When will AMPAS embrace Horror makeup?
Wednesday, October 30, 2024 at 11:30PM 
Between its box office numbers and pop culture footprint, The Substance has been one of the year's most unexpected success stories. MUBI's biggest release is also its most profitable, growing steadily through word of mouth and an aggressive campaign unafraid to highlight the picture's extreme body horror, its sheer grossness. Indeed, the Cannes Best Screenplay prizewinner is among the year's most-watched original films, having found its audience without the aid of IP recognition or all those shiny notions that excite Hollywood execs. In a world where genre bias wasn't a thing and snobbery didn't run rampant in film circles, one might expect Coralie Fargeat's provocation to factor heavily into the awards season. We don't live in that world.
While one might suppose The Substance's rhapsodies of aged and mutated flesh, exaggerated voluptuousness, and grandiose gore would score an easy Best Makeup & Hairstyling nomination, that's not a safe bet. As the genre most dependent on makeup effects and where technical innovations often manifest, horror should have a place of honor in the category. Sadly, it doesn't. It hardly ever did…