One of the best horror movies of 2024 survived the wrath of a major studio

Coralie Fargeat’s “The Substance” is a creepy, fast-paced body horror film that runs a lawnmower over Oscar Wilde’s “The Picture of Dorian Gray.” Featuring phenomenal performances from Demi Moore (arguably her best work to date) and Margaret Qualley, it’s currently making waves during critics’ awards season and could very well score a pair of Oscar nominations for the two aforementioned actors. It was also, given its graphic content, a surprise box office hit, grossing $57 million worldwide. And it did so despite being abandoned by Universal Pictures and released in the US and UK by the much smaller distributor, Mubi.

Why would a major studio like Universal so willingly give up on a film that ended up being a critical and commercial favorite? It’s a body horror movie, and they tend to go softer. “The Substance” delivers softness with a bloody vengeance, but once upon a time 20th Century Fox scored a big hit with David Cronenberg’s gloriously bloody “The Fly.” In 2024, surely a studio like Universal, knowing that horror has been red-hot at the multiplexes after the shutdown, would ignore the conservative impulses of its executives and cash in like a smart studio is supposed to do.

According to Fargeat, the decision to abandon “The Substance” was not a matter of intellect. No, it was a case of full-blown Hollywood misogyny.

In an interview with Le PointFargeat revealed that “The Substance” was doomed by a screening he characterized as “the most memorable of my life.” The film was screened to three executives: two men and one woman. When the screening ended, one of the men went crazy over the movie. He belittled her and demanded that she re-edit the entire film, which was foolish because Fargeat had gotten the final cut through the film’s production company, Working Title. In Fargeat’s view, losing that creative battle led the executive to urge Universal to get rid of the film.

Fargeat believes the decision was malicious, but has yet to elaborate on this issue (which is politically wise if he ever wants to make a full studio movie). I hope she finally comes clean about what happened at this screening because her claim that the executive was essentially silenced after the screening deserves a full airing. “That says a lot about where the power still lies in Hollywood,” Fargeat said. It is shameful that something like this could happen in 2024 and, frankly, those responsible should be held accountable. As for the nauseated moviegoers who screamed “Dude” and fled the theater during its all-too-brief release, maybe horror isn’t the genre for them.