A fierce debate has been sparked online over the genre of Demi Moore’s new film The Substance.
The movie, which is billed as a ‘satirical body horror’ film on Wikipedia, was recently submitted to the Golden Globes in the Best Musical/Comedy categories.
This has divided fans of the film and led to a debate over which genre it actually is.
‘Labelling the best movie of this year as a comedy? Sure there’s little camp humor in it. But a comedy???’ questioned one.
Another wrote, ‘This movie is a lot of things, but funny isn’t one of them.’
A fierce debate has been sparked online over the genre of Demi Moore’s new film The Substance
The movie, which is billed as a ‘satirical body horror’ film on Wikipedia, was recently submitted to the Golden Globes in the Best Musical/Comedy categories
A third disagreed, writing, ‘I don’t know why ppl are confused. This was so clearly a comedy. Dark comedy, yes, but extremely satirical in nature.’
Another moviegoer agreed, commenting, ‘Comedy can be a lot of things and doesn’t need to be up front about being a comedy.
‘Some things are just funny without telling you it’s funny.’
According to IMDb, The Substance is listed under multiple genres, including horror, dark comedy, and drama.
Demi stars in The Substance – which is directed, written and produced by French filmmaker Coralie Fargeat – as Elisabeth Sparkle, a former Oscar winner who has transitioned into a successful TV career with a popular aerobics program.
But when she turns 50, she in unceremoniously fired from her show as the network — led by an over-the-top Dennis Quaid — seeks a younger host, even though the show seems to be getting solid ratings.
When Elisabeth learns of a mysterious drug called The Substance that can help her stay young, she jumps at the opportunity.
The shadowy substance causes her to grow a second, younger body (played by Margaret Qualley), which she can inhabit for seven days at time – though she must return to her body for a full week off before alternating again.
Fans are torn online over whether or not The Substance is a comedy or a horror
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Her younger self turns out to be a hit with the network and nabs her old show, but Elisabeth realizes that her younger self has trouble only using her body for seven days at a time, and their delayed transfers begin to have significant, stomach-churning impacts on Elisabeth’s body.
The film has been applauded by film fans for being a return to the body horror sub-genre pioneered by filmmakers including David Cronenberg (The Fly, Videodrome), Brian Yuzna (Society) and Stuart Gordon (Re-Animator, From Beyond).
Demi, who undergoes multiple shocking physical transformations in The Substance, has received some of the best reviews of her career, while Margaret has capped off a string of acclaimed performances with auteur filmmakers.
The film features an impressive amount of gore for an international co-production that played at the Cannes Film Festival and won its Best Screenplay award earlier this year.
So gory, in fact, that cinema-goers have been walking out of screenings both in Britain and in the US due to the extreme levels of violence on display.
Demi stars in The Substance as Elisabeth Sparkle, a former Oscar winner who seeks out a drug to try and remain youthful
According to IMDb, The Substance is listed under multiple genres, including horror, dark comedy, and drama
Demi told Interview magazine that she was ‘moved’ when she read the movie’s script.
She felt it was ‘such a unique way to be exploring this issue of aging, of societal conditioning, of what I also see as the pressure of the male-idealized woman that we as women have bought into.’
She continued, ‘At the core of it, what it’s really about is what we do to ourselves, and I loved that it was illustrated in such a physical way — showing that violence with what we do with our thoughts, how we attack ourselves and distort things.
‘There’s great power in knowing that what we do to ourselves is a choice, and we can make a different choice,’ she continued.
‘And for those who aren’t looking for such a deep message, it’s just entertaining.’