossing the frame in the background as

she’s pushing the vacuum cleaner from left to right... then
right to left... sweeping back and forth like a small
foosball figurine moving straight in its axis...

CUT TO:

119 INT. LIVING ROOM - DAY 119

Elisabeth, concentrating on her vacuum cleaner sucking up the

carpet as though hunting for the smallest piece of dust would
help her avoid becoming overwhelmed by her thoughts.

She looks up, about to turn around in the opposite direction,

when something catches her attention from afar...

She slows down, approaches carefully, and finally stops...her

eyes engrossed, her pupils darting back and forth... the
vacuum cleaner still humming... until she turns it off and
pulsating music bursts out in its place:

DON’T YOU KNOW PUMP IT UP...

We discover that she is staring at the television screen...

...YOU’VE GOT TO PUMP IT UP...

Where SUE is energetically swaying her hips in her new show.

DON’T YOU KNOW PUMP IT UP...

Elisabeth has a moment of confusion. Befuddled.

YOU’VE GOT TO PUMP IT UP...

A disturbing vision of Sue in the place that used to be hers.

DON’T YOU KNOW PUMP IT UP...YOU’VE GOT TO PUMP IT

UP...
Elisabeth grabs the side of the armchair to balance herself,
slowly sitting down while watching Sue moving on the
screen...

DON’T YOU KNOW PUMP IT UP...

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 71 -
 ...sc 119

Her dazzling smile.

Her firm and insolent breasts.

YOU’VE GOT TO PUMP I-

Elisabeth turns the sound off, but continues to watch the
show, as if fascinated by the details of Sue's body moving in
rhythm to the ghostly beat of the now muted music.

Her slender thighs.

Her suggestive hip movements...

Her abs tightening in a close up.

Once. Twice. Ten times. Thirty times...

On screen, with beaming and seductive eyes...

SUE
“In the meantime... Take care of
yourself!”

...Sue blows a kiss to the camera, disarming her viewers with

a devastating smile.

A suspended beat... as though the two women exchanged a look

through the screen...

Click Elisabeth switches off the TV.

She remains silent for a moment.

Overwhelmed.

Her gnarled, deformed finger on the TV remote.

Sprawled across the armchair in her bathrobe.

She looks up: behind the turned-off TV, the billboard of SUE
staring back at her through the glass window, smiling with
all her pearly-whites:

PUMP IT UP
It's as if she were cornered from all sides.

BZZZZ
She jumps at the sound of the front door buzzer.

Who the hell is that...

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 72 -

 ...sc 119

BZZZZ BZZZZ

120 INT. APT ENTRANCE / APT CORRIDOR - DAY 120

She approaches the door without making any noise.

HER GNARLED FINGER opens the peephole cover, and she looks
through it:

The neighbor.

Fuck. What does he want...

She doesn’t move; doesn’t make any noise.

BZZZZ BZZZZZZ
Go the fuck away, egg head...

BZZZZZZZZZZZ
OLIVER (O.S.)
Sue?

He starts softly scratching the door.

NEIGHBOR (O.S.)
It’s Oliver...

A beat.

NEIGHBOR (O.S.) (CONT’D)

I just saw you on TV... Holy moley
makes me want to join your class!
Do you give private lessons?

A long silence.

NEIGHBOR (O.S.) (CONT’D)

What about a drink at my place
tonight?

Elisabeth stands without moving or making noise, her gnarled

finger on the peephole.

NEIGHBOR (O.S.) (CONT’D)

I can see you standing behind
there... don’t be shy gorgeous!
(a long beat)
I’m into sports too, I can show you
my chess trophies!

A long beat. Elisabeth doesn’t move.

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 73 -

 ...sc 120

NEIGHBOR (O.S.) (CONT’D)

Alright, no problem, take your
time... But it’s a date!

We see him finally waddling back inside his apartment,

humming along: don’t you know pump it up...

THE WRINKLED FINGER lets go of the peephole cover. SHLACK!

CUT TO:

121 INT. SHOWER - DAY 121

HISSSSSSSSSSSS THE STREAM OF WATER FROM THE SHOWER HEAD

PUMMELS ELISABETH’S BACK.

Her hand against the wall for support, letting the water flow
down her body, as she stares at the ground, lost in her
thoughts, as if she were trying to regain her footing.

122 INT. APARTMENT / ENTRANCE - DAY 122

Elisabeth finishes slipping her coat on, turns up the collar

and puts on leather gloves to hide her problem finger.

She looks through the peephole. The coast is clear.

123A EXT. STREET (ELISABETH AREA) - DAY 123A

We follow Elisabeth from behind, walking quickly.

123B EXT. STREET (LESS NICE STREET)- DAY 123B

Elisabeth, from behind, who is walking down another street.

Her gait is jittery. Everything seems more harsh and

aggressive.

123C OMITTED 123C

123D INT. DEPOSIT CORRIDOR - DAY 123D

Elisabeth walks down the corridor.

124 INT. DEPOSIT/LOBBY - DAY 124

A wave of her card opens her locker. Beep.

She thinks she hears a slight noise behind her. She turns
around. Scans the lobby. No one.

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 74 -

 ...sc 124

She takes out the package and puts it in her bag.

125A EXT. STREET (LESS NICE STREET) - DAY 125A

Elisabeth walking in the opposite direction.

After a while, she has a strange feeling. As if she were

being followed. She turns around... still no one.

She picks up the pace.

125B EXT. STREE (DINER AREA) - DAY 125B

Still from behind Elisabeth’s back as she walks.

Turns around again. Still nothing.

She finally goes into a diner.

126 INT. DINER - DAY 126

She sits down in a booth. Moves to another. She’s hot. Takes

off her coat. Starts removing her glove... then decides
against it, readjusting the right glove in particular.

WAITRESS (O.S)
What can I get you?

Startled, she jumps and looks up: a SEXY WAITRESS with a name
tag that reads ALLISON is staring at her, notepad in hand.

ELISABETH
(random)
Uh...a...mocha latte.

The waitress leaves.

A beat: Elisabeth meticulously readjusts her glove.

MAN’S VOICE (O.S.)

It’s long, isn’t it?

Elisabeth turns her head. At the next table is a SWEATY,

OBESE MAN muffled up in a gray coat, staring right at her. He
has a big strawberry birthmark on his face, whose shape is
strangely familiar...

ELISABETH
Excuse me?

MAN
Seven days...

She stares directly at him... nonplussed...

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 75 -

 ...sc 126

MAN (CONT’D)
I know what “these weeks” feel
like...

A beat. She is increasingly confused... she looks away from

him pretending she has no idea what he is referring to.

ALLISON (O.S.)
Whipped cream?

The waitress is in front of her again, a can of whipped cream

in hand, her coffee on the table.

ELISABETH
Uh...yes...

PZZZZZZZZZZT

Elisabeth stares at the whipped cream which slowly shrivels

up, melting into the coffee.

She takes a spoonful, as if to comfort herself.

She watches the man from the corner of her eye as he picks up
the menu to order. His wallet, which was on top of the menu,
falls to the ground. As he leans over to pick it up,
Elisabeth glimpses on the nape of his neck... the beginning
of a thick pink scar similar to her own, which disappears
under his shirt collar... He gathers up all the credit cards
that have scattered on the floor: among them is a white
plastic card with 207 on it. He puts it away in his wallet
and sits back up.

A long beat where they stare at each other.

Everything muddles up in Elisabeth's mind...

ELISABETH (CONT’D)
...Did you follow me here?

MAN
I was just curious to see how
things were going for you... And
actually I wouldn’t be against a
little bit of company... It’s just
good to... talk to someone... you
know. Each time you feel a little
more lonely... don’t you think?

A long beat where she stares right at him.

ELISABETH
I don’t know what you’re talking
about. I’m fine, thank you.
Everything is fine.

She turns her back to him and tries to make it look like she
is engrossed in her coffee.

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 76 -

 ...sc 126

MAN (O.S.)
It gets harder each time to
remember that you still deserve to
exist...

The whipped cream that shrivels up more and more like a

deflated balloon...

MAN (O.S.) (CONT’D)

...That this part of yourself is
still worth something...
(a beat)
That you still matter...

The melted whipped cream now looks like yellowish puke.

MAN (CONT’D)
(muttering to himself)
He should-
(SMACK! He slaps himself,
almost like a tic)
I should never have given it to
you. But he’s so (SMACK!
Another)...shallow and
superficial!!

Elisabeth’s mind is a jumble of confusion. She searches in

her bag, pays the check with a $10 dollar bill to cut short
and heads for the exit.

MAN (O.S.) (CONT’D)

(loud, towards her)
Has she started yet?

Elisabeth turns around. A beat where they exchange a long

look.

MAN (CONT’D)
...eating away at you?

A suspended moment... staring fixedly into each other’s

eyes... until Elisabeth turns abruptly on her heels and
rushes for the door as fast as she can.

127A EXT. STREET (DINRE AREA) - DAY 127A

Elisabeth returns home with a hurried step...

127B EXT. STREET (ELISABETH BUILDING) - DAY 127B

...looking over her shoulder several times to check that she

hasn’t been followed when- BAM!

She violently slams into someone coming from the opposite

direction. CLANG clang clang... A big biker's helmet falls to
the ground and rolls away.

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 77 -

 ...sc 127B

MALE VOICE
Fuck! Watch out!

Elisabeth, dazed and frantic, looks at the leather-clad guy

who picks up his helmet and straightens up facing her: TROY.

She is so very stunned that she stays planted right there,

staring at him.

TROY
WHAT?... You wanna mug shot?!?

Royally pissed, he gets on his motorcycle parked in front of

her building, puts his helmet on and slams the visor shut:
SHLACK! Elisabeth's haggard face is reflected in the mirrored
visor.

He beeps his horn so she’ll get out of the way.

TROY (CONT’D)
HEY! MOVE!

She finally steps to the side and he roars off on his

motorcycle, revving its big engine: VROOOOOOOOOOOOOM

128 INT. APARTMENT / ENTRANCE - DAY 128

Slamming her door shut behind her, Elisabeth leans back

against it for a moment to gather her wits.

She stays for a long while this way, trying to channel all
the thoughts and feelings jostling in her brain...

We can tell that her mind is racing (obsessively).

CUT TO:

129 INT. WALK IN CLOSET - DAY 129

POV FROM INSIDE THE CLOSET - SHLACK Elisabeth abruptly pushes

all of Sue’s clothing aside to reach her belongings at the
very back in stacked-up boxes marked: ELISABETH’S OLD JUNK.

She opens different boxes and finally finds the one she is
looking for: a box filled with her handbags. She shakes the
bags upside down one after the other making the various
forgotten objects fall out... coins, parking tickets, chewing
gum... Ah! She finally finds what she is looking for: the
torn piece of crinkled paper with FRED’S number on it.

Fred’s smiling image appears superimposed:

FRED
You are still the most beautiful
girl in the whole wide world!

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 78 -

 ...sc 129

She holds the paper tightly against her chest, as if suddenly

this was the most precious of her possessions.

130 INT. LIVING ROOM - DAY 130

Elisabeth starts dialing the number, slightly nervous.

Behind the picture window, her eyes glance inadvertently at

the billboard.

PUMP IT UP
CUT TO:

131 INT. BATHROOM - DAY 131

Elisabeth has “isolated” herself in the bathroom, sitting on

the closed toilet lid.

She dials the number. We hear the sound of the line ringing
and after a beat someone picks up.

FRED (O.S.)
Hello?

ELISABETH
(forcing a cheerful tone)
Hi Fred, it’s Lizzie!

Silence.

Nothing. She is immediately shaken.

ELISABETH (CONT’D)
...Lizzie from tenth grade
homeroom?

Silence again.

ELISABETH (CONT’D)
...hello?

FRED
Sorry, I’m in shock... wow wow wow!

This reassures Elisabeth and makes her smile.

FRED (CONT’D)
I thought I would never hear from
you again after sharing my dumb
toothpaste story...

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 79 -

 ...sc 131

ELISABETH
Oh no...not at all, it’s just that
I’ve been very... busy lately...

A beat.

FRED
I heard about your show... how are
you dealing? It must have been so
difficult...

ELISABETH
(faking confidence)
Oh no...You know, I kinda provoked
it in a way... I felt like.. I’d
seen and done it all... I needed to
move on.

FRED
Oh... that’s good to hear... so
what are you up to now?

A beat. Elisabeth is still sitting on the toilet lid.

ELISABETH
I... I’m traveling... A lot. It’s
great - there is so much to see!
One day here, the next there...
it’s a tad exhausting, though...

FRED
Oh wow...what an exciting life! I
envy you.

A beat.

ELISABETH
So... I happen to be in town for a
couple of days and... I thought
maybe we could...
(moves her arm in a
gesture of self-
encouragement)
... go out and grab a drink? Or for
a walk, or... you know, the little
things that make life matter.

A beat. Long silence.

ELISABETH (CONT’D)
Hello?

FRED
Sorry I’m in shock again.

Another smile. A wider one this time.

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 80 -

 ...sc 131

FRED (CONT’D)
Like...to-

ELISABETH
Tonight is perfect!

A beat.

ELISABETH (CONT’D)
Oh...did you mean tomorrow?

Clearly.

FRED
Euh...Tonight is fine as well. I
can book Luigi’s at 8?

ELISABETH
8 at Luigi’s it is! See you
tonight!

She hangs up. Her eyes are shining, cheeks are flushed, like
a teenager who has been asked out on her first date.

CUT TO:

132 INT. BEDROOM - EVENING 132

Lots of activity in the apartment. All the boxes have been

taken out - clothing, shoes, accessories are scattered across
the bedroom floor.

CUT TO:

A zipper is pulled up following the pinkish scar on

Elisabeth’s back... the scar disappears as the zipper glides
up a beautiful moiré silk dress.

Elisabeth looks at her back reflected in the bedroom’s tall

mirror. Impossible to see the long scar underneath. Perfect.

From the front, the V-cut neckline flatters her pretty

cleavage.

She slips on long black satin gloves that hide her problem
finger and add a touch of glamour.

Thus prettily dressed, she looks at herself in the mirror...

and is moved by her reflection.

For the first time, in a very long time, she seems to like
herself again.

To once again feel that she’s worth it...

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 81 -

 ...sc 133

133 INT. BATHROOM - END OF THE DAY 133

She finishes putting on her make-up and checks the clock. She
grows increasingly nervous as the time to meet her date
approaches.

A last touch of lipstick, and she looks at herself,

satisfied.

She tidies her hair and flashes a smile in the mirror - the
lipstick is becoming to her smile. Good.

Before leaving she goes to close the secret room’s door...

and catches sight of Sue lying on the floor in stasis.

Her healthy complexion...

Her well-defined, plump lips...

Elisabeth turns to the mirror, her expression a little

gloomy...

She suddenly has the impression that her entire face has just
sagged.

But she forces herself to pull it together.

She adds a bit of lipstick, another stroke of blush to make

her cheekbones rosier.

A beat.

More blush.

She forces a smile as she looks at herself.

Good.

Takes a deep breath... And turns off the light.

CUT TO:

134 INT. HALLWAY / LIVING ROOM - EVENING 134

She walks down the hallway, grabs her coat and handbag...
searches for her keys... sees them on the table in the living
room. Walking over to the table she looks up and her eyes
fall upon... the huge billboard outside.

PUMP IT UP
A suspended moment standing face to face with Sue’s gigantic
overly-sexualized body:

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 82 -

 ...sc 134

Her perfectly round, perky breasts.

Her luscious lips...

Her gorgeous shiny hair...

CUT TO:

135 INT. BATHROOM - EVENING 135

THE BATHROOM LIGHT TURNS ON - Elisabeth is back in front of

the mirror.

A harsh expression as she contemplates her face: this won’t

do at all.

She pulls up the fabric on her dress to hide her cleavage

which all of a sudden can’t even compare. She throws a wrap
over her shoulders to cover it.

And the lipstick is all wrong. She takes it off and puts on
another.

She adds more blush. Brush strokes to her cheekbones, in an

increasingly aggressive fashion.

She lets her hair down.

No, she puts her hair back up.

Ok.

More blush and a forced smile as she looks in the mirror.

She checks the clock, this time she really needs to get
going.

She takes a deep breath to boost herself...

Good...

And she turns off the light.

BLACK

136 INT. CORRIDOR / ENTRANCE / LIVING ROOM - EVENING 136

Walking down the hallway, she forces herself not to look in

the living room... but just when she is about to open the
front door...

Her face tenses... she is struggling as she is about to grab

the big, round metal doorknob... where we discover that she
can see her reflection.

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 83 -

 ...sc 136

She tries to disregard the distorted hamster face that is

reflected by the metallic sphere.

Behind her the billboard looms... as if she could sense it

even with her back turned: all that fresh collagen, that body
overflowing with perfection...

She tries to stay strong... her eyes shut tight to not see
her reflection as her hand approaches the doorknob...

CUT TO:

137 INT. BATHROOM - EVENING 137

Elisabeth in front of the bathroom mirror; a dour, accusatory

look in her eyes as she looks at her reflection:

Disgusting.

She uses a cotton pad to wipe the lipstick off her face with
a slow and harsh gesture, smearing it onto her cheek like a
bloody gash.

138 INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT 138

Elisabeth is sitting in her bathrobe on the bed, her make-up

removed and her hair down, her skin reddened from repeatedly
putting her make-up on and taking it off.

We see her from behind, slightly stooped, facing the window.

Outside, the HUGE palm tree.

Its CRUSHING VERTICALITY.

On the night table, her telephone lights up with a slew of

messages from “FRED” who has visibly been trying to reach her
for some time.

FADE IN:

139 INT. LIVING ROOM - NIGHT 139

The living room plunged in darkness. A faint, flickering

light from the television.

From behind the big armchair, we see Elisabeth’s hand on the

armrest.

A long moment on the TV, with its endless babbling...

(off we hear the neighbor knocking at the front door t:

“Birdy? Birdy Sue?”)

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 84 -

 ...sc 139

Then, after a long while, the bathrobed figure gets up and

crosses the living room, dragging her feet.

140 INT. FRIDGE / KITCHEN - NIGHT 140

POV FROM INSIDE THE REFRIGERATOR - THE DOOR OPENS: we see the
bathrobe standing in front of the shelves filled with food.
Not moving.

In the foreground, a roast chicken amongst other groceries.

The exasperating sound of the TV echoing from behind... Then

the bathrobe grabs a plate with leftover quiche and closes
the door, making everything go: BLACK.

FADE IN:

141A INT. CORRIDOR / BATHROOM - DAY 141A

HISSSSSSSSSSSS

FROM THE DARK LONG HALLWAY - through the bathroom doorframe

we see the shower filled with steam. We hear the water
running and can make out a figure inside the steamy shower.

CUT TO:

141B INT. SHOWER - DAY 141B

THE SHOWER HEAD SPITS OUT its powerful stream of water on...

SUE.

A long moment during which she revels in the gush of hot

water.

The pleasure she exudes being back inside her body, enjoying
her shapely self that awakens with the hot water.

While lathering, she seems to feel something on her

buttock...

She twists around to look at her butt cheek.... She lightly

presses on it with her hand... which reveals... a small bulge
under the epidermis surrounded by unsightly orange-peel
looking cellulite that mars the skin... what the f...? She
lets go... and the bulge disappears... Her skin is smooth and
immaculate once again. She presses on the spot... but it’s
gone...

She waits a moment... then runs her palm over her butt,
pressing on the area again... but everything is all right.

CUT TO:

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 85 -

 ...sc 142

142 INT. BEDROOM - DAY 142

Wearing a towel, we follow her into the bedroom.

She grabs her clothes, sits on the bed - and SPRINGS BACK UP
immediately like a jack-in-the box. She felt something.

She brushes her fingers over her butt cheek and stands in
front of the bedroom mirror, contorting herself to look at
her buttock... but no, there is nothing. She stands in front
of the mirror for a long while to check. Everything is ok.

Her impeccably shaped backside.

143 EXT. STREET (GLAM & POP) - DAY 143

We follow Sue from behind, walking with a lively step.

Everything is hot. Colorful. Enhanced.

144A INT. TV STUDIO / SUE’S DRESSING ROOM - DAY 144A

Sue changes into her leotard.

She checks her ass in the mirror.

Impeccable.

144B INT. BACKSTAGE HALLWAY - DAY 144B

We follow her onto the soundstage.

145 INT. TV STUDIO / PUMP IT UP SHOW - DAY 145

She greets everybody, stretches to warm up.

A last glance at her ass to make sure she looks all right.

Perfect.

She places herself center stage among the dancers.

Everybody is ready to start taping the show.

The cameramen are in place.

The assistants.

The control room.

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR - PUMP IT UP SHOW

Ready Sue?

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 86 -

 ...sc 145

SUE
(big smile)
Ready!

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR - PUMP IT UP SHOW

Ok, places everyone. Silence.
(counting down with her
fingers)
3... 2... 1...

Cameras on - recording.

Sue’s face IMMEDIATELY FLASHES HER GREAT BIG TOOTHY SMILE

SUE
Hi everybody! I’m Sue and it’s time
to pump it up! Are you ready? LET’S
GO!

The music starts.

Don’t you know pump it up...

you’ve got to pump it up...

She goes right into her routine, accompanied by the dancers

to the rhythm of the fast-paced music.

Cameras traveling behind the group catch their backsides

contracting to the music.

Endless smiles and aerobic routines one after the other.

SUE (CONT’D)
Come on now... STEP! STEP!

Sue seamlessly leads them through the choreographed sequence.

SUE (CONT’D)
NOW SQUEEZE THOSE BUTT MUSCLES and
SQUAT! SQUAT! SQUAT!

Sue runs her hand over her butt to show the movement.

SUE (CONT’D)
SQUA...

She stops short, losing the rhythm; she’s upset.

She felt something.

A pregnant pause. One by one, the dancers stop as well.

The cameras stop recording.

The music stops.

Everybody looks at her.

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 87 -

 ...sc 145

SUE (CONT’D)
I... I thought that...

She slides her hand over her butt cheek and discreetly looks
at it.

There’s nothing.

SUE (CONT’D)
Sorry I... something distracted me.

CONTROL ROOM VOICE

Not a problem. Let’s get right back
to it.

Everyone gets back in place.

Sue anxiously slides her hand once again over her butt cheek -
everything is okay.

Everybody gets back in their places. The assistant mouths the

countdown:

3...2...1

Recording:

SUE
Hi everybody! I’m Sue and it’s time
to pump it up! Are you ready? Let’s
go!

The music starts.

Don’t you know pump it up...

The soldiers begin the choreography.

You’ve got to pump it up...

Still the same rhythm, over and over.

Don’t you know pump it up...

You’ve got to pump it up...
SUE (CONT’D)
Come on now, STEP... STEP! CONTRACT
THOSE BUTT MUSCLES!

Once again she puts her hand on her butt cheek to show the
muscle she is working.

SUE (CONT’D)
AND SQUAT! SQUAT! SQUAT! SQUAT!

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 88 -

 ...sc 145

Everything goes smoothly this time. She goes through the

choreography of movements.

SUE (CONT’D)
Come on now, KEEP IT UP! KEEP IT
UP!

A long sequence where the series of movements are rolled out

one after the other.

Don’t you know pump it up… you’ve got to pump it up…

Don’t you know pump it up… you’ve got to pump it up…

SUE (CONT’D)
And bend over, head between your
legs!

She bends over and sticks her head between her legs...
Schlurrrp The bulge reappears, distorting her butt.

She abruptly straightens back up as if she’d been

electrocuted... Fuck!

She loses her balance, almost falling over. A dancer catches

her just in time. Everybody stops.

The music stops, again. The cameras stop.

This time everybody is a little bewildered.

Sue, dripping in sweat, discreetly checks herself out...

everything is okay. What the fuck is going on?

SUE (CONT’D)
(increasingly stressed
out)
I’m sorry... I... skipped a step.

CONTROL ROOM VOICE

Okay, everybody back in place, we
can’t afford to lose too much time,
there’s another show taping right
after us.

The crew for the next show is already waiting backstage.

FLOOR RUNNER
(to Sue)
Can I get you something? Water?

SUE
No, I’m fine, let’s get right back
to it!
(motivating the troops and
herself)
Ok, third time’s a charm, this is
it!

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 89 -

 ...sc 145

Sue’s stress level is rising as she feels everyone’s eyes on

her, watching for the next trip up.

Everyone gets back in position. The cameras. The assistant

who gives the countdown. 3...2...1

Recording.

SUE (CONT’D)
Hi everybody! I’m Sue and it’s time
to pump it up! Are you ready? Let’s
go!

They start again from the beginning. The music is

increasingly unbearable.

Don’t you know pump it up...

You’ve got to pump it up...
Don’t you know pump it up...
You’ve got t-
The music stops.

Yet everything was going fine this time.

Sue gives a questioning glance: what’s going on?

She sees the crew bustling about... Someone is giving

instructions through a walkie-talkie. The info is passed from
person to person, walkie-talkie to walkie-talkie.

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR - PUMP IT UP SHOW

Sorry, it’s the control room now.
(listening to her ear
piece)
The director says he saw something
bizarre on the monitor. He has to
check it out.
(listening to her
earpiece)
Which one?
(to the stage hands)
Bring up the replay on camera 2!

Sue turns and sees that it’s the camera... that is just
behind her ass.

Her stress level is rising... she pulls down on her leotard

bottom to better cover her ass, but the cut of the fabric
just won’t allow for it.

Sue keeps her back close to the wall so that nobody can see
her ass in case the bulge returns.

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 90 -

 ...sc 145

They have started the replay: on a giant screen at the back

of the scenery, images of the troop rewind at top speed,
making them look like ridiculous little marionettes shaking
their legs and asses.

SUE
Can I have my dressing gown?

SUE’S ASSISTANT
...sorry it’s in your dressing
room...

SUE
(in a burst of anger)
Well, then GO GET IT!!!

The video comes to a close up shot of Sue’s ass.

She’s increasingly nervous as the control room gives the time

code for the problematic frame while everyone is watching her
ass, frame by frame on the giant screen...

Sue’s assistant finally returns with her cover up, which she
throws on nervously before suddenly rushing down the hallway.

SUE (CONT’D)
I need a 5-minute break.

146 INT. TV STUDIO / BACKSTAGE HALLWAY. DAY 146

We follow her as she walks with a hurried step down the long
hallway.

147 INT. TV STUDIO / DRESSING ROOM - DAY 147

She comes to her dressing room, shuts herself inside and

looks in the mirror.

Slowly, she lifts the fabric of her leotard to discover...

the bulge which has returned to the same spot as in the
shower earlier... but bigger and uglier this time.

What the hell...

It’s like an internal growth that is deforming her butt

cheek... as though something were stuck under her skin.

She lightly presses on the bulge and realizes that she can...
move it... she pushes and palpates all around it... and with
a small suction noise the bulge starts slowly moving under
her skin - up her buttock and towards her waist.

FLOOR RUNNER (O.S.)

(softly knocking on the
door)
(MORE)

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 91 -

 ...sc 147
FLOOR RUNNER (O.S.) (CONT'D)
Sue, do you want some coffee or
something?

She doesn’t even answer. She is completely obsessed with the

mass under her skin, which she pushes between her fingers
sliding it around.

...the fatty lump moves slowly under her skin towards her
waist...

she pushes it again, guiding it around to her stomach...

...leading the fatty lump to her belly button.

As the bulge approaches the skin under her belly button, she
starts to see something in the center of her belly button...
a sort of... like the end of a... she sticks her two fingers
into her belly button to try and grab... sticking her fingers
further in, she spreads apart the sides of her belly button
in order to dig deeper to try and grip the end of whatever it
is... she grabs the end and starts to pull it out...
discovering little by little... an oblong shape that she
slowly extricates... it’s a...

CHICKEN DRUMSTICK...
...ROASTED...
dripping with grease that she
slowly extracts from her belly
button with an icky slimy
sound:SLUUURPUH!!!!
AND HER BELLY BUTTON CLOSES BACK UP
LIKE AN ANUS WITH A SUCTION NOISE!!!

148 INT. SECRET ROOM - NIGHT 148

AHAAAAAAAAAA...AND SUE WAKES UP WITH A START!!!!!!!!

SWEATING BULLETS IN THE SECRET ROOM

FUCK!

The matrix in stasis is lying on the floor at the other end

of the switch pipe next to her.

Sue is bathed in sweat. She checks her stomach... her ass...

both are impeccable and perfect, trying to regain her wits as
this horrible nightmare fades.

WHAT A MINDFUCK... A goddamn mindfuck...

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 92 -

 ...sc 148

She throws an accusatory look at Elisabeth who is on the

floor, and we follow her...

149 OMITTED 149

150 INT. HALLWAY / LIVING ROOM - NIGHT 150

...as she goes down the corridor.. Entering the living room
she stops... and stares at something that is right in front
of her.

Close up low angle shot that shows the anger rising in her
harsh eyes...

In reverse angle we see what she is staring at...

A BIG CHICKEN CARCASS entirely picked to pieces on the coffee

table. Chicken bones and potato leftovers smeared on a plate.
An empty pint of ice cream. Chocolate bars recklessly munched
down to the last square.

She looks at the deeper imprint left on the big armchair...

Traces of greasy fingerprints on the TV remote control.

Big slippers left on the carpet.

She totters a little and sits in the armchair to collect

herself.

Fuck, what a total lack of control...Revolting...

She nervously rubs her belly, thighs, hunching over, sticking

her head between her knees.

We can sense how much it disgusts her that she is

increasingly letting herself go as Elisabeth.

Sue abruptly grabs the plate and walks out of the living
room.

151 INT. GARBAGE - NIGHT 151

LOW ANGLE SHOT FROM INSIDE THE TRASH CAN WHICH OPENS
revealing Sue’s face. She throws all the leftovers down - the
chicken bones and the chicken rain down and cover the camera.

BLACK

CUT TO:

152 INT. SECRET ROOM - NIGHT 152

Sue tips the matrix over onto her side.

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 93 -

 ...sc 152

As she sticks the long needle into her back to fill seven new
vials, her eyes focus on details of Elisabeth’s body...

Her gnarled and deformed finger, covered in grease.

The long scar that snakes up her spinal column.

She finds this body increasingly ugly.

Flabby.

Unattractive and USELESS.

CUT TO:

153 EXT. STREET (GLAM & POP) - DAY 153

THE GREEN PALM TREES that pass by like KNIVES SKEWERING the
BLUE sky.

We follow Sue walking briskly while on the phone.

The piercing sound of the line Bri-iiiing Bri-iiiing

Yes?

SUE
THIS BALANCE IS NOT WORKING!

Her gait is agitated and she seems to be looking for

reassurance in the eyes of others as she passes them by.

SUE (CONT’D)
Why do we have to keep it even?! I
mean, we clearly don’t have the
same needs! I barely have the time
to enjoy myself while SHE wastes
seven days STUFFING HER FACE in
front of the TV!

Remember there is no she and y-

She hangs up on him. F..! And represses the impulse to bash

her phone against the pavement.

CUT TO:

154A INT. TV STUDIO / SUE’S DRESSING ROOM - DAY 154A

POV FROM INSIDE A LOCKER IN THE DRESSING ROOM. THE LOCKER

DOOR OPENS - Sue finishes getting into her leotard, appearing
increasingly pensive and perturbed.

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 94 -

 ...sc 154B

154B INT. BACKSTAGE HALLWAY - DAY 154B

We follow her from behind walking towards the studio.

155 INT. TV STUDIO / PUMP IT UP - DAY 155

She opens the door energetically:

SUE
Hello everybod...

NO ONE IS THERE.

THE SET IS EMPTY. THE LIGHTS ARE OUT.

A wave of panic sweeps over her face.

She sees a STAGEHAND putting away the last cables.

SUE (CONT’D)
What’s happening? Where is
everybody?!

STAGEHAND
The taping has been cancelled.

SUE
What?! Why?

MAN’S VOICE (O.S.)

Sue?

Startled, she jumps and turns towards a FLOOR RUNNER standing

behind her with a serious look on his face.

FLOOR RUNNER
Harvey wants to see you in his
office - immediately.

Sue is increasingly shaken...

SUE
I... I’ll go change and-

FLOOR RUNNER
He said NOW.

156 INT. HARVEY’S OFFICE - DAY 156

Sue arrives in the office.

Harvey’s armchair is turned towards the plate-glass window;

we can only see the imposing back of his chair.

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 95 -

 ...sc 156

The three men in suits are there, staring at her. One of them
is sitting on the couch. Another is leaning on the corner of
Harvey’s desk. The third stands by the plate-glass window.

Harvey swivels around to face her:

HARVEY
We’ve discovered your little
secret.

Dead silence.

HARVEY (CONT’D)
I couldn’t believe MY EARS!
(staring right into her
eyes)
ELISABETH SPARKLE?!!

SUE
Listen I-

HARVEY
You can’t actually be living in ...
(weird grin)
..ELISABETH SPARKLE’S APARTMENT??!

Sue’s face...

HARVEY (CONT’D)
It’s too much of a coincidence! I
sack her and BAM! Here she is again
trying to stick her foot right back
in the door!
(he chuckles)

An enormous burden is lifted from Sue’s shoulders, relieved

that it’s “only that...”

SUE
Uh...yes we...we briefly met when
she was moving out of town... she
asked me if I was looking for a
place to rent... which I was so...
there you have it.

Silence.

HARVEY
Oh she left town?... where did she
go?

A beat.

SUE
Uh... ... Costa Rica I think.

A long silence.

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 96 -

 ...sc 156

One of the men in suits.

SUIT #1
It’s great for taxes.

Silence.

Harvey raises his eyebrows with a grunt of approval before

slamming his two hands down on his desk.

HARVEY
ANYWAY! That’s not why I wanted to
see you.
(suddenly very serious)
I’m going to get straight to the
point: we can’t keep you on the
morning show.

Dead silence. Sue can’t breathe.

SUE
But WHY?? I’ve j-

HARVEY
Ratings are through the roof.

A beat. Lost. Sue’s emotional roller coaster is palpable.

HARVEY (CONT’D)
We started at 42. We’re now at...
(he gestures to one of the
men)

SUIT #2
216.

HARVEY
That’s phe-no-me-nal. We’ve never
seen such figures in all the
network’s history! PEOPLE LOVE YOU!
THEY ADORE YOU!

Sue, suddenly overcome with emotion...

HARVEY (CONT’D)
That’s why we’ve decided we want
you to host... THE NEW YEAR’S EVE
SHOW.

A beat.

SUE
...you mean... The...

HARVEY
...network’s biggest show! 50
million viewers... LIVE. You can’t
get any higher ...
(MORE)

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 97 -

 ...sc 156
HARVEY (CONT’D)
(a beat with a glassy look
in his eye)
Well, except if you die... then
you’d go...
(he gestures towards the
ceiling)

A beat, as if behind his glassy eyes he were suddenly engaged

in a deep metaphysical reflection... then he abruptly comes
back to the point:

HARVEY (CONT’D)
Anyway, I’m taking a huge gamble on
you and these men can tell you I
talked you up to the shareholders
‘til my last drop of saliva,
convincing them this is the way to
go. It’s going to be intense. We
have only a few months to pull it
off, but I know we can do it.
(to Sue)
So? What do you say?

A long beat on Sue.

HARVEY (CONT’D)
Are you in?

Sue’s gleaming eyes...

BLACK

157 INT. SECRET ROOM - NIGHT 157

For a long moment.

Then a ray of light appears through the gap of a door that

slowly opens...

And Sue’s head appears in the gap.

We are inside the secret room looking towards the door.

A long moment on Sue who looks inside the room with shiny
eyes...

We can feel her inner dilemma...

Then she walks into the secret room and slowly kneels down
behind Elisabeth’s back.

A beat...AND HER MANICURED HAND clips one of the empty vials

onto the puncture syringe... AND LIFTS UP THE BANDAGE -
revealing the slightly swollen puncture site.

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 98 -

 ...sc 157

SUE
If you don’t open the door when
opportunity knocks, you won’t get
another chance...

AND SHE SLOWLY PUSHES THE LONG NEEDLE into the puncture
site...

SUE (CONT’D)
You of all people know this...

Elisabeth’s pupil slightly flinches while the needle slowly

drains the liquid.

BLACK

158 INT. SECRET ROOM - DAY 158

A long silence.

And the ray of light appears again.

Sue, in a new outfit, once again appears in the half-opened

door.

We can see several empty vials strewn on the floor, next to

Elisabeth.

She hesitates before entering stealthily.

SUE
Just one more. Then I have a week
off, and we can switch.

THE MANICURED HAND lifts up the bandage - the skin has

visibly grown even more swollen at the puncture site.

We can tell that Sue feels increasingly uneasy. She

manipulates the Matrix with growing disgust.

Jabbing the needle into the swollen skin is a little more

difficult.

BLACK

A long beat...

159 INT. SECRET ROOM - DAY 159

AND THE DOOR OPENS AGAIN...

and Sue walks into the room in a new outfit...

She takes off the bandage - there’s a little pus oozing from
the puncture site, which is now infected.

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 99 -

 ...sc 159

(there are more and more empty vials strewn across the floor)
She clips on an empty vial.

We can tell that she is increasingly terrified by what she

sees and also feels guilty... but she can’t help it.

SUE
I’ve got some amazing news...
(kneeling behind her)
We are doing the cover of Vogue!

She fiddles with it, making circular movements to try and dig
a way through the inflamed flesh on Elisabeth’s back.

SUE (CONT’D)
It’s just one more day, it’s not a
big deal...

BLACK

FADE IN:

160A INT. BATHROOM - DAY 160A

THE EMPTY, STILL BATHROOM, where we can only see the door to
the secret room open ajar.

Nothing moves.

Then we hear a big breath being taken: AHAAAAAAAAAAAA

A long silence.

And a bloodcurdling scream tearing through the secret room:

ELISABETH (O.S.)
NOOOOOOO.....

160B INT. LIVING ROOM - DAY 160B

...WHICH ECHOES IN THE STILL LIVING ROOM WITH A VIEW ON THE

SMILING BILLBOARD

ELISABETH VOICE (O.S.)

....NOO OOOOOOOOO

CUT TO:

161A INT. HALLWAY / BATHROOM - DAY 161A

HISSSSSSSSSSS THE ROAR OF THE WATER LIKE A BURST OF THUNDER

THE LONG DARK HALLWAY - at the end of which is the open

bathroom door - the shower is filled with steam from the hot
water.

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 100 -

 ...sc 161B

161B INT. SHOWER - DAY 161B

THE SHOWER HEAD SPITS OUT its powerful stream of water on...

ELISABETH. A dazed look in her eyes as she stares at the

ground.

REVERSE ANGLE ON THE SHOWER FLOOR where we see the water

streaming over... ONE OF HER LEGS THAT HAS AGED TERRIBLY.

Varicose veins crisscross her leg, protruding under the

parchment-thin wrinkled skin reaching all the way to her
groin.

She brushes a lock of hair behind her ear, uncovering a swath

of atrociously aged skin around her right eye, like a black
eye made of wrinkles.

The water falls on her back where the swollen and infected
red area around the puncture site has grown larger, her spine
stooped by her vertebrae’s twisted alignment.

Leaning her palm on the wall for support, we discover that

her entire right hand has aged all the way up to her elbow.

ELISABETH
Not a big deal??....THIS IS NOT A
BIG DEAL?????!

The sound of the phone ringing which grows increasingly

louder as if it was going to FUCKING PIERCE OUR EARDRUMS.

Bri-ing, Bri-iiing...
162 INT. KITCHEN - DAY 162

THE ATROCIOUSLY OLD FOOT WITH ITS HARDENED YELLOWED NAILS

paces back and forth.

Bri-ing Bri-iiing
On top of the table is the Vogue issue with SUE, ALL SMILES
ON THE COVER:

THE RISING STAR

Bri-ing Bri-iiing
Yes?

Elisabeth, ready to burst, stuttering in her haste:

ELISABETH
SH-SHE D-DID IT AGAIN!!!!

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 101 -

 ...sc 162

She winces from the violent pain shooting up her back.

ELISABETH (CONT’D)
The...the...GROWTH... - cause if
I’m the matrix what came out of me
can only be called the GROWTH! THE
GROWTH didn’t respect the balance.
AGAIN. SHE’S STEALING MORE AND MORE
TIME FROM ME completely
disregarding the consequences. She
is irresponsible! She is totally
short sighted! Sh-SHHA-SHHA...

She angrily throws the magazine.

ELISABETH (CONT’D)
...SHHHHALLOW AND SUPERFICIAL!!!!!

A beat.

If you don’t want extra time you simply have to stop taking
it.

Elisabeth makes a dreadful grimace, closing her eyes,

struggling against her impulse to implode.

ALL DECISIONS ARE YOUR DECISIONS. You’re simply making them

from different sides of yourself.

Everything is getting all too Kafkaesque...

Would you like to stop?

Elisabeth is taken aback.

ELISABETH (CONT’D)
...Stop?

You are the Matrix. Your other side depends on you to survive
but you don’t. If you are not satisfied, you can put an end
to the experience whenever you want, and go back to being
just you on your own.

A moment of silence. Then again, like a mantra:

Would you like to stop? To go back to being just you on your

own?

Elisabeth seems lost...wrapping her bathrobe tighter around

herself.

ELISABETH (CONT’D)
Will...will everything return to
what it was before? I mean... as I
was before?

We feel all of her vulnerability as she waits for the answer.

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 102 -

 ...sc 162

The line crackles.

What has been transferred won’t come back.

We have made that clear already.

But you can stop the experience as of now.

A beat.

Would you like to stop? To go back to being just you on your

own?

Her eyes fall upon her horrifically aged leg... then look
beneath her bathrobe, towards what we imagine must be left of
her breasts...

ELISABETH (CONT’D)
NO!...no no no...I don’t want to
stop...
(she pulls the fabric of
her bathrobe tighter
around her body)
I can’t stop... I can’t stay LIKE
THIS... SHE has to- (She gives
herself a SMACK!)...“I” have to-
(SMACK! Another slap!) THE BALANCE
HAS TO BE RESPECTED!!

A long beat. The line crackles.

So respect it.

A beat.

We see her back droop.

Let us know if you need anything else. We will be happy to

answer any of your requests. We are at your disposal.

The line goes dead.

Elisabeth remains slumped over the table.

We can see her stooped back shaken by little hiccups as she

starts sobbing.

THEN: When you’re smiling, when you’re smiling...

It’s Sue’s telephone, the Louis Prima ring tone a glaring

reminder of how tragic things have become.

...the whole woooooorld smiles with y-

Her twisted finger pushes a button to send the call direct to

voice mail.

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 103 -

 ...sc 162

She stands with difficulty and starts walking away...

ping!... she stops... a beat... she turns around and sees the
voice mail notification. She hesitates... and can’t stop
herself from going back to listen to it.

ALAN (V.O.)
SUE!! Holy fuck?! Are you sitting
down? Please go sit!

She lets herself fall back down into the chair like a sack of
potatoes.

ALAN (V.O.)
Are you ready to hear this? Ok this
is huge. TOM GRANT wants you in his
next movie! YES, YOU HEARD ME
RIGHT. TOM FUCKING GRANT. He saw
you on the Vogue cover this morning
and he’s DYING to meet you. CALL ME
AS SOON AS YOU GET BACK.

A beat.

And then suddenly she gives herself an enormous slap: SMACK!

ELISABETH
STOP IT!

SLAP! Another.

ELISABETH (CONT’D)
YOU HAVE TO STOP IT!

SLAP!

SMACK!

SLAP!

SHE HITS HER HEAD REPEATEDLY WITH HER FISTS AS THOUGH THAT
WOULD MAKE THE MESSAGE ENTER HER BRAIN ONCE AND FOR ALL.

ELISABETH (CONT’D)
STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT...

The small note “it changed my life,” hanging on the wall...

BLACK

FADE IN:

163 INT. LIVING ROOM - EVENING 163

The silent apartment plunged in darkness.

IN THE LIVING ROOM we see Elisabeth from behind huddled up in

the big armchair.

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 104 -

 ...sc 163

The TV is on, but she isn’t even watching.

She sits silently for a long while, staring into space.

Then something changes in her expression... as though she has

seen something that caught her attention in the bookcase
facing her.

She tries to get up but her aged leg won’t straighten... she
is stuck in the big armchair.

A beat. She looks at her severely deformed knee.

Stiff and swollen with arthritis.

She remains in place, staring... tries again to unbend her

leg... we see the intense effort this requires... but her
knee, ravaged by arthritis is blocked in a bent position.

Elisabeth’s expression is increasingly harsh as she focuses

on trying to unbend her knee...

She grabs her leg with both hands, trying to force it

straight...but it won’t budge...

She pushes harder, harder... She grits her teeth... her

expression betrays increasing agony as she relentlessly tries
to force the knee to unbend...

CRAAAACK - Her kneecap dislocates finally unbending AAAAHHHHH-

a scream of victory and pain.

She does as best she can to push her deformed body to get up -
her dowager’s hump is larger and painful, and there’s a stain
made by the oozing pus on her bathrobe in the area of the
puncture site.

She limps all the way to the bookcase, leaning on the shelves
to catch her breath, as though she had just run a marathon.

Then her arthritic hand grabs something forgotten that is

stuck between two books: Harvey’s departure gift.

She looks at it. Harvey’s chubby smiling face appears

superimposed on the wrapping paper.

HARVEY
To keep you busy. It’s French. My
wife swears by it!

The gnarled fingers tear off the wrapping paper revealing a

thick book of recipes:

FRENCH CUISINE from A to Z

26 recipes from the greatest French chefs!

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 105 -

 ...sc 163

On the cover is a very hefty looking CHEF WITH RED CHEEKS and
a great big smile.

She has to get very, very close to the page to see it as her
vision has gotten much worse. She leafs through the pages of
recipes accompanied by full-size pictures of the dishes:

AUBRAC ALIGOT

BRISSAC BLOOD SAUSAGE WITH APPLES

CAEN STYLE TRIPES

CHRISTMAS BRESSE POULTRY STUFFED WITH FOIE GRAS

FADE IN:

164 INT. LIVING ROOM / TALK SHOW STUDIO - NIGHT 164

Dazzling white. As the camera pulls back, the white very

slowly becomes large white squares... pulling back further,
the white squares form a big toothy smile... we pull back
even more to reveal that the smile is Sue’s pearly-white
smile on a pixelated TV screen facing a zestful TV HOST:

TV HOST
...that’s right!...You popped up on
our screens out of nowhere like a
tornado. I think no one was really
prepared for this whirlwind...

SPLOTCH SPLOTCH SPLOTCH SPLOTCH

165 INT. KITCHEN - NIGHT 165

CHEESE BUBBLING IN A SAUCEPAN

Elisabeth’s DECREPIT FOOT shuffling back and forth across the

kitchen floor.

TV HOST
It all started with the morning
show... rumor has it that you are
up for Tom Grant’s next movie...
and ...just a minute... I’m just
being told that you have been
chosen to host the NEW YEAR’S EVE
SHOW!! Can you confirm this?

SUE
Yes that’s right.

The audience applauds.

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 106 -

 ...sc 165

ELISABETH’S VOICE (O.S.)

(mimicking Sue’s nasal
voice)
“Yes that’s right”

EXTREME CLOSE UP on the thick, greasy melted cheese that is

slowly poured onto a plate like molten lava...

Elisabeth is pouring the aligot to look exactly like the

photo in the recipe book.

She is in the kitchen surrounded by piles of dirty dishes,

the cook book open on the stained and greasy counter, as she
navigates between different recipes that she is cooking at
the same time.

TV HOST
WOW WOW WOW THIS IS BIG NEWS! I
can’t wait to find out what you are
cooking up for us!

ELISABETH TURNS A PAGE SHLACK!

BRISSAC BLOOD SAUSAGE WITH APPLES

(he encourages the audience to applaud. Sue laughs,

flattered)

Elisabeth leans over the book getting as close as possible to

read the recipe.

TV HOST (CONT’D)
So tell us a little about yourself.
Where are you from? How did you get
discovered?! I want - WE want to
know EVERYTHING!!

HISSSSSSS TWO BLOOD SAUSAGES LAND IN A SAUTE PAN making the

hot oil jump and sizzle.

SUE
(playing demurely with the
audience)
Oh, there’s not very much to tell,
really... I’m just a girl from a
very small town in... Indiana.

As the oil gets hotter it pops and splatters in the pan.

Elisabeth wipes her brow on her forearm.

SUE (CONT’D)
I’m sure you’ve never heard of
it... in fact, it’s not even a
town... I’m not really sure you
could even call it a village... A
farm perhaps? (She laughs with the
public).

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 107 -

 ...sc 165

Elisabeth mocks Sue’s shrill laugh while she deglazes the pan
in a CLOUD OF SMOKE HISSSSSSSS

SUE (CONT’D)
...But for as long as I can
remember, it has always been my
dream to be on screen...

ELISABETH
MY dream!
SUE
...as a child I used to put on
shows for my family...

THE GNARLED FINGERS TURN A NEW PAGE SHLACK!

CHRISTMAS BRESSE POULTRY STUFFED WITH FOIE GRAS

Elisabeth opens the refrigerator door and grabs a large

uncooked turkey.

INSERT - the GNARLED FINGER follows across each line of

directions in the cook book: eviscerate the turkey.

TV HOST
How sweet... So everyone is aware
that you replaced Elisabeth Sparkle
and no doubt about it you stepped
in, turned up the volume and ROCKED
THEIR WORLD! (the audience cheers)
Were you a fan of her show?

Elisabeth puts the chicken on the table and pauses - she’s

attentively listening to Sue’s answer.

SUE
Well, I can’t really say I actually
watched her show because... well
you do know that we’re not exactly
the same generation... (everybody
laughs)

Utter disbelief on Elisabeth’s face. HER FINGERS TENSE AND

FREEZE ON THE TURKEY SKIN.

SUE (CONT’D)
...And you have to admit that it
was a bit old fashioned - Jurassic
Fitness really - it needed a
change...

ELISABETH VIOLENTLY SHOVES HER HAND INSIDE THE TURKEY’S

INNARDS IN RETALIATION.

ELISABETH
“Jurassic fitness”...

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 108 -

 ...sc 165

She pokes around the turkey’s cavity...

ELISABETH (CONT’D)
I’ll fucking show you Jurassic
fitness.

Pushing and pulling, poking and thrusting, she finally pulls

out the giblets - SPLOTCH!

SUE
...But my mother was a huge fan of
hers. Every morning, rain or shine,
“Sparkle your life” was on TV.

She breaks a series of eggs on the rim of a big glass bowl.

They land at the bottom : all of these egg yolks side by side
as though they had multiplied themselves... making for a
strange reminiscence...

SUE (CONT’D)
So in a way I grew up with her -
whether I liked it or not!
(laughter from the audience)
I guess that’s why I can say we
have some sort of connection.

ELISABETH
“Some sort of connection?!”

ZZZZZZZZ She grabs the electric beater as though it were a

chain saw.

ELISABETH (CONT’D)
Without ME YOU DON’T EVEN EXIST!!!

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZ Elisabeth savagely destroys the egg yolks

which splatter her bathrobe.

TV HOST
Goodness yes, and WHAT A CHANGE!

Elisabeth shuts off the beater and catches her breath.

TV HOST (CONT’D)
...And now for our final question,
the one we ask each and every one
of our guests...Would you share one
of your little beauty secrets with
us?

All of a sudden, Elisabeth darts in a hurried limp over to

the TV, placing herself right in front of it.

TV HOST (CONT’D)
One little trick of yours that
helps you look so incredibly
stunning! I mean just look at you!

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 109 -

 ...sc 165

ELISABETH FACES THE SCREEN as if the TV Host was speaking

directly to her, in her dirty grease and egg yolk-stained
bathrobe. On the talk show, Sue pauses before answering him:

SUE
Oh... let me think...

Elisabeth points an accusatory finger towards Sue like a

preacher in a trance.

ELISABETH
SAY IT!

TV HOST
(as an aside)
We won’t tell anyone... (laughter
from the audience)

ELISABETH
SAY IT!!
(facing the tv, opening
her arms in a wide
exaggerated gesture,
waddling back and forth)
Go ahead, show them your little
secret!

We see Elisabeth’s face grow increasingly somber as she

listens...

SUE
I guess it’s that I just try... to
be myself... to be sincere and
grateful for all that I have and to
alway-

SPLAT! AN EGG HAS JUST BEEN THROWN AT THE SCREEN.

SPLAT! AND NOW A TOMATO!

THE VISCOUS YELLOW YOKE AND BLOOD RED PULP DRIP DOWN OVER
SUE’S PEARLY WHITES.

Elisabeth is looking at the billboard outside, she grabs a

newspaper, takes out a page and BAM! She slaps the paper on
the window, right over its wide-smile of a mouth.

166 INT. HALLWAY /BATHROOM - NIGHT 166

THE LONG DARK HALLWAY at the end of which we see the

bathroom. Elisabeth, wearing Sue’s silk bathrobe, paces back
and forth in front of the mirror, making faces and mocking
Sue’s nasal voice and affected mannerisms. She simpers and
gestures in an increasingly grotesque caricature:

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 110 -

 ...sc 166

ELISABETH
“I just try to be myseeeeelf... to
be sinceeeere and graaatefuuuuul
for all that I haaaaave...”

Facing the mirror, pointing her crooked fingers at her

reflection.

ELISABETH (CONT’D)
YOU’RE TAKING IT FROM ME!! That’s
your secret!! YOU’RE TAKING IT ALL
FROM ME!!

SMACK! She gives herself a massive slap.

ELISABETH (CONT’D)
STOP IT!

SMACK! Another

ELISABETH (CONT’D)
STOP IT!

She pummels her head with her fists, growing increasingly

violent.

ELISABETH (CONT’D)
YOU HAVE TO STOP IT!!!

CUT TO:

167 INT. SHOWER - NIGHT 167

HISSSSSSSSSSSSS - Elisabeth is hunched up in a fetal

position on the shower floor. THE STREAM OF WATER IS LIKE A
MACHINE GUN pelting her deformed back. Her vertebrae are
increasingly prominent, like a dinosaur.

ELISABETH
(pleading, in a whisper,
over and over again)
Stop it stop it stop it you have
to...

CUT TO:

168 INT. LIVING ROOM - DAY 168

SUE (O.S.)
(HOWLING)
...CONTROOOOOL YOURSELF!!!
SUE’s harrowing howl which echoes all the way to the over-
sized living room that we now discover in daylight.

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 111 -

 ...sc 168

The picture window has been covered with newspapers to hide

the billboard outside.

So has the television.

Leftovers and poultry carcasses are everywhere, the walls are

smeared with grease and sauces, dirty dishes overflowing in
the sink... melted cheese on the floor...

A savage wreckage.

We see Sue, busy, nervously making her way through the

different rooms, muttering to herself.

SUE (CONT’D)
I can’t go back inside her...

169 INT. SECRET ROOM - DAY 169

POV FROM INSIDE THE SECRET ROOM - Sue’s feet going back and
forth, carrying a variety of containers, glass jars and empty
bottles that she gathers in the room.

SUE (O.S.)
I just can’t...

She looks at Elisabeth’s decrepit body stranded on the floor

in her silk dressing gown.

The delicate silk material on that horribly old and

disgusting leg...

SUE (O.S.) (CONT’D)

She’s GROSS...

She brutally rips the dressing gown off her - Elisabeth’s

head falls back down heavily on the tiled floor: THUD!

SUE (CONT’D)
Fat...

With her foot, she pushes her over onto her side in order to
reveal the inflamed, swollen, pus-oozing puncture wound.

SUE (CONT’D)
Old...

SHE VIOLENTLY RIPS OFF the bandage from her back.

SUE (CONT’D)
Disgusting.

She violently stabs the needle into her back and starts
draining the fluid...

Draining...

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 112 -

 ...sc 169

Draining...

She fills up the glass jars and bottles one after the
other...

The camera pulls back, towards the darkness as if the secret

room was getting bigger, damper and more isolated.

BLACK

A LONG MOMENT OF SILENCE

Then a soft, damp, distorted and cavernous noise that grows

louder.

As though marking the passage of time and decay in the dark

room which seems to have sunk into oblivion...

Then a faint music, slowly growing louder...

FADE IN ON

170 A TV COMMERCIAL FOR THE NEW YEAR’S EVE SHOW (6 MONTHS LATER) 170

Flashy colors and lively voices:

Tomorrow 9PM don’t miss Sue and her crew for an unforgettable
New Year's Eve Show!!

CUT TO:

171 INT. NYE FITTING ROOM - DAY 171

The camera pans up A MAGNIFICENT PRINCESS DRESS IN TAFFETA,

chiffon and rhinestones that sparkles gloriously.

Sue is in the fitting room.

Her hair is different, time has passed.

Her agent (Alan) is there, as well as Harvey and the whole

gang of suits. Everyone is bubbling with excitement.

The STYLIST finishes lacing the corset up Sue’s back.

STYLIST
...And there you go...I just have
to take it in a bit here and here,
otherwise we are all set for
tomorrow.

Sue’s emotion is tangible as she sees her reflection in the

mirror.

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 113 -

 ...sc 171

HARVEY
The dress is WONDERFUL!! IT’S
PERFECT! A real princess!

He takes the stylist to the side in the foreground.

HARVEY (CONT’D)
And I was thinking... all the other
dancers could have feathers
sticking out of their asses.

Hesitation on the part of the stylist.

HARVEY (CONT’D)
Well not "literally" in their
asses... You know more like just
above the... rump... like a tail...
you know. It's New Year's Eve!
People want to have fun. They want
joy. Happiness. Feathers are
joyful. They’re fun.

STYLIST
Otherwise I planned on using lemon-
colored short-shorts...

HARVEY
Feathers are more fun.

Discussion over. And Harvey starts to rally the troops.

HARVEY (CONT’D)
Ok everybody out! Everybody needs
to rest up for tomorrow!
(to Sue)
And especially you! You get your
beauty sleep!

172 INT. LIVING ROOM REDECORATED - EVENING 172

We discover the redecorated living room, plunged in darkness.

Everything is clean, zen and organized.

On the table is a magnificent bouquet of blossoming red roses

in a large vase.

On the white note card placed next to it:

BREAK A LEG!

THEY’RE GOING TO LOVE YOU

Sue stands in front of the picture window facing a new

billboard, where she’s wearing her princess dress.

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 114 -

 ...sc 172

NEW YEAR’S EVE SHOW

TOMORROW 9PM

We see the silhouette of A MAN (30) appear from behind in the

frame and wrap his arms around her.

BOYFRIEND
You coming to bed?

SUE
(smiles serenely at him)
Yes, I’ll be right there.

The man leaves.

After a moment, a slight tinnitus starts buzzing in her ears.

Sue glances one last time at the picture window and the
bouquet of roses.

173 INT. CORRIDOR / BATHROOM / SECRET ROOM - NIGHT 173

Then she calmly walks towards the bathroom (we can tell that
this is a well-rehearsed routine), starts taking off her
makeup as she enters the secret room (where we catch sight of
hundreds of shriveled up IV bags and empty vials littering
the floor like a junkie’s den).

After a while she comes out with the syringe in which there
is only a little thick brownish disgusting-looking fluid...
what the fuck?!

With the tinnitus growing increasingly louder, we follow

her...

174 INT. CORRIDOR / LIVING ROOM / KITCHEN - NIGHT 174

...hurrying back down the hallway in the opposite direction,

frantically searching through the drawers in the living room,
and finally finding the USB stick with the telephone number
on it.

She locks herself in the kitchen so no one can hear her

calling.

Bri-ing... Bri-ing...

Tap tap tap... her foot taps nervously on the floor...

Bri-ing... Bri-ing...

Pick up the fucking phone...

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 115 -

 ...sc 174

Bri-ing... Bri-i...

Yes?

SUE
(whispering)
Yes! Oh my god, thanks! This is an
emergency... there is no more
stabilizer fluid!

Silence.

SUE (CONT’D)
Hello?!

Silence

SUE (CONT’D)
(in a screaming whisper)
...IT’S FUCKING 503!

Yes.

Ping... a drop of blood on the kitchen tile.

SUE (CONT’D)
I’m telling you this is urgent!!
There’s no more stabilizer fluid!

The phone line crackles.

It means you’ve reached the end.

A beat.

SUE (CONT’D)
What do you mean...“the end?”

The phone line crackles.

You’ve drained it all out. It’s dry.

A beat.

If you want more, you must let the fluid regenerate.

Ping, ping, ping... the bleeding gets worse.

SUE (CONT’D)
SO JUST TELL ME HOW TO DO IT!!!!
I NEED TO STABILIZE MYSELF RIGHT
NOW!!

You simply have to switch.

A beat. Total. Silence.

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 116 -

 ...sc 174

Sue freezes. As if someone had just asked her to stick her

head in a bucket of shit.

SUE (CONT’D)
Ex-cu-se me?

The switch reboots the fluid secretion process. So you can

continue to enjoy the experience.

SUE (CONT’D)
No no no no, I can’t...
(disgusted)
...“switch”.

Outside, the billboard:

NEW YEAR’S EVE SHOW

TOMORROW 9PM

SUE (CONT’D)
AND ESPECIALLY NOT NOW!!

Ping, ping, ping, the bleeding is even worse, SUE’S POV : THE
IMAGE GROWS DARKER AND HER EYESIGHT BLURS... She tries to
regain her balance, reaching for a chair, but she misses and
falls heavily to the ground.

There is no other option.

She tries to get up on all fours while her vision

increasingly blurs.

SUE (CONT’D)
No no no... PLEASE I JUST NEED ONE
MORE DA-

The line goes dead.

On all fours on the kitchen tile, the piercing tinnitus

drilling through her brain, she no longer has the choice...
she gathers her last strength to get up but everything spins
like a loop-the-loop... and she collapses again a bit further
along in the living room.

She crawls, dragging herself through the hallway...

175 INT. BATHROOM - NIGHT 175

...all the way to the bathroom, using her last bit of

strength to hoist herself up, grabbing onto the sink to try
and reach the switch pipe on the shelf...which she grabs with
the tip of her fingers... and collapses to the ground making
all her beauty products crash to the floor in a loud SMASH!!

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 117 -

 ...sc 176

176 INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT 176

IN THE BEDROOM her boyfriend sits up in bed and puts the

light on.

BOYFRIEND
Sue?

CUT TO:

177 INT. BATHROOM / SECRET ROOM - NIGHT 177

THE EMPTY AND STILL BATHROOM.

The door to the secret room open ajar.

A beat. Nothing moves.

And suddenly

Rahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...a hoarse groan from beyond the grave

echoes out in the secret room.

CUT TO:

178 INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT 178

The man sits on the side of the bed, not sure what he has
just heard.

BOYFRIEND
Babe?

A beat.

The hollow echo of a phlegmy cough.

The man knits his eyebrows, increasingly perplexed...

He stands and we follow him stepping into the hallway.

BOYFRIEND (CONT’D)
Are you alright?

CUT TO:

179 INT. BATHROOM - NIGHT 179

POV FLOOR LEVEL ON THE BATHROOM TILES

A beat... AND A HORRIBLY DECREPIT FOOT WITH NECROSED TOES,

appears in the foreground, taking a first step on the
bathroom tiles like the first step on the moon...

CUT TO:

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 118 -

 ...sc 180

180 INT. HALLWAY - NIGHT 180

THE MAN’S FEET WALK ALONG THE DEEP PILE CARPET...

CUT TO:

181 INT. BATHROOM - NIGHT 181

A second ravaged foot takes a second step.

We can feel how difficult it is for her to stand and move

forward...

CUT TO:

182 INT. HALLWAY - NIGHT 182

THE MAN’S FEET WALKING DOWN THE HALLWAY...

BOYFRIEND
Stressed out about tomorrow?

The man is about to reach the door and walk into the bathroo-

BAM! THE DOOR SHUTS VIOLENTLY RIGHT IN HIS FACE!

He is bare-assed facing the door.

BOYFRIEND (CONT’D)
Sue? Is something wrong?
(he sees a few drops of
blood on the carpet)
...a little cranky because of your
lady business?

183 INT. BATHROOM / CORRIDOR - NIGHT 183

ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE DOOR the shot pulls back along a
decrepit hand pushing against the door with all its
diminished strength... the camera pulls back further along a
bony and wizened arm... down a saggy breast that hangs like
an old washcloth... arriving at a big deformed dowager’s
hump, going down a flabby, wrinkled and MILDEWED buttock,
pulling out more to discover Elisabeth’s entire decrepit
hunchbacked figure like a Gollum, leaning back on the door
with all her might.

TWO NAKED ASSES SEPARATED BY THE BATHROOM DOOR.

BOYFRIEND
Sue?!
(knocking at the door)
Sue open the door - it’s not funny
I need to take a piss!

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 119 -

 ...sc 183

Elisabeth, petrified and mortified on the other side.

She turns her head towards the mirrored cabinet over the
bathroom sink... it reflects a puny, wizened, dreadfully
wrinkled old woman...

SLOW ZOOM IN on her heavily wrinkled face ... thin, stringy

gray hair with bald spots... it takes her a moment to
understand that this horrible old wrinkled thing whose eyes
are reddened from conjunctivitis is...

HER.

BOYFRIEND (O.S.) (CONT’D)

(banging on the door)
Sue! Open the door!

Stark naked, he pounds on the door, louder and louder

BAM! BAM! BAM!

VERY SLOW ZOOM IN - WHICH SHAKES ON ELISABETH’S REFLECTION...

the knocking on the door emphasizes the horrific image she
sees reflected in the mirror... BAM BAM BAM!

And suddenly she starts screaming in a hoarse and cavernous

voice:

ELISABETH
GET OUT!! GET THE
FUCK OUT OF
HERE!!!!
(an enormous wet cough filled with phlegm)

184A INT. HALLWAY / BATHROOM - NIGHT 184A

IN THE HALLWAY - the man jumps back, almost toppling over in

surprise.

He pauses for a moment.

BOYFRIEND
WHAT THE FUCK....
Who’s this? Who the fuck is this?!

ELISABETH
(starts pounding on the
door, screaming)
LEAVE ME
ALONE!!!!!!!!
(MORE)

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 120 -

 ...sc 184A
ELISABETH (CONT’D)
GET OUT OF MY
HOME!!!! LEAVE ME
THE FUCK
ALOOOONE!!!!!!!!
A horrible noisy phlegmy cough, she spits out mucous again.

BOYFRIEND
What the fuck!?

Finally, totally flipped out, the man rushes into the

bedroom, grabs his things and takes off without a word,
SLAMMING the door behind him. BAM!

184B INT. CORRIDOR / LIVING ROOM - NIGHT 184B

Elisabeth opens the bathroom door and hurries down the

hallway. She trips and falls like an old bag of bones. Gets
up and goes into the living room where she rushes to the
telephone.

Her gnarled and deformed fingers push on the phone buttons

with great difficulty.

The line rings.

Yes?

She can’t hear anything - and starts speaking super loudly

like the hearing impaired.

ELISABETH
THIS IS 503 I WANT TO
STOP!!
A beat.

Are you sure? Once you stop you can’t go ba...

ELISABETH (CONT’D)
I FUCKING WANT TO
STOO OOOOOOP !!!!!!!
The words are roared as though her guts were about to spill
out of her mouth.

A beat.

We’ll deliver.

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 121 -

 ...sc 184C

184C INT. HALLWAY / LIVING ROOM - NIGHT 184C

Elisabeth has just pulled the huge framed photo of herself

into the living room - her blue leotard and happy smile on
her face, she props it back up against the wall. She looks at
it for while.

185 INT. LIVING ROOM - DAY 185

Daytime now. Elisabeth feverishly finishes getting dressed:

gloves, thick skin-colored tights, a shawl wrapped like a
turban around her head, and oversized sunglasses. Bundled up
in her yellow coat over her bathrobe, she wraps a blanket
around her neck like a scarf, although outside the sun is
shining brightly.

Sue's phone rings on the table. When you’re smiling...When y-

Elisabeth picks up.

ALAN (V.O.)
HEY HEY HEY! HOW IS MY STAR TODAY?
READY FOR THE BIG NIG...

ELISABETH
She’s not here. She’s gone. This is
over.

ALAN (V.O.)
What do you mean she’s gon...

ELISABETH
THIS IS OVER SHE’S NOT COMING
BACK!!!!
BAM! SHE HURLS THE PHONE ACROSS THE ROOM.

186A INT. APARTMENT CORRIDOR - DAY 186A

At the very moment that she steps into the hallway outside
her front door, her neighbor’s door opens as if half-stalking
her.

NEIGHBOR
How about we g-

ELISABETH
FUCK OFF!

186B INT. STAIRWAY - DAY 186B

She hurtles down the stairs like a lunatic while the neighbor
immediately scurries back inside his apartment, bolting his
door shut.

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 122 -

 ...sc 187A

187A EXT. STREET (ELISABETH AREA) - DAY 187A

THE BLINDING LIGHT OUTSIDE. ALL THE EXTERIOR STIMULI ARE LIKE
A PHYSICAL AGGRESSION.

WE FOLLOW THE LIMPING YELLOW COAT IN EXTREME CLOSE UP.

187B OMITTED 187B

187C INT. CORRIDOR DEPOSIT - DAY 187C

The yellow coat goes along the corridor.

187D INT. DEPOSIT / LOBBY - DAY 187D

CLOSE UP ON THE CARD THAT OPENS THE DEPOSIT BOX. BEEP.

187E OMITTED 187E

188 INT. APARTMENT ENTRANCE - DAY 188

She makes it back home.

SLAMS THE DOOR SHUT.

HER GLOVED HAND DOUBLE LOCKING EACH BOLT.

(she takes off a few layers of clothing - scarf, blanket)

CUT TO:

189 INT. SECRET ROOM / BATHROOM - DAY 189

ELISABETH’S GLOVED HAND closes around Sue’s delicate ankle.

Elisabeth pulls her out of the secret room.

190A INT. HALLWAY / LIVING ROOM - DAY 190A

The camera follows Sue’s body at floor level as she is

quickly dragged down the hallway. Her head violently bumps
against a piece of furniture: BAM!

Elisabeth drags her into the living room right into the
picture window’s full light.

She brutally tears apart box 503 with her old, shaking hands
and takes out: A BIG WHITE NOTECARD which reads:

We are sorry you didn’t appreciate your experience

with The Substance

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 123 -

 ...sc 190A

With the note card is a small vial filled with a black liquid
marked “TERMINATION” for an intra-cardiac injection.

She touches the spot where the needle needs to go into Sue’s
heart.

Holding the syringe, she lifts up her arms high above her and
is about to...

Are you sure ?

Elisabeth jumps and looks around...

... before realizing that the voice is inside her head...

...Once you stop you can’t go back...

Her eyes are more and more focused on Sue's chest going up
and down peacefully...

You will simply remain on your own...

She shakes her head in order to keep her concentration...

But the voice inside her skull rings out even louder...

JUST ON YOUR OWN...

ELISABETH
SHUT THE FUCK UP !!!!

JUST ON YOUR OWN…

BAM! Elisabeth jabs the needle right down into Sue's thorax!

Trying not to waver in her determination, she presses

slightly on the plunger to release a notch of the product.

CLOSE-UP ON THE SYRINGE AS IT SLOWLY BUT GRADUALLY EMPTIES.

Sue’s heartbeat slows down:

Ba boom………………………………………………ba boom…………………………………………………baboom…

AND SUDDENLY ELISABETH’S EYES FREEZE on something facing

her... her eyes mist over... shining with tears... as we
discover what she is looking at:

The note card sitting next to the bouquet of red roses:

“THEY’RE GOING TO LOVE YOU”

Tears well up in her eyes, they escape and roll down her
cheeks... And suddenly Elisabeth wavers... collapses to the
ground next to Sue, bursting into tears, letting all her pain
come out.

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 124 -

 ...sc 190A

ELISABETH (CONT’D)
I can’t...I can’t...
I HATE myself...I need you..
(shaking her)
I need you!!!

She starts to panic, leans in very close to her face to try

and make out any sign of breathing. Nothing.

She starts CPR on Sue.

ELISABETH (CONT’D)
(one two three four...)
Forgive me I was out of my mind...
(one two three four...)
YOU’re the only interesting part of
me. You’re the perfect one.

Blood starts to trickle then run out of Sue's nose.

No no no no...Elisabeth rushes into the bathroom to grab the

switch pipe, hurrying back... she kneels down next to Sue.

ELISABETH (CONT’D)
WE HAVE TO GET YOU READY... THIS IS
OUR BIG NIGHT!

She hooks up the switch pipe. The blood starts circulating...

But nothing happens.

ELISABETH (CONT’D)
C’MON!!! THEY’RE GONNA LOVE YOU!!

She removes the needle from Sue’s arm... and BAM! She jabs it
right into Sue’s chest for an intra-cardiac injection,
screaming:

ELISABETH (CONT’D)
C’MON!!!
The blood circulates AND SUDDENLY Sue's rib cage heaves in a
spasm; she coughs blood up right on Elisabeth’s face.

Taken by surprise, Elisabeth is completely lost.

She takes several steps back, shocked.

Sue's eyes are... OPEN.

So are Elisabeth’s.

Completely rattled, Sue doesn't seem to understand what's

going on.

They look at each other for a short moment, both frozen in

disbelief.

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 125 -

 ...sc 190A

Both of them are activated at the same time...

A long beat on the two women, staring at each other... they

both seem to be trying to fathom each other's soul...

Sue sees the “termination” vial on the floor.

A suspended beat...

190B INT. LIVING ROOM - DAY 190B

And all of a sudden Sue throws herself at Elisabeth... who

dodges her in the nick of time and runs away inside the
apartment. Elisabeth throws something right at Sue’s face
before running away from her again: fuck fuck fuck... she
stumbles and gets back up again as fast as she can... Sue
runs right after her.

Elisabeth grabs a trophy and tries hitting Sue on the head

with it... but Sue ducks at the last minute, avoiding the
object and violently disarms Elisabeth.

Suddenly, Sue runs right at Elisabeth, kneecapping her in the

plexus, which sends Elisabeth flying right against her huge
framed poster on the wall.

The fight between the two of them is UNBELIEVABLY VIOLENT.

Brutal. Carnal. Like a survival instinct pushed to its

fullest.

Creator versus creature...

Sue runs for Elisabeth and starts to strangle her... throttle

her...Elisabeth chokes... suffocates...

With her convulsing free hand, Elisabeth fumbles around,

desperately searching for something... anything... and grabs
a... lamp and BAM! She smashes it atop Sue’s head.

An electric shock shoots through Sue who lets go. Elisabeth

runs into the corridor... Sue runs right after her.
Everything speeds up.

Elisabeth rushes...

191 INT. BATHROOM - DAY 191

...into the bathroom to hide. Her hand trembling as she locks

the door. Sue tries to kick the door down.

Elisabeth searches for a weapon... something to block or

defend... anything... she tries to push a large piece of
furniture against the door to block it but too late... SUE
KICKS the door down... BAM!

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 126 -

 ...sc 191

She punches Elisabeth who falls backwards – THUMP! Her head

bangs violently against the edge of the earthenware sink –
dizzy, she crashes down brutally to the floor...

She tries to come back to her senses but Sue is already upon
her... she grabs her by the hair... picks her up and holds
her in front of the mirror... they both look at each other’s
reflection for a moment before suddenly...THWACK! Sue smashes
Elisabeth's face against the mirror... the mirror cracks and
Elisabeth's eyebrow splits open... She doesn't have the time
to do or say anything before BAM! She's slammed once again
against the mirror.

Elisabeth tries to say something to her:

ELISABETH
Stop... we are o-

But BAM! Sue slams her again against the mirror!! Again! And
again! Soon, Elisabeth's mouth is so messed up that she can
no longer talk - nothing comprehensible comes out. Sue is in
a trance, entirely uncontrollable...

Elisabeth manages to free herself from Sue’s grasp...

192 INT. HALLWAY / LIVING ROOM - DAY 192

...she crawls down the hallway and into the living room.

Sue catches up with her and gives her a final blow which
sends Elisabeth flying through the room before landing on the
glass coffee table which smashes into pieces.

Lying in the middle of the shards of broken glass, Elisabeth

tries to wriggle to get up but her body no longer seems to
respond... Sue now starts kicking her repeatedly, more and
more furiously, each kick making Elisabeth jerk on the floor
and cough up blood. SUE CAN NO LONGER CONTROL HERSELF. SHE'S
KICKING HER MERCILESSLY... until a large pool of blood slowly
starts to form around her on the floor... and Elisabeth's
body finally stops moving: an irreversible stasis.

Sue looks down at the red liquid, as if hypnotized by it. She

brutally seems to come out of her state of trance...

And realizes what she's done...

EVERYTHING IS YOU
INSERT

THE PALM TREE LOSES ITS LEAVES.

She's just killed the matrix.

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 127 -

 ...sc 192

She's just... killed... herself...

193 INT. INSERT 193

SMACK! THE TWO BLU TACK BALLS SLAMMED ONE AGAINST THE OTHER

YOU CAN’T ESCAPE FROM YOURSELF

194 EXT MOTORCYCLE IMAGERY 194

THE DIRTY GRAINY IMAGE of the MOTORCYCLE FROM THE BEGINNING

hurtling straight towards the camera... AND VIOLENTLY
CRASHING INTO IT STRAIGHT ON: the motorcycle smashes into
pieces and the body of the driver flies into the air like a
disarticulated puppet from the sheer ferocity of the impact.

195 INT. LIVING ROOM - DAY 195

BACK TO THE SCENE INSIDE THE LIVING ROOM

Sue looks down fixedly at her bloody hands in the foreground

above a blurry Elisabeth in the middle of a pool of blood in
the background. (tinnitus starts up in her ear - it gets
louder and louder right up to the end)

All of a sudden, we see all the panic, all the VULNERABILITY

inside her eyes.

A long beat.

The phone rings. Like a robot Sue picks up the phone.

SUE
Yes?

ALAN (V.O.)
Sue? Is that you? I tried reaching
you earlier, what happened?...

SUE
Oh nothing.... some practical joker
or something...

ALAN (V.O.)
Oh, you’re reassuring me. This is
no time for nerves.

Through the picture window, the large billboard with her

image smiling brightly right back at her:

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 128 -

 ...sc 195

NEW YEAR’S EVE SHOW

TONIGHT 9PM

ALAN (V.O.)
I’ll be in the front row to see you
shine. THEY’RE GONNA LOVE YOU!

She hangs up.

195B INT. SALLE DE BAIN - JOUR 195B

Sue calmly washes her hands. The blood disappears down the
dark sink hole.

She looks at her reflection shattered in dozens of pieces

inside the broken mirror.

196 INT. TV STUDIO / BACKSTAGE CORRIDOR - DAY 196

Sue arrives at the studio where EVERYONE is rushing around in

preparation for the last rehearsal before the live event.

She listens to everything attentively, her wide smile upon

her face, but we can sense she's acutely attuned to
everything happening inside her, checking for anything that
could potentially go wrong.

CUT TO:

197 INT. NYE FITTING ROOM - DAY 197

A MAGNIFICENT DIAMOND NECKLACE that is delicately placed

around Sue’s neck, as she’s slipped into a dress in the
fitting room.

Everyone drops by the lounge to encourage her.

As the stylist finishes lacing up the corset of her dress

from behind, Sue suddenly starts coughing slightly.

She drinks from a glass of water to try and calm down.

But after a short moment, she starts coughing again.

And again. She can't seem to stop coughing.

She apologizes and leaves for the bathroom.

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 129 -

 ...sc 198

198 INT. WINDING CORRIDORS - DAY 198

We follow her making her way down the hallway.

Walking past the soundstage, we see Harvey shouting at a

technician, pointing to a cable hanging from the ceiling.

HARVEY
...you nail it, you GLUE it or you
fucking EAT it! But EVERYTHING’S
GOTTA BE PERFECT!!

199 INT. NEW YEAR EVE BATHROOM - DAY 199

Sue reaches the restroom and double locks the door.

After a few seconds, she starts coughing again.

Once.

Twice. Ten times.

She's leaning over the sink; trying to make it stop.

Cling gling...

She catches something in the nick of time which has just

fallen into the sink before it slides down the black hole...

A silent beat.

She looks down at her closed fist... which is closed so

tightly it is almost about to break the cartilage.

She slowly opens up her fingers...

And looks down... in the middle of her palm...

... at a TOOTH...

... Its bloody root...

She looks down at it...

And looks back up at the mirror again...

Slowly... very slowly... she opens up her mouth...

And discovers... a black hole right in the middle of her

white teeth...

She stares for a long moment at her smile in the mirror’s

reflection...

And as if drawn by an irresistible urge to do so... she

slowly approaches her fingers towards her other front tooth.

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 130 -

 ...sc 199

She pulls on it... and the tooth pulls away easily with a
small sticky noise...

Her eyes widen...as she holds this new tooth in between her
fingers...

And as if drawn by another compulsive urge, she touches a

third tooth... which also detaches itself very easily...

Her eyes grow increasingly crazed.

Her toothless smile gets bigger and bigger...

Like the black holes of a harmonica.

A black hole into hell.

She stares down at the three teeth in the palm of her hand.

The enormous and bloody roots... It's as if her hidden dark

side was suddenly coming to light.

Someone knocks at the door.

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR - NYE SHOW (O.S.)

Sue?! Are you there? They need to
see you on stage to set the lights

She looks down in terror at her teeth in her hand... then her
face in the mirror...

Her eyes increasingly crazed and terrified, she attempts to

articulate in a normal voice:

SUE
I’m coming just a sec!

Blood drips into the sink. She bends over to make sure none
of the blood stains her dress.

SUE (CONT’D)
I’ll meet you there!

She tries to calm herself down for a moment... thinks...

And suddenly... an idea sparks to life in her eyes...She

looks at her necklace and seems to have come up with an idea.

She rinses her hands and mouth, to get rid of all traces of
blood.

... keeps her mouth shut tight... closes her fingers around
the three teeth inside her hand...

A long beat on the tightly closed fist...

She takes a deep breath and...

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 131 -

 ...sc 199

...opens the door.

200 INT. WINDING CORRIDORS - DAY 200

She walks quickly through the corridor with her head slightly
lowered and her fist closed along her thigh, trying not to be
noticed by anyone in the busy hallway.

HARVEY (O.S.)
HEY SUE! SUE!

SUE!!!

After a few moments she has no choice but to stop and turn
around slowly.

She finds herself facing... HARVEY.

Behind him, a SWARM OF WHITE MEN in their 60s and 70s wearing
suits.

HARVEY (CONT’D)
Let me introduce you to the
shareholders! They’ve been dying to
meet you!

Sue stares at them... sweating...

Next to her thigh, her fist seems as if it's about to

explode, her fingers clasping down on the teeth so tightly...

Harvey looks at her, frowning:

HARVEY (CONT’D)
Everything ok?

Sue remains silent for a moment... Has he noticed anything?

She nods as if to say yes... her neck is drenched in sweat...

Harvey continues to stare at her for a long moment... until

his face finally lights up as he erupts:

HARVEY (CONT’D)
SO SMILE! THAT’S WHAT WE WANT
TONIGHT!

After a short moment as if frozen... Sue smiles, keeping her

mouth tightly shut.

HARVEY (CONT’D)
PRETTY GIRLS SHOULD ALWAYS SMILE!

A bunch of half naked, young dancing girls with big feathers

on their rumps come walking down the corridor, which is
enough to draw Harvey's attention away from her.

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 132 -

 ...sc 200

He follows the movement of the cute, little butts bouncing up

and down towards the studio and prances about happily behind
them.

HARVEY (CONT’D)
OOOH... feathers feathers
feathers...

The shareholders turn and follow Harvey and the dancing rumps
as well.

Sue makes the most of this moment to turn away and strides
towards the dressing room.

She rushes over to the stylist’s desk, searches through her

work materials and takes out... a small tube of super glue.

She walks back to the bathroom.

201 INT. NEW YEAR EVE / BATHROOM - DAY 201

Locks the door shut.

She puts her teeth down on the sink and exhales out deeply,
opening her mouth and letting a large quantity of blood gush
out and into the sink in the process...

She stands feverishly in front of the mirror...

She takes a tooth in between her two fingers... pours a few

drops of super glue on the root...

Shaky, she opens her mouth, lifts up her lip... approaches

her tooth to the naked gum... and pushes the root of the
tooth as deeply as she can into the gum... as deep as
possible... remains still for a few moments...

Takes her fingers away...

It sticks.

Outside, she can hear everyone excitedly looking for her.

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR - NYE SHOW (O.S.)

Sue? They’re waiting for you, we’re
running late!

She speeds up and does the same thing for the two other
teeth...and glues in her smile.

She rinses her mouth several times until all of the blood
disappears...

Smiles broadly in front of the mirror in order to make sure

we can't see any evidence of the carnage which just
occurred...

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 133 -

 ...sc 201

Takes a deep breath...

202A INT. WINDING CORRIDORS - DAY 202A

... and opens the door with a big smile as if nothing

happened.

She follows the assistant director into the corridor.

Everyone she sees throws words of encouragement at her.

ENCOURAGEMENT PERSON #1
Break a leg for tonight!

A spider passes fleetingly in her field of vision.

...

A SPIDER PASSES FLEETINGLY IN HER FIELD OF VISION?

???

As she continues to follow the assistant on set, she rubs her

eyes discretely... Fuck... no it's still there... This shit
is preventing her from seeing properly (she rubs her eye
which makes the thing move but part of its legs are still
there)

She continues to smile and pretend that everything's ok,

while a whole portion of her field of vision is darkened. The
assistant’s face seems to disappear into the spider’s
darkness.

It's just a motionless black shape which remains still in the

middle of her line of vision, but it's absolutely TERRIFYING.

202B INT. NYE SET - DAY 202B

She arrives on set. THE DOP and THE CAMERAMAN show her where
to hit her marks on the floor. They tell her to “look here”
or “look there” but she can't see anything with this fucking
spider in the way.

The cameras film her smile but inside her head, it's a
complete nightmare...

202C INT. WINDING CORRIDORS - JOUR 202C

As soon as the fine-tuning is over, Sue runs off the set to

the corridor...

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 134 -

 ...sc 203

203 INT. ELEVATOR - DAY 203

...and slips into the elevator.

Once inside, she hits the lobby button repeatedly... and the
more she pushes the button nervously, the more she notices
that... one of her fingernails is less and less lined up with
her finger... the door closes, she pulls slightly on the
fingernail which comes straight off and remains in her
hand...(same thing for her two other nails)

She hears a little... splotch!

She looks down at the floor and sees... an ear...

A short beat, her eyes frozen, in shock, while staring down

at the ear on the floor...

Her ear...

She's falling apart and into pieces...

The elevator grinds to a halt. Ding. Second floor.

As the door moves and starts to open, she barely has time to
put her dress over the ear to hide it, while swinging her
hair over her shoulder in order to cover the gaping hole.

MAN ENTERING ELEVATOR

Ready for tonight ?

With the spider in her field of vision, she's unable to make

out who's talking to her... Her hearing is affected. Sounds
grow muffled. She can't understand anything of what THE
PERSON is saying...

Ding. First floor. The person leaves muttering something

completely incomprehensible. Ding. The door closes again. She
hurries to pick up her ear and stuffs it inside her handbag.

Ding. Ground floor.

204 OMITTED 204

205A EXT. STUDIO LOT ALLEY - DAY 205A

She hurries out of the building...

205B EXT. STREETS (SPIDER DEAMBULATION) - DAY 205B

...and starts to head back home, walking as best she can

through the streets between the pedestrians. The spider and
macular degeneration have evolved and now hide 80% of her
vision.

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 135 -

 ...sc 205C

205C INT. STAIRWELL - DAY 205C

SUE’S POV rushing up the stairs.

206 INT. APARTMENT / HALLWAY - DAY 206

Once back at her apartment...

207A INT. BATHROOM - DAY 207A

...she hurries to the bathroom, searching through the closet

until she finds... the small vial marked ACTIVATOR / matrix -
where there is a little of the fluorescent yellow fluid left.

She takes off her dress.

CLOSE UP ON THE SYRINGE THAT FILLS UP WITH THE LIQUID...

SUE
(muttering to herself)
I just need a better version of
myself...

Activator / single use / discard after use

...FILLS UP...

SUE (CONT’D)
Please give me a better version of
myself...

Activator / single use / discard after use

She tightens the tourniquet around her arm.

She sticks the needle into her arm.

Shaking, she injects the contents of the syringe.

A beat.

Which goes on.

Nothing. (Subjective POV: her view in the mirror is still

blocked by the huge spider in her field of vision)

SUE (CONT’D)
C’MON!!!!!

She closes her eyes and starts muttering a prayer.

SUE (CONT’D)
Please please please please...

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 136 -

 ...sc 207A

All of a sudden, FLUORESCENT YELLOW FILLS THE SCREEN AND THE

IMAGE SPLITS (as the camera drops to the floor)

She starts feeling the abdominal cramps.(she falls to the

floor)

Even more violent than the first time. Atrocious.

Excruciating. She feels like she’s dying. She screams.

Suction noises. The second pupil. The fluorescent tunnel.

Subliminal images of anarchic cellular division (everything
is stranger than before).

BLACK

207B A long silence. 207B

Then the sound starts to return, only muffled...

A slightly wheezy breath.

The image comes back gradually.

Flickering like the batting of eyelids...

AT LAST THE SPIDER HAS GONE.

Thank God...

Sue turns her head to one side and sees...

SUE lying on the floor unconscious on the white tiles.

Her translucent skin and her back split open.

It worked... Thank you God, thank you...

She approaches the sink... her vision is half blurry and it’s
difficult for her to focus...

And she then discovers in the mirror:

A MONSTROUS VISION... a being with a hybrid face, shapeless

and hideous... (chaotic cellular growth / body parts placed
haphazardly and in all the wrong places / teeth stuck in her
cheeks and in her cleavage)

The camera slowly tracks back... pulling behind her

shoulder... and discovering stuck on her back:

...AN OUTGROWTH OF ELISABETH’S FACE IN A FROZEN SCREAM, LIKE

EDWARD MUNCH'S PAINTING.

We hear the casting director’s voice that echoes in her head:

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 137 -

 ...sc 207A

CASTING DIRECTOR (V.O.)

Looks like everything sure is in
the right place this time...

ASSISTANT CASTING DIRECTOR (V.O.)

Please state your name/ age /
measurements.

SUE (V.O.)
I’m... I’m...

SUE (V.O.)
I’m...

She vomits a green liquid while at the same time she says:

MONSTROELISASUE
She wipes her mouth and turns her head from right to left as
she looks at herself in the mirror.

She's strangely calm...

As if this monstrous vision didn't scare her.

Almost fascinating her.

As if it pleased her.

As if she was TRULY seeing herself for the very first time,
and finally, accepting herself.

208 INT. LIVING ROOM - EVENING 208

Facing her, through the picture window is the huge billboard:

NEW YEAR’S EVE SHOW

TONIGHT 9PM

Elisabeth lies dead on the living room floor.

Sue lies dead on the bathroom floor.

It's time.

209 INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT 209

MonstroElisaSue starts preparing herself and putting on her

beautiful dress as if everything were completely fine.

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 138 -

 ...sc 209

The zipper that she’s closing up covers Munch’s face on her

back that forms a hump under the fabric, the dress starts to
rip all over.

She slips her foot stumps into her shoes.

She wants to put her earrings on but... she doesn't have any
ears anymore.

She sticks the earrings directly into the sides of her head.

The few disheveled strands of hair that remain disintegrate

under the curling iron.

She has the exact same gestures of vanity as if everything

were normal which is even more weird and scary given her
completely monstrous appearance.

210 INT. LIVING ROOM - NIGHT 210

Back to Monstro who is standing, scissors in hand, facing the

huge frame with the photograph of her back in the days of her
old show: her blue leotard and dashing smile.

She gives it a kick to get rid of the last pieces of

remaining glass and cuts out the face on the poster...

211 INT. BATHROOM - NIGHT 211

...and sticks this paper face (with holes for the eyes) to
her monstrous face with super glue.

She then puts lipstick on top of it to emphasize her smile

while Harvey’s voice echoes in her head:

HARVEY (V.O.)
Pretty girls should always smile!

212A EXT. NIGHT STREET (GOING TO STUDIO) - NIGHT 212A

We follow her from behind as she crosses town like a ghostly

shadow, with her Elisabeth mask like a clown's mask covered
in red lipstick.

212B EXT. NIGHT STREET (GOING TO STUDIO) - NIGHT 212B

Still on Monstro’s back as she walks.

213A OMITTED 213A

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 139 -

 ...sc 213B

213B EXT. STUDIO LOT ALLEY / STUDIO DOOR - NIGHT 213B

We follow her from behind as she arrives in front of the

studio door.

She swipes her badge over the screen that unlocks the door
and finds herself standing face to face with the assistant
director...

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR - NYE SHOW

Ah, at last! We were starting to
worry... hurry up, you're up in
five!

214A INT. NYE STUDIO / HALLWAY THAT LEADS TO THE SET - NIGHT 214A

He leads the way in towards the set as if nothing were

wrong...

MonstroElisaSue walks past the staff and CREW MEMBERS who

greet her with a broad smile: "AAAAAH THERE SHE IS! SO
BEAUTIFUL!", "We love you!", "This is where you belong and
you'll always belong here!", « We can’t do without you » We
could never do without you!» "You're irreplaceable!"

She smiles, dazed with her cut out face glued on and her
teeth stuck all over the place.

Her eyes are filled with tears, moved by so much love.

All of a sudden a loud BEEP rings out...

214B EXT. STUDIO LOT ALLEY / STUDIO DOOR - NIGHT 214B

...Bursting this completely fictitious bubble she just

invented.

She's still standing in front of the studio door. Her badge

has just opened the secure door.

In front of her: the long empty corridor that leads to the

set...

CUT TO:

215 INT. NEW YEAR EVE STAGE - NIGHT 215

ON STAGE - LAST MOMENTS BEFORE GOING ON AIR

The group of dancers is ready on stage, awaiting her.

Harvey and the shareholders in front row seats, their eyes

gleaming with excitement and expectation.

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 140 -

 ...sc 215

HARVEY
(proud, to the men)
You won’t be disappointed. She’s my
most beautiful creation. I shaped
her for success!

Friendly pat on the shoulder in return: Atta boy...

The live countdown starts... 5....4...3...

A figure backlit by the violent stage lights walks onto the

soundstage.

2...

The figure comes to take her place in the middle of the sexy
dancers.

1...

A buzz of whispers rise up... and freeze...

LIGHTS. CAMERA/ON AIR.

LIVE.

Great silence.

Monstroelisasue on the stage in the middle of the dancers.

The sound of a fly buzzing through the room.

The cameramen remain completely still.

Just like the little red dot of light.

Just like the audience.

Just like Harvey and his clique.

The dancers with feathers sticking out of their asses placed

around Monstroelisasue haven’t moved an inch; they glance at
each other, not knowing what to do.

Monstroelisasue, her shapeless body, her cut out paper face

with the red lipstick smile drawn on top of it.

The mike lets out a feedback noise.

A silent wave of shudders passes through the room.

MonstroElisaSue tries not to let herself be disconcerted and

talks into the microphone as if everything were normal: (tap
tap on the microphone with her mush finger)

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 141 -

 ...sc 215

MONSTROELISASUE
I AM FO HAPPFY TO BE WIFF YOU
TOFIGHT... I’FE MIFFED YOU FO
MUFCH...

Her ridiculous half stuck on mask detaches itself...

revealing her monstrous face.

A beat.

Thrrrup - a breast sticks out of the monster’s eye socket and

starts swinging at the end of the optic nerve...

...

The shrill, high-pitched scream of a WOMAN (WOMAN#1) suddenly

interrupts this suspended moment...and right then... ALL HELL
breaks loose.

COMPLETE PANIC INSIDE THE ROOM

MAN 1
THE MONSTER!!!

MAN 2
SHOOT THE MONSTER!!!

MAN 3
IT'S A FREAK!!!

A MOTHER hides her DAUGHTER’S eyes (she’s wearing the same

mini-dress as Monstro)

The music starts up automatically and the dancers look at

each other in panic, not knowing what to do... some start to
take a few steps... while others make the most of this moment
of confusion to run away, rushing off the set.

MonstroElisaSue looks around her and starts to panic as

people’s screams grow louder and louder in the room.

MONSTROELISASUE
FDON’T BE FCARED... LET ME
EXPFLAIN...

She tries to stop people from running but they break away
while insulting her:

WOMAN #3
FREAK!

MAN#4
YOU FREAK!

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 142 -

 ...sc 215

MONSTROELISASUE
IT'F ME...IT'F FTILL ME... I'M FE
FSAME....(Elisabeth’s face,
embedded in the monster’s back is
speaking at the same time)

SOMEONE pushes past her and makes her fall over violently.

A spotlight turns on and shines down on her. She shades her

face and eyes with her hands to prevent the blinding light
from burning her eyes and dazzling her...

ELISABETH
IT'F ME! FUE! ELIFABEFF!…

IT'F ME!

ME !
She gets up and tries to pick up the microphone but her hand
remains glued to it and CRACK detaches itself from her wrist!

Everyone is sprayed with the blood now gushing out of her arm
stump, like a snow canon.

More horrified screams rise up.

She sprays blood in every direction, like a lawn hose, while

spinning around in her princess dress.

SPLASH ON HARVEY!

SPLASH ON THE SHAREHOLDERS!

SPLASH ON THE LITTLE GIRL!

New burst of terrified screams.

HARVEY
(to the infuriated
shareholders who mime
slitting their throats to
say:”you’re done”)
Let me explain!!

MONSTROELISASUE
(to the public)
LETF ME EFPLAI-

BAM! SOMEONE KNOCKS HER OVER THE HEAD WITH THE MIC STAND.

MonstroElisaSue’s head is half destroyed. A new head - a mix

of Sue and Elisabeth is sticking out of the gaping hole. She
leaves the set to escape the crowd’s fury.

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 143 -

 ...sc 216

216 INT. BACKSTAGE CORRIDOR - NIGHT 216

She runs through the corridor, the famous corridor, where she
leaves an immense trail of blood, spraying the walls as she
passes.

Complete carnage.

217 EXT. STUDIO LOT ALLEY - NIGHT 217

She runs outside in agony...

218A EXT. NIGHT STREET 1 - NIGHT 218A

...wheezing more and more as she rushes into the street in a

panic.

She's scared and she wants to be left alone.

She's trying to get somewhere. We can tell she knows where

she's heading.

218B EXT. NIGHT STREET 2 - NIGHT 218B

She runs through the streets as fast as she can.

Her legs dislocate and collapse underneath her.

SPLASH ! The billboards get splattered with blood as she

crumples to the floor.

She tries to get up. But her body no longer really has a
human form and she has neither legs nor arms to get up as her
body dislocates more and more into a bloody magma mass:

MUSHOFMONSTROELIZASUE
She continues to drag herself along the sidewalk, desperately
wanting to get somewhere...

Her breathing is more and more wheezy, but she doesn't give
up; she continues to drag her bloody blob along the sidewalk
giving everything she has to give to keep on going...

CUT TO:

219 EXT. WALK OF FAME SIDEWALK - NIGHT AND DAY 219

STATIC HIGH ANGLE TOP SHOT on the pink star on top of the
grey slabs upon which we can read:

ELIZABETH SPARKLE

THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 144 -

 ...sc 219

A long silent beat on the star, which seems like a moment of

peace in comparison to the previous images of carnage.

We then see a piece of flesh crawling into the corner of the

frame trying to drag itself over to the star.

In agony, MushofMonstroElisaSue, puts her last efforts into

heaving what remains of her body onto the middle of the star.

She winds up in the middle of the star, looking up at the sky

which grows more and more dazzling as if spotlights were
shining right down on her.

Gold confetti starts to fall from the sky upon her like a
golden rain shower...

Noises of the street and cars muffled little by little, turn

into the sound of applause and grandiloquent music.

MushofMonstroElisaSue watches the confetti fall down on her

monstrous face like in a dream, as if everything were
disappearing around her and she were alone in the world
inside this golden rain.

We can sense that she is utterly happy, as though she were

thoroughly experiencing her moment of accomplishment and
glory as mush on the sidewalk...

The confetti continues to fall as she dissolves more and

more...

PUDDLEOFMONSTROELIZASUE
...is overwhelmed by the sound of applause... and dissolves
even more until there's now only a large, bloody stain...

Which looks a lot like the splattered ketchup from the

beginning.

A beat.

We hear a roaring sound, which grows louder and louder... as

day breaks...

And a large street cleaning machine with black rotary brushes

glides across the frame, its soapy mouth wiping clean the
traces of blood on the pavement...

BLACK - over which the music from THE TRASH VERSION OF THE
WORLD IS A VAMPIRE BLARES LOUDLY.

THE END
THE SUBSTANCE - May 3rd 2022 - 145 -