As a diehard fan of practical effects and groundbreaking body horror, I must say that Coralie Fargeat’s The Substance has left me utterly spellbound! From my years of watching Game of Thrones to my recent binge-watching of Body Horror 101, nothing quite prepared me for the sheer brilliance of Pierre-Olivier Persin’s work on this film.
In the film “The Substance,” directed by Coralie Fargeat, it swiftly became evident to prosthetics designer Pierre-Olivier Persin that this production, where Demi Moore uses a rejuvenation drug leading to astonishing transformations, would involve no taboos whatsoever.
In conversation with THR, veteran actor Persin (from Game of Thrones) shares his experience, stating that projects often promise extensive prosthetic work but deliver only two aging makeup applications. He expresses this as the most prosthetics work he’s ever undertaken in a project. Upon reading the script for The Substance, he was so captivated that it slipped from his hands, exclaiming, “Wow, I must meet with Coralie.
The film, categorized as a chilling body-horror, predominantly relying on practical effects, narrates the story of Elisabeth Sparkle – a once famous personality facing decline. She decides to experiment with an illicit drug, resulting in a temporary youthful counterpart named Sue. However, she subsequently confronts the consequences of her actions.
Persin and his crew employed two stand-ins and two substitutes for Moore, fitting her and four other actresses with prosthetics. “Demi was eager to go the extra mile,” explains Persin. For a “birth” scene, in which the “other self” emerges from an open spine, Persin utilized puppetry along with prosthetic add-ons on the body double to make it appear as authentic as possible (see next page).
In the movie directed by Persin, Margaret Qualley, who portrayed a younger version of Moore, wore artificial breasts. These were created by taking a mold of Qualley, followed by the production of silicone gel props that were later attached to the actress. The process involved coloring and blending these props to make them look realistic. Persin explained the procedure: “The method for creating prosthetics is generally the same. First, we take a cast or scan of the subject. Then, we sculpt the desired changes, create molds from those sculptures, use silicone or another material, attach them, and finally paint them.
As a gamer immersed in my project, I recall the initial phase of documenting Elisabeth’s decay began with a prosthetic finger – the body part that first showed signs of the drug’s effects in the film. Coralie, eager as she was, wanted to rush things early on, according to Persin’s notes. I thought, “Given she’ll eventually transform into that grotesque character, let’s take it step by step instead.
To minimize the use of special effects, Fargeat opted for a method that primarily employed puppets in a confrontation between Qualley’s Sue and Moore’s Elisabeth. Only a minimal amount of VFX was used to support this. As Persin explains, “We created a dummy head of Demi with her Gollum-like face, which was quite advanced and could bleed and move realistically.” In the scene, Margaret actually smashed this fake head against a mirror, causing it to shatter. Later, they filmed the same scene with Demi, and the VFX team combined these two shots, so that when you see the fake head hitting the mirror, it appears as if it’s really happening, followed by Demi reacting in response.
Moore could spend up to six hours in the makeup room, depending on the required transformation. The most complex and time-consuming look was the last one, which was called Monstro.
Monstro, or more famously known as Elisasue, is a fusion of Sue and Elizabeth that Sue attempts to fabricate using residual serum, resulting in a misshapen creature resembling Edvard Munch’s The Scream. The remaining features of Elizabeth are carved into the monster’s back. “We often had our differences,” Persin explains, “but for the final stage, we found common ground.
Fargeat’s primary focus in making the movie centered around the appearance of Monstro. However, Perzin’s initial design – incorporating the use of maquettes, digital sculpting, and Photoshop – was remarkably similar to the final product.
Each morning, I’d spend two hours transforming my visage into Monstro, a character that required intricate prosthetics and a full-body suit. Close-up shots showcased Qualley’s features, while a stand-in handled the full-bodied scenes. As Persin puts it, “No idea was too outlandish, we were never content with what we had.
Check out other revealing stories about how movies get made at: THR.com/behindthescreen
Originally published as a solo issue in The Hollywood Reporter’s November edition, this tale can be accessed by subscribing to the magazine. Click here to become a subscriber.
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2024-11-17 21:25