I was one of the (seemingly few) people who absolutely hated the horror movie The Substance, but there’s a good reason why Demi Moore should sweep awards season.
Very rarely do I need to walk a professional opinion of mine back, and I’m still not going to this awards season. However, there are more obvious “villains” lurking on multiple awards shortlists this year (ahem, Emilia Pérez), and for the most part, The Substance is not among them.
And why would it be? A female-directed horror movie drilling down into the effects of ageist Hollywood while resurrecting the nearly-gone career of a 62-year-old powerhouse was hardly likely to get bad press. Unless they read my one-star review, of course.
Even before I pressed publish on that review, I got some flack for my scolding hot take. Our entire TV & Movies team disagrees with me (sorry, guys), I routinely had random men message me to tell me why my views were wrong after it dropped, and I really had to shut my mouth when it made our best movies of 2024 list.
That was three months ago, and I stand by it. It’s a film that feels incredibly progressive on the surface, but doesn’t really have any substance (pun intended) when you drill down into it. Coralie Fargeat is merely offering us Feminism 4 Dummies, only it’s soaked in blood and body parts.
Ouch. But in my defense, it’s an ouch with one exception – Demi Moore. This might surprise you, but I think she’s the ideal winner for Best Actress at the Oscars by a country mile.
Demi Moore has to win Best Actress for the most obvious reason
I can almost hear you laughing or calling me a hypocrite through the screen, but let’s start by covering my own bases.
October Jasmine essentially gave her whole one star solely to Moore, writing, “There’s no doubting one thing – she’s absolutely belting in this. Consistently tapping into a guttural, primal instinct and manifesting on screen in a way we’ve never seen her before, she’s bound to be in awards contention.”
I could have smugly gloated after her Golden Globes win, but this is fully her moment, not mine. It’s obviously a huge moment for a horror movie to have its time in the awards spotlight, but I think The Substance’s Hollywood success is purely down to Moore herself.
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She summed it up impeccably well in her acceptance speech, finally breaking free from her “popcorn actress” mold.
Here’s where my reasoning comes in. We’d expect an award-winning caliber performance from fellow Best Actress nominees like Nicole Kidman and Cynthia Erivo.
We’d even suspend belief in a newcomer like Mikey Madison, who has no prior baggage attached. In contrast, Moore knew she had one last chance with The Substance and genuinely delivered the performance of a lifetime.
That’s the only way we can really describe it, too. Pamela Anderson almost falls into the same category with her turn in The Last Showgirl. Still, she didn’t have to have a mental breakdown into disgusting chicken wings or be shut inside a secret windowless room by Margaret Qualley.
While watching an elderly, “ugly” version of Moore get revenge while her boobs fly in the wind is fairly reductive in my view, it’s hugely out of Moore’s comfort zone.
If we give awards out for life-changing performances, disrupting what we know, and instead presenting us with something entirely new, Moore is the only candidate worthy of a gong.
Being in the business for 45 years only to be considered a cash cow is an insult to women not even The Substance could achieve – and I want her to take the awards circles for everything they’ve got.
The Substance is available to stream on MUBI, or buy/rent on Amazon Prime Video. You can also check out the scariest-looking horror movies in 2025, as well as the best Neon horror movies you need to catch up with.
