Coralie Fargeat’s “Substance” ate and left no crumbs. It became a psycho-sexual, body-horror nightmare for Hollywood, which loved to objectify the female body as perfect. However, John Carpenter has substantial views regarding The Substance. John Carpenter, the creator behind films like Halloween (1978), The Thing (1982), and Christine (1983), has cemented himself as the supreme horror auteur.
After numerous years of trailblazing Hollywood’s bloodbath and body horror scenes, the experienced filmmaker is now regarded as an authority on great filmmaking. Nonetheless, Carpenter is only one person; his decisions are his own and do not reflect the preferences or dislikes of the whole public, and his judgements are not absolutely unquestionable. He doesn’t follow the herd; he strongly abstains from the opinions of a vast majority. The director’s thunderous remark that he hates “everything!” about Demi Moore’s horror feature shows his point of view on the matter and should not be considered as the general consensus on The Substance.
The Substance speaks for itself, as the movie portrays how ageing and extinct sexuality are markers of how an actress is considered retired by the masses. Raging youth and active sexual agency rule Hollywood’s obsession with young, beautiful women who are at peak in their prime. A white male from the exuberant ’70s (like John Carpenter), who had easy success and instant access, could never grasp the struggle that women suffered since the inception of Hollywood, which is now encapsulated in Demi Moore’s solitary, colossal performance in The Substance.
Fargeat is sure to be disappointed by Carpenter’s words. Throughout her “The Substance” interviews, she has consistently mentioned him as an influence. She told Inverse, “There is David Cronenberg, there is John Carpenter… When I write, I welcome the homage I want to make to those filmmakers that I love and admire.”
