The team behind ‘gruesome’ body horror film The Substance was left stunned that the outlandish film became such a massive hit.
Starring Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley, and Dennis Quaid, Coralie Fargeat’s hit film follows ageing starlet Elisabeth Sparkle after she tries an experimental drug that promises to bring out a better version of the user.
But The Substance does this quite literally, with Elisabeth giving birth – via a gaping wound in her back – to Sue, a younger version of herself who shoots to fame.
Things begin to go awry when Sue and Elisabeth can’t respect the rules of The Substance, with devastating and gory results.
The gloopy film has become a success, smashing the box office and earning leading lady Moore her first Golden Globe as well as her first Oscar nomination.
The Substance nabbed a Bafta award for makeup and hair – and it stands to reason, given not only the stylish costuming on display but also the incredible practical effects in the bonkers final act.
Speaking to Metro at the event, makeup artist Pierre Olivier Persin took it ‘as a compliment’ that film editor Tori Brazier dubbed the film the most disgusting thing she’d ever seen.
‘Designing gruesome – it can look horrible on screen, but we gave this lots of love. And we really loved our characters,’ he continued.
‘We are not thinking, “Ah we’re going to make the most horrible creature or character in the world.” We want really to serve the story, and we loved the shape, the colours and everything.
‘So it mattered spending all the time needed to digitally design and Photoshop until Coralie was happy with what we were offering her.’
The artist revealed that the horrifying Monstro Elisa-Sue, seen in the final scenes of the movie, saw Margaret spend three hours getting into costume and makeup, while Demi underwent a gruelling six hours of makeup.
Describing what the reactions to the film were like for the team, makeup artist Stéphanie Guillon said it was ‘crazy.’
‘Most of the time, it was like “Wow, I didn’t know it was like that!”, ‘It’s a bit disgusting but we love it!”,’ she added.
When asked if they were expecting the reaction, Pierre said: ‘Not at all. It was so much work – you just work, work, work and you expect [hope] for the best – but it’s just hard work and that’s it.’
The Substance is among the horror films making a splash at this year’s Oscars alongside Nosferatu and Alien: Romulus, which have both garnered nominations.
At the Baftas, The Substance was joined by psychological horror Heretic which won an award for best lead actor for Hugh Grant.
It is a genre often shunned by large awards bodies, but the success of these films has catapulted horror into a mainstream spotlight like no other – and it’s a success that the team was bowled over by.
‘You come home full of glue, silicon beads and blood. We don’t think of any awards,’ Pierre continued.
Frédérique Arguello added: ‘The way Coralie works on the movie and the script she has written, I felt personally that we were doing something cult. I felt something – but I never really expected it to be this recognised.’
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