Actor and former model, Demi Moore, who shot to fame in the mid-80s and is perhaps best known for her role in Ghost, makes her return to the screen in a new body horror flick, The Substance.
The film received Best Screenplay at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, and tells the story of an aging Hollywood actor who decides to follow a mysterious lead in order to live a better life. This involves splitting herself into two versions; her original body and another younger, ‘more attractive’ version.
Writer-director, Coralie Fargeat, said that it was important for the lead actor to be comfortable in their own skin due to the confronting subject of the film. According to Fargeat, Demi was a perfect fit because she was at a stage in her life where she had already dealt with and come to peace these feelings.
Moore spoke to Variety on her uncertainty about the film’s reception, commenting, “I didn’t know how the movie was going to go”, “It’s so out of the box. It could have either really worked or been a disaster. To be completely transparent, body horror is not a genre I was extremely familiar with.”
Despite her early success, Moore’s later films suffered an underwhelming response, which led to her retrieval from the spotlight and a stronger focus on raising her children. However, she steps head-on back into the lights with this character in The Substance, tackling the menacing nature of Hollywood and its treatment of older women. With 7.9 rating on IMDb, 92% on Rotten Tomatoes, and 3.9/5 on Letterboxd, it’s safe to say this chapter of Demi Moore’s screen comeback has been a triumph.
