How Demi Moore’s Awards Run for ‘The Substance’ Could Redefine Horror at the Oscars
variety.comClayton Davis Senior Awards Editor After watching the scene in “The Substance” where Elisabeth Sparkle, played by Demi Moore, repeatedly applies and wipes off lipstick in front of a mirror — a chilling metaphor for identity, erasure and self-loathing — I couldn’t have imagined that critics and awards voters would embrace it.
Yet here we are, with Moore emerging as a frontrunner in the Oscar race for her career-defining performance in Coralie Fargeat’s provocative body horror film.
Her Golden Globes win Sunday not only cements Moore’s legacy but also shines a long-overdue spotlight on horror as a genre worthy of awards season acclaim.
At 62, Moore is on the verge of earning her first-ever Oscar nomination for best actress. Her haunting and multilayered portrayal of an aging star who takes a mysterious serum to regain her youth — only for the experiment to spiral into a surreal nightmare — has been hailed as a masterclass in physical and emotional transformation.
Read more on variety.com
