One of the best horror films of 2024 has escaped the wrath of a major studio

Coralie Fargate “Matter” is a grisly, body-thumping horror film set around a lawn mower set on Oscar Wilde’s “The Picture of Dorian Gray.” The film features stunning performances from Demi Moore (possibly her best work to date) and Margaret Qualley, and is currently making waves during critics’ awards season, and could garner two Oscar nominations for the aforementioned actors. Due to its graphic content, it was also a surprise hit at the box office, grossing $57 million worldwide. It did so despite Universal Pictures abandoning the film, and it was released in the US and UK by the much smaller distributor, Mubi.

Why would a major studio like Universal willingly abandon a film that ended up becoming a critical and commercial favorite? It’s a body horror movie, and those tend to get a little squishier. “The Substance” delivers the sponge with a bloody vengeance, but once upon a time, 20th Century Fox had a huge hit with David Cronenberg’s wonderfully gory thriller “The Fly.” In 2024, a studio like Universal, knowing that horror is red hot in multiplexes post-shutdown, is sure to ignore the conservative impulses of its executives and pocket the money like a smart studio is supposed to do.

To hear Fargate tell it, the decision to drop “The Substance” was a no brainer. No, it was complete misogyny in Hollywood.

In an interview with Le PointFargate revealed that “The Substance” was doomed to fail with a performance she described as “the most memorable of my life.” The film was shown to three executives: two men and a woman. When the show ended, one of the men went nuclear in the movie. He despised him and demanded that she reshoot the entire film — an idiotic move since Fargeat had obtained the final cut through the film’s production company, Working Title. In Farget’s view, losing that creative battle prompted the executive to urge Universal to scrap the film.

Farragette believes the decision was malicious, but has yet to elaborate on the matter (which is politically wise if she wants to make a full-fledged studio film). I hope she eventually opens up about what happened on this show because her claim that the CEO was essentially silenced after the show deserves a full airtime. “It says a lot about where the power still lies in Hollywood,” Farget said. It is shameful that something like this could happen in 2024, and frankly those responsible must be held accountable. As for the nauseated viewers who shouted “Uncle!” They fled the theater during its very short theatrical run, as horror may not be their genre.