The Academy Awards have always had a weird relationship with genre filmmaking. More often than not, promising titles are overlooked by the Academy if they happen to fall into categories like science fiction, fantasy, and horror. The latter has especially struggled to gain the recognition it deserves, but that changed in a big way at this year’s Oscars, where The Substance scored nominations in five categories.
The Substance isn’t for everyone, but its impact on this awards season can’t be overstated. The satirical body horror was nominated for Best Director, Best Picture, Best Screenplay, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, and Best Actress for lead Demi Moore. That it may be the campiest, most gruesome film to get such prestigious nods is not lost on horror fans.
In the lead-up to the Oscars, its chances of success seemed to rise, with Moore in particular becoming a frontrunner after picking up awards at the Screen Actors Guild and Golden Globe Awards. This year’s Academy Awards proved more unpredictable than they’ve been in years, and The Substance ended the night with only one award, but even a single win represents a major comeback for body horror.
Given the gruesome effects that transform Moore and her co-star, Margaret Qualley, throughout the film, The Substance’s win for Best Makeup and Hairstyling was well-deserved. The Substance gamely (if unsubtly) turns a quest for relevance into the bloodbath it’s always been, crafting a cautionary tale that feels timelier than ever. It joins a short list of horror films to defy the general snobbery of the Oscars, and it’s only the second body horror to win Best Makeup and Hairstyling after David Cronenberg’s The Fly.
Released in 1986, The Fly has long been a cult classic. It follows a scientist (Jeff Goldblum) who tries to develop a teleportation machine but accidentally merges with a fly, triggering a painful metamorphosis. What could have been a skin-deep creature feature became a surprisingly soulful — and tragic — fable in Cronenberg's hands, with a story supplemented by great effects. Chris Walas and Stephan Dupuis created the effects and handled the makeup, and the team won the Academy Award in 1987.
The Substance is in direct conversation with The Fly and other Cronenberg films, making its win even more special. It’s the first body horror film in nearly 40 years to nab an Oscar, which could pave the way for other films in the same gnarly vein to go further. Let’s just hope it doesn’t take another three decades for the Academy to keep exploring the genre.
