The Substance scored the rare Best Picture Oscar nomination for a horror movie. People argue over what has or hasn’t been horror nominated in Oscar history but I take it as the seventh nomination for the genre. The Exorcist, Jaws, The Sixth Sense, The Silence of the Lambs (only winner), Black Swan and Get Out being the other six.
It also received nominations for Demi Moore (Best Actress) which was expected and she’s one of the favorites for it. Best Make-up and Hairstyling. Best Original Screenplay. And, to my mind, most impressively, Best Director. The nominations in three other major categories solidify it as one of the 3 or 4 most highly thought of genre films in Oscar history. Moore has a real chance to take her category but I always throw some doubt on how voters will react to something that criticizes aspects of their industry. These are the people who gave Argo, a mid movie where Hollywood rescues hostages, best picture.