Thursday, “The Substance” managed to do something most horror films never do: Get an Academy Award nomination for “Best Picture.”

The film’s driven by a surprising performance by Demi Moore who received a “Best Actress” nomination.

In the movie, she plays an aging aerobics star who gets an offer to use a drug – the substance – that would turn back the clock and make her viable in a brutal world. Never mind that she looks fantastic. This – like so many quick-fix schemes – has the potential to be a game changer.

She jumps and discovers she has on-again/off-again weeks with her younger self (played by Margaret Qualley). If she breaks the contract, bad things could happen.

Writer/director Coralie Fargeat doesn’t hesitate to comment on the industry’s obsession with youth. She pushes Moore’s Elisabeth Sparkle to the limit and lets her “All About Eve”-like younger self stretch the bounds of jealousy.

Dennis Quaid checks in as a producer and he’s just as vile as anyone in the business. He barks orders, recognizes few boundaries and adds to the horror of Elisabeth’s transformation.

Fargeat shoots this with an eye for the absurd. She embraces bright colors, an ’80s aesthetic and a limited palette of emotions.

Moore delivers – boy does she deliver – and appears to have fun with the transformational moments that define her character’s life.

“The Substance” is a cautionary tale that practically insists you think twice before trying to turn back time. Perhaps it landed in the “Best Picture” race because Hollywood sees something worthwhile in the lesson it’s trying to teach.

Though it came up empty in the nominations game, “Heretic” is like “The Substance” it that it depends on the success of its leading character. Hugh Grant stars as a middle-aged man who invites two Mormon missionaries into his home. They insist it’s against their rules but since it’s raining, they make an exception.

He says his wife is making a blueberry pie; they smell the goodness. Because he wants to lecture them about their religion, Grant does everything to keep them inside.

Each time they’re about to leave, he pulls them back and then it becomes a game of hit and run.

Writer/Directors Scott Beck and Bryan Woods make this as innocent as possible until Grant’s motive becomes clear. Then “Heretic” turns into a visual nightmare. The two (played by Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East) discover what’s cooking and realize pie was never on the menu.

The directors have three-fourths of a good film but let situations devolve until you’re ready to do whatever you can to escape. Grant relies on his past to fuel his future and gets a performance that’s every bit as surprising as Moore’s. Though he wasn’t a Best Actor nominee (too many candidates) he does set himself up for a juicy career as a film villain.

Watch either film at night and you’re going to have nightmares. Both rely on reality then take decisions to extremes.

Is it possible to fight off a monster with a kitchen knife, in a desolate place with no cell service? And in the DARK???? Well…… maybe, or maybe not. In “Wolf Man,” Sioux City Journal entertainment reporter says the folks being stalked do everything wrong.


Bruce Miller


Tim Hynds



 Bruce Miller is editor of the Sioux City Journal.