Demi Moore Does Body Horror in The Substance

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A few years ago, for Horror Homeroom, I wrote about how writer/director Coralie Fargeat reverses the male gaze in her rape/revenge debut Revenge. In the beginning of that film, Fargeat focuses the camera’s gaze on Jen (Matilida Anna Ingrid Lutz), the mistress of the uber wealthy Richard (Kevin Janssens), who rapes Jen not long into the runtime. Initially, the camera focuses on Jen’s legs, buttocks, and breasts, as she sucks a lollipop. This switches about halfway through the film, and not only does the gaze switch, but Jen becomes the hunter, ultimately unleashing hell upon Kevin for the brutality he inflicted upon her.

Fargeat’s latest feature, the excellent The Substance, again deals with issues of gender and the male gaze but expands that to include the beauty industry and how culture generally treats aging women, specifically celebrities. To stress that point from the outset, the movie opens with a Hollywood star just constructed on Hollywood Boulevard. It belongs to Elisabeth Sparkle, played by Demi Moore. During the first few years of the star’s existence, people pose for pictures with it. Judging by their clothes, you can tell this it’s the 1980s, which was the start of Moore’s career as a Brat Pack member. As years go by, the star cracks. People walk by it. They spill stuff on it. They don’t recall who Sparkle is. Her celebrity has been reduced to a workout series, and she’s on the cusp of aging out of that, on her 50th bday.

As soon as the film’s first act, Elisabeth gets notification from a strange, anonymous company that she can take a product called “the substance” to essentially look younger again. She really, really wants this, since the powers that be booted her from her workout show, in order to find a younger, more attractive model/actress.

Unlike Revenge, The Substance is very much a body horror movie, and its practical effects are on par with the likes of The Fly, Basket Case, and other great body horror movies of the 1980s. When Elisabeth injects herself with the substance, she passes out on her bathroom floor. Her back splits open, and a younger version of herself appears named Sue (Margaret Qualley). Sue easily lands Elisabeth’s former job. Her face and body are plastered on billboards. She appears frequently in commercials and chats up late-night talk show hosts. She obtains everything Elisabeth once had.

The problem is that the more famous Sue becomes, the more Elisabeth ages. The two entities technically need each other to exist, but Sue takes and sucks more and more from Elisabeth, until she starts to look like a crone. Even prior to that, Fargeat uses lightening and make-up to make Moore look older, to make her skin look as cracked as Elisabeth’s Hollywood star.

The messages in Fargeat’s film are by no means subtle. The film serves up an all-out assault and critique on the beauty industry, the media, celebrity, and how older women are mistreated and even worse, forgotten by the culture that once loved them. Men in suits/bigwig TV execs always tell Sue and Elisabeth to smile more. The film has so many discomforting moments, reinforced by the frequent close-ups that Fargeat uses. The sound design is sometimes amped up too, especially to reinforce how loud and overbearing men in power can be.

Like Revenge, The Substance makes the male gaze obvious with frequent close-ups of Sue working out in front of the cameras, zooming in on her most intimate body parts, objectifying and sexualizing her. Yet, she also knows the power of her own body. She also craves the fame and sues her looks to obtain it.

Yet, what I found to be the most powerful moment isn’t one of the gross-out body horror sequences. Near the midway point, Elisabeth nearly goes on a date with an old classmate who still has a major crush on her and generally likes her. For nearly an hour, she stands in front of the mirror, messing with her make-up. She’s haunted by a massive billboard of Sue just outside of her swanky apartment’s window. Because she no longer feels attractive, Elisabeth never attends the date. It’s heartbreaking, and Moore is great throughout the film, but she’s especially brilliant in that particular scene.


While I don’t think The Substance will resonate with everyone, especially some of the body horror bits, Fargeat isn’t afraid to take some wild wings with her filmmaking. Moore is perfectly cast in this film about an aging celebrity deemed disposable by a celebrity culture that created her. Once again, Fargeat does a lot of interesting things with the camera and the gaze to reinforce points she wants to make about gender.

The Substance is currently in theaters. If you want to learn more about Fargeat’s work, check out this interview I conducted with her for Signal Horizon a few years ago.

Favorite black and white horror movies

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For 1428 Elm, I shared a list of my favorite black and white horror movies, a mix of new and old. It got me thinking about why I enjoy such movies so much, especially at the start of September, as we get closer and closer to Halloween. Upon reflection, I realize that it traces back to my bad, as does my general love for horror.

I’ve said this before, but growing up, my dad took me to the local video store. He was a genre fan, but in particular, he dug the movies that he grew up with, such as Psycho, The Birds, and Night of the Living Dead. Yep, my dad came of age during horror’s second gold age in the 60s and into the early 70s. Though my dad also rented the latest Friday the 13th with me, these classics are some of the first movies I recall seeing with him. They held a strange sort of power that still resonates with me today, especially watching them with the lights out.

Besides those iconic 60s film, we also watched the Univeral Monsters. Though my memory may be a little faulty at this point,, I do recall watching some of the Frankenstein movies with him, Creature from the Black Lagoon, and The Wolfman. Something about those Gothic settings simply fascinated me, and I still hold dear those great Universal films. I remember watching the Gil-man swim just beneath Kay (Julia Adams), or feeling empathy with the Wolfman and Frankenstein’s Monster, both tragic characters in their own right.

A few of these films I share with my students, and though we’re living with 21st Century standards now, there’s still an alure, a strange sort of power that these films have. I have my dad to thank for my love of them and those gateway horror rentals.

Milk & Serial: A surprise DIY found footage hit

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Last year, I wrote about a short horror film called The Chair that became a viral sensation. The short, which you can watch for free on YouTube, is all kinds of creepy, blending possession with what may be a metaphor for old age/Alzheimer’s. The short was created by the folks in That’s a Bad Idea, which initially started as a sketch comedy group but now keeps making more and more horror films.

Their latest film, Milk & Serial, also directed by Curry Barker, who stars as lead character Milk, is an inventive, non-linear found footage film that was created for $800. In less than a month, it already has over half a million views on YouTube. Cooper Tomlinson stars alongside Barker as Seven, who plans a bday party for Milk. The two are pranksters, constantly filming new content to upload their channel. Except, in this case, the pranks lead to one escalating crisis after another.

If you want to read more of my thoughts, check out this piece I wrote for 1428 Elm. In it, I explain that what’s so effective about the 62-minute film is the DIY, punk rock energy it has. You can tell Tomlinson, Barker, and the rest of the small crew had a hell of a good time making this.

Yet, the film also works because of what it has to say about voyeurism and livestreaming. The non-linear narrative works at keeping viewers engaged, as one event after another is teased, often out of order, at a break-neck pace. Yet, when one prank early on causes Seven and Milk to cover up a crime, you feel like you’re a witness to it, rubbernecking, unable to look away or unsubscribe from their channel.

After a few viral hits now, shot on a shoestring budget, it wouldn’t surprise me if Barker and crew are tapped for bigger projects. Still, I hope that they continue to make films on their own terms with the sort of DIY, indie filmmaking, punk rock spirit that Milk & Serial has.

Strange Darling( Run to a theater and see this movie)!

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Last year, there was one film at Fantastic Fest that I couldn’t stop talking about and telling people about, and that’s writer/director’s JT Mollner’s Strange Darling, which, after playing at Fantastic Fest nearly a year ago, now has a wide theatrical release in the U.S. Everything about the film, from the fact it was shot in 35 mm, to its stunning colors, to its soundtrack, to Willa Fitzgerald and Kyle Gallner’s performances, really captivated me.

Over the last five or so years, I’ve been really, really grateful and fortunate to cover a lot of film fests, and every now and then, there’s a true gem like Strange Darling, one you really hope gets picked up for distribution so it can have a theatrical release and a bigger audience. However, the less I say about Strange Darling the better. In my review for Horror Buzz, I tried to spoil as little as possible.

However, I will make a few points. Strange Darling is a serial killer film unlike any other media we’ve had about serial killers. It also, at least somewhat, explores our fascination with serial killers. This feature is so effective because of its twist and turns. It’s told in seven chapters and begins at chapter 3. It takes a while until the whole story/puzzle completes itself. It’s really clever storytelling, not wholly new, but done so well. I already mentioned Gallner and Fitzgerald’s great performances (maybe my two favorites of the year so far), but the film looks really gorgeous, from the production design to Giovanni Ribisi’s cinematography.

I hear so many people say that they’re tired of sequel, requels, reboots, and the like. Well, Strange Darling is a wholly original indie film that’s been lucky enough to get a wide theatrical release. Go see it. Support it. Go in as blind as you can.

A wide-ranging interview with Full Moon Features Founder Charles Band

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I got into horror by visiting video stores with my dad. On Friday nights, we’d browse the aisles, and he’d let me rent a horror movie or two. I was always fascinated by the colorful sleeves of Full Moon Features movies like Puppet Master, Demonic Toys, and Castle Freak.

When presented with the opportunity to interview Full Mean Features founder and legendary B-movie director Charles Band for 1428 Elm, I jumped on the chance. During the wide-ranging chat, we talked about his new movie, Quadrant, Full Moon’s new production label Pulp Noir, indie filmmaking, and AI.

Especially of interest to me was Band’s comments on AI in terms of its use in filmmaking and how it can be a tool used sparingly. He also talked quite a bit about Full Moon’s new label, Pulp Noir, which will release “darker” and “edgier” films with more mature subject matter. The first to release on the label, Quadrant, follows a Jack the Ripper-obsessed serial killer who uses the quadrant technology, basically a VR headset, to transport herself to 19th Century London. The film is a stylish sci-fi flasher with some cool black and white sequences.

Band also promised a few exciting Full Moon films on the horizon that should excite fans of oh, say, the Puppet Master series. To read the full interview, check it out over at 1428 Elm.

Alien: Romulus Returns to Basics

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It’s been a while since we’ve had an Alien movie worth seeing on the big screen. Ridley Scott’s return to the franchise more than a decade ago gave us Prometheus (2012) and Alien: Covenant (2017). Prometheus has a lot of interesting things to say, but fans complained because it wasn’t a movie featuring Xenomorphs stalking and killing. Because of that, Covenant paid too much attention to fan gripes and in turn, gave us one of the worst films in the franchise.

Alien: Romulus, for better or worse, is a return to bloody basics. It’s even set between the first two films, widely considered the best in the series. Directed by Fede Alvarez (Don’t Breathe, Evil Dead 2013), the film follows a group of young miners desperate to get the hell off of their deary planet, which sees zero days of sunlight. The Company won’t allow them to transfer and keeps upping the number of years they have to work. Yes, The Company is still just as evil and horrible.

Cailee Spaeny stars as Rain, an orphan who’s only real sense of family is an android/syntenic named Andy (David Jonsson). He’s essentially a product that The Company disposed of, before Rain’s father rescued him and reprogrammed him to look after Rain. It’s a really interesting twist on the android aspect that’s always been a part of this franchise.

Rain’s friends, also miners, hatch a plan to board a derelict space station that’s drifted into their orbit and steal the hibernation pods so they can reach a much sunnier planet and create their own lives. They refuse to labor until they die on a bleak planet, all on behalf of The Company. Yes, some of the class politics from the first two Alien movies are certainly at play here and generally handled well.

Unfortunately, however, most of the other characters are mere cannon fodder for the Xenomorphs and face huggers, which are quickly unleashed once the group’s plan goes terribly, terribly awry. There’s the ship’s pilot, Navarro (Aileen Wu), the pregnant Kay (Isabela Merced), Rain’s hunky boyfriend Tyler (Archie Renaux), and the real jerk of the lot, Bjorn (Spike Fearn). None of these actors are bad per say, but too many of them are given little to do. It’s really Spaeny and Jonsson’s performances that are the most memorable. They’re the only fully realized characters who also have quite a complex relationship. Can a machine be family? Can it even be trusted? Rain wrestles with this very question throughout the two-hour runtime.

Because of various narrative turns his character takes, Jonsson goes through quite a range of emotions that straddle hero and villain, another common trait of the franchise regarding the synthetic characters. Spaeny, meanwhile, makes a kickass final girl. No, her performance isn’t as iconic as Sigourney Weaver’s various iterations of Ripley, but that’s an unfair comparison. Spaeny handles her own well enough, and we come to care about Rain’s fate.

This is certainly the scariest Alien movie that we’ve had in some years. The Xenomorphs and face huggers, which were largely created through practical effects, are downright menacing. The ship feels confining, perilous, and suffocating, much like the first film. The sound design, especially the moments of space’s eerie silence, really enhance the suspense and that fear of the unknown.

The film’s main problem, at least throughout the first half, is that it has way, way too many nods to what Ridley Scott created in Alien and what James Cameron did with Aliens. It’s too much of a homage. The film really becomes interesting in the last act, when Alvarez manages to expand the lore and mythology in quite a creative way, while keeping on point with some of the franchise’s main themes, that being the dangers of technology, fear of the unknown, and The Company’s disregard for human life. There’s a lot going on with AI that speaks to our times, and I’ll leave it at that to avoid spoilers.

Alvarez is known for really gory scenes and sexual violence. There’s a lot of that in this film, especially in that harrowing and surprising final act. It’s at that point this truly feels like a Fede Alvraez movie and less like a tribute to the strongest two films in the franchise. He very much makes that final act his own and takes the franchise in some exciting new directions.

Alien: Romulus has plenty to enjoy, especially for long-term fans of the franchise. It operates best when it’s less a tribute to what came before and instead carves out its own path within the broader Alien universe. Alvarez crafted a horror movie through and through that’s actually scary at points. Though flawed, this is the best Alien movie we’ve had in some years.

Alien Romulus opens nationwide on Friday.

Gen X Pittsburgh: The Beehive and the ’90s Scene

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Growing up in northeastern, Pennsylvania, in the industrial husk of Scranton, I found refuge in an artsy cafe on Mulberry Street, just blocks from the University of Scranton, called Cafe Del Sol. Just about every weekend, I attended $5 punk shows there, featuring local bands with names like Dead Radical and The Riverdale Zombies. I also ventured to Wilkes-Barre to attend slightly larger shows at Cafe Metropolis and Homebase. It’s there where I saw larger acts such as Strike Anywhere, Catch 22, Bigwig, and so many more. By larger, I mean bands that at least frequently toured the tri-state area and sometimes, the entire East Coast.

Cafe Del Sol was really special to me because it’s the place where I found community, and all these years later, I’m certain it shaped a lot of my worldview. I attended poetry open mic nights. I heard punk rock activists namedrop Emma Goldman as they handed out zines. This was at least a decade or so before everyone in a cafe stared at their cell phones or laptop screens. People a few tables over interacted.

When I moved to the Philadelphia area, I found solace in places like the First Unitarian Church, which held punk shows every weekend, and still does sometimes. In fact, I’ll never forget when I was 20 and saw Against Me! play before a packed crowd in that church’s basement. For some context, this was only about a year or so after their debut, Reinventing Axl Rose, came out. I recall when the band invited everyone on stage for the encore of “We Laugh at Danger and Break All the Rules.” It was a moment in time. The fists in the air, the sweaty bodies, the gang vocals- it was a spirit and ethos.

I bring all of this up in the context of Pittsburgh journalist David Rullo’s stellar book Gen X Pittsburgh: The Beehive and the ’90s Scene. Though I live on the opposite side of the state and rarely visit Pittsburgh, I can relate to the scene that Rullo describes. I’m an older millennial, turning 40 in just two weeks. Though the Beehive opened in the early 90s, the artistic community Rullo recounts, once Scott Kramer and Steve Zumoff opened the coffeeshop, reminds me of the venues I attended in high school and then in college, pre-smart phone days.

Rullo uses his talents as a journalist to detail the Beehive’s opening, successes, and its closure pre-COVID. He interviews Kramer, Zumoff, as well as several of the coffee slingers, artists, and musicians who were regulars. The book also includes old photos and really cool flyers. He depicts a time and a place that’s really, really hard to replicate now. By the mid-90s, the Beehive was the place to be, long before Pittsburgh became such a trendy city, known for hip shops and microbreweries, topping several “Best Cities to Live” lists. Rullo notes how everyone from John Cusack to the Red Hot Chili Peppers visited the Beehive at one point.

While the book may be about a specific coffeeshop, it’s also about the rise and fall of an artistic scene and a moment in time that can’t be replicated, even if dozens upon dozens of other coffeeshops and artist studios opened since the Beehive’s heyday. Part of this just has to do with the alternative culture of the early and mid 90s, but it also has to do with the fact that we’re all wired now, constantly looking at our phones. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh, like Philly, has been incredibly gentrified. In the case of Pittsburgh, neighborhoods that once belonged to generations of steel mill workers are now occupied by high-end renters. In the case of Philly, working-class neighborhoods like Fishtown have been occupied by luxury condos and young professionals.

Even if Rullo’s book concludes with the Beehive’s closure and a reflection on its legacy, the fact Kramer and Zumoff were able to run two locations for so long is a testament to the importance of places like the Beehive and how certain places can foster community and artistic spaces. For me, growing up, Cafe Del Sol, Cafe Metropolis, the First Unitarian Church, and a few other venues, were really, really important. It’s where I connected with other artistic souls. It’s where I learned about activism and punk’s DIY ethos. Though I may have attended my own versions of the Beehive in the early 2000s, I can still relate to Rullo’s book, even if it’s Gen X.

For anyone who ever had their own Beehive, I highly recommend Rullo’s book. It’s a thorough account of the rise and fall of a scene, as well as a broader exploration of Pittsburgh’s growth and gentrification.

Fantasia Film Fest Favorites

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I’m very grateful that I had the chance to cover the Fantasia Film Festival again for Horror Buzz. Instead of sharing every single review, I just wanted to post some of my favorites/highlights from the fest.

Witchboard

It’s been decades since Chuck Russell directed a horror movie. He made a name for himself with Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (probably the fan favorite NOES sequel) and The Blob remake, before going onto direct major, major Hollywood productions, including The Mask and The Scorpion King.

His return to the horror genre is a reimagining of the 80s cult classic Witchboard. This film feels very cinematic in scope and would do well with a wider theatrical release. Like Russell’s other work, it has some impressive practical effects and a solid performance by Madison Iseman, who plays Emily. She comes across the board, which has powerful, supernatural effects on her. Also of note is James Campbell Bower’s performance as Alexander Baptiste, a nefarious villain. Bower is best known as Vecna in Stranger Things, and he certainly plays a villain well.

You can read my interview with Russell and the cast, as well as my review of the film.

Cuckoo

By far, Cuckoo was my most anticipated film at Fantasia this year. Simply put, NEON, its distributor, has been putting out some of the most interesting films as of late. Longlegs is a prime example. Cuckoo is freakin’ BONKERS. Not everything in the plot makes sense, but boy, is it atmospheric as hell.

Hunter Schafer turns in one heck of a performance as the grief-stricken Gretchen. Her character evolves from a wounded and moody teen to a switchblade-wielding, kickass final girl. This is contrasted with Dan Stevens’ absolutely bloodcurdling, flute-playing antagonist, Herr Konig.

Cuckoo will have a wider theatrical release on Aug. 9. Until then, read my review.

Chainsaws Were Singing

This may be my favorite film from the fest. Chainsaws Were Singing is an Estonian horror musical that’s nearly two hours long. It shouldn’t work, but it does. Oh, and it’s a love story. I don’t want to say much more than that, but whenever this gets a wider release, whatever that may look like, give it a chance! It’ll worm its way into your heart. If you want to learn more, check out my review.

The Soul Eater

French directors Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury made names for themselves with 2007’s Inside, an unrelenting and punishing gem from the New French Extremity movement. Since then, everything they’ve made since has been so different. They never recreate the same film. Their last movie, for instance, The Deep House, was an underwater haunted house flick.

Their latest, The Soul Eater, is a bleak police procedural movie. It’s a slow burn with a few harrowing crime scenes sprinkled throughout, all leading to an absolutely bleak ending. Because Amazon Studios is listed in the opening credits, I assume the film will wind up on Prime Video. Give it a watch if that’s the case. Check out my review in the meantime.

Darkest Miram

Even though Charlie Kaufman is listed as an executive producer, this is really nothing like any of his films, or a Spike Jonze movie, for that matter. Darkest Miriam follows a quirky librarian, Miriam (Britt Lower), who falls in love with an artist/cab driver, Janko (Tom Mercier). Oh, and she has nicknames for all of the library patrons and eventually feels like she’s being stalked.

I can’t understate how creative the storytelling is in this film, from the “incident reports” Miriam files that give insight into her world, to the threatening letters she finds in library books. This is such an odd, endearing, slice-of-life movie with a great performance by Lower who says so much through body language and facial expressions. Check out my review.

Currents in the Electric City in Beacon, NY/Stanza Books

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On Saturday, we had a wonderful and inspiring launch for Currents in the Electric City. About a dozen contributors read their work from the anthology at the Albright Memorial Library before a packed house. The momentum will continue into the late summer and fall months. Next up, some of us will be reading at Stanza Books in Beacon, NY on Saturday, August 17.

Stanza Books is co-owned by one of the anthology’s contributors, Andrea Talarico. She’ll be reading, along with Mandy Pennington, Daryl Fanelli, Joe Kraus, Dawn Leas, and I. It should be a lot of fun, and we’ll have copies of the book for sale.

For more info about the reading, click here. We’re in the process of planning some events for the fall months, too, so stay tuned!

Happy Publication Day to Currents in the Electric City: A Scranton Anthology

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Yes, I know, I know that this is self-promotional, but I want to say Happy Publication Day to Currents in the Electric City: A Scranton Anthology (Belt Publishing)! I was fortunate enough to edit this book with Joe Kraus, and working with over two dozen contributes was a real pleasure.

Yes, yes, there’s “The Office” and the city’s political history, including President Biden’s endless references to it, but I think this anthology showcases Scranton’s layered history, struggles, and revitalization. This anthology houses a unique chorus of voices writing about their relationship to the hardscrabble city. I’m really proud of the work in this book.

Currents in the Electric City: A Scranton Anthology officially came out today and we’ll be having a launch/reading on Saturday, July 27 at the Albright Memorial Library in downtown Scranton! If you’re in the area, come hear some of the contributors share their work.

Then, on Saturday, Aug. 17 at Stanza Books in Beacon, NY, there will be another reading celebrating the anthology. The event starts at 6:30 pm and you can find more info on the bookstore’s website.