Demi Moore’s graphic body horror movie The Substance has made a huge splash at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. Winning a reportedly raucous 11-minute standing ovation and plenty of raves from critics—as well as a handful of winces from queasier audiences—The Substance has been called an “instant classic.” A good handful of that talk has been about the film’s explosive full-frontal nudity, which Moore spoke more about at the film’s post-premiere press conference.
Revenge director Coralie Fargeat’s new film follows Elisabeth Sparkle (Moore), a washed-up actress who gets fired from a TV network after being deemed “too old.” Following her firing, Elisabeth is invited to a new program called “The Substance,” which allows aging actresses to become their younger selves again. Moore’s figure transforms into that of Margaret Qualley—although she must frequently hibernate to keep her young body available for movie shoots.
There’s plenty of shock value in The Substance, early viewers have reported. For example: One of the first-look stills from the film features a woman’s back being stapled together. Described by Variety as Cronenbergian, The Substance also features Moore and co-star Qualley nude, which became an important topic at Monday’s press conference about the film.
