The Substance
The Substance opens with its simplest, most natural image: a raw chicken’s egg, the yolk yellow and dewy, lying flat on a white background. A long needle full of an unnaturally green fluid enters the frame and is injected into the yolk by a gloved hand, causing the egg to jitter and duplicate itself. This successful test immediately demonstrates the film’s premise—a substance that can create another version of an extant being—but also references fertility.