Courtesy of Mubi
We are living in the era of elevated horror. Following the resounding success of The Babadook and Hereditary, we’ve seen a significant uptick in genre cinema that tackles heavy themes and offers commentary on a variety of social issues. Many fans see such fare as the best of both worlds. Elevated horror delivers the scares but also takes the viewer on a profound emotional journey.
These films often seem to resonate with the vast majority of critics and fans, but there are always outspoken detractors. Sometimes, it’s internet trolls who have nothing better to do than espouse a controversial viewpoint for the sake of being contrary. Other times, the voice of dissent has a higher profile.
Case in point: The masses have embraced Coralie Fargeat’s The Substance as a groundbreaking effort. The film garnered five Oscar nominations and took home the statuette for Best Achievement in Makeup and Hairstyling. What’s more, it’s currently ranked as the most popular horror movie on the Letterboxd platform. Despite all that, the film still has at least one high-profile detractor in John Carpenter.
During a Q&A at Fan Expo, Carpenter spent a few moments discussing The Substance with the audience. When an attendee asked him what he disliked about the film, he responded, “What did I like about The Substance? Zero.”
What is The Substance about?
Fading actress Elisabeth Sparkle (Demi Moore) becomes distressed when her chauvinistic boss fires her from her aerobics show. She soon injects herself with a mysterious serum that promises a younger, better version of herself, but things go horribly wrong.
When Carpenter was still actively directing, his work was reliably unassuming. He’s best known for fairly straightforward horror and exploitation fare. Perhaps he’s simply not a big fan of the new wave of elevated genre cinema. He doesn’t really get into what he didn’t like about the film in the clip. Perhaps he’ll elaborate more down the line.
If you have yet to take in The Substance and would like to see whether you side with Carpenter or the rest of us, you can currently find the film streaming on HBO Max.
That is just about all that we have for you at present, dear reader. We’ll be back with more hot takes from your favorite genre filmmakers in the near future. Until then, make sure to follow us on X (formerly Twitter) so you never miss out on an exciting update.
Categorized: News
