‘Out-of-the-box’: Demi Moore and The Substance bring back body horror
Demi Moore’s new film is a return to a classic genre, but it’s got some stiff competition.
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She’s a woman of substance – it’s just a question of whether you can stomach Demi Moore’s new movie.
The actor, 61, stars in new horror movie The Substance, which is dividing audiences across the world.
They’re either lauding it as bringing back the genre of “body horror”, or walking out of cinemas because it’s physically making them sick.
Moore plays Elisabeth, an ageing Hollywood star, who uses a serum that temporarily creates a second, younger version of herself (played by Margaret Qualley) for one week on, one week off. In a surprise to no one, things quickly take a gruesome turn.
“It was a completely unique, out-of-the-box script, you could tell it was visually stimulating,” Moore told the BBC. “We had no idea how it would end up, which made it even more risky and juicy.
“I felt like that was why I wanted to do it … going to such a raw, vulnerable place, to really kind of peel away.
“And it was quite liberating in many respects,” she said.
If that whets your appetite, here’s our pick of five of the best body horror movies to feast on while you eat your leftover Halloween haul – if you dare:
Poor Things
The 2023 Frankenstein-esque coming-of-age-meets-body-horror flick starring Emma Stone, Willem Dafoe and Mark Ruffalo, was a smash-hit with critics and took home four Oscars, including Best Actress for Stone. It follows the story of Bella Baxter, who gets reanimated by mad scientist Godwin Baxter (Dafoe), by putting the brain of her baby into her head. She then – naturally – embarks on a sexual adventure. “This character is my favourite, because she’s so one of a kind – unlike anything else,” Stone told The Sunday Telegraph.
Titane
Another critically-acclaimed body horror was released in 2021, when French-Belgian film Titane won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival. Starring Vincent Lindon, Agathe Rousselle and Garance Marillier, the body-horror-meets-psychological-drama follows the fantasy story of Alexia (Rousselle) who has a titanium plate fitted in her brain after a car crash. Attracted to cars, as you are, she becomes pregnant by one and a cold-hearted killer … If that revs your engine, so be it.
Eraserhead
The 1977 debut of acclaimed director David Lynch shocked audiences at the time and made him a star. He went on to direct The Elephant Man, Blue Velvet and Twin Peaks. This dystopian body horror is the story of Henry Spencer (Jack Nance), who becomes the father of a malformed baby and then, well, your guess is as good as ours ...
The Fly
One of the most famous and mainstream movies in the genre, is 1986’s The Fly, starring Jeff Goldblum and Geena Davis. It was director David Cronenberg’s biggest hit to date and follows the story of inventor Seth Brundle (Goldblum) who accidentally gets genetically fused with a fly during his teleportation experiments. Dang it.
Body Melt
This 1993 “Ozploitation” movie stars Gerard Kennedy, Andrew Daddo and Ian Smith. It’s about a pharmaceutical company which tests out a new drug on unsuspecting citizens, by disguising it as a vitamin supplement, but which starts to, well, do exactly what it says on the tin.