Horror is no stranger to having new ideas stand out in its field. Especially when it comes to horror movies. Movies like The Exorcist, The Witch, and Hereditary all came out at different points but redefined the genre of horror as known before. I believe that Coralie Fergeat’s movie, The Substance, that came out in 2024 is a film that redefines the genre the same way as the films mentioned before did when they came out.
The Substance is a film that is very simple. Demi Moore plays Elisabeth Sparkle, an actress who has fallen out of the public’s eye with time. She eventually overhears that management is going to let her go soon due to getting older and no longer being what the public wants. This eventually led to Elisabeth taking a drug known as the substance that claims to make a younger and better version of herself. Even with this simple premise, the audience is forced to go through a whole mix of emotions throughout the film. Even when the film is described to you, it will never do it justice compared to just watching it for the first time. However you might be asking, why is this a modern masterpiece for horror?
The Substance is a body horror film which is a type of horror that isn’t really mainstream. A body horror movie uses pushing the human body enough to the point of it being horrifying. Body horror isn’t limited to movies however. Books like Frankenstein and Uzumaki have concepts and ideas that involve body horror. But still, this type of horror isn’t typically in the public eye due to the grotesque nature of what is being explored. But The Substance was a big success for Mubi, the production company of the film. The film grossed $77-82 million in the box office with a budget of only $18 million, which is huge for this being Fergeat’s second film and a film with not a lot of advertising behind it. As well as being a film that explores how Hollywood views women in the industry of film and using body horror as the medium to look at it from. It’s something that isn’t really seen everyday. Another huge success for this movie was how many awards it got. The film was nominated and won an Oscar for Best Makeup and Hairstyling in 2025 as well as Demi Moore winning a Golden Globe for Best Actress- Motion Picture- Musical or Comedy that same year. As well as many others.
The Substance shows how horror is never limited as well as how new ideas are still able to take over and be explored. In a day of age of sequels and the same IPs being reused in order to make a quick buck. The Substance shows that doesn’t have to be the case.
