{"id":168284,"date":"2025-11-30T22:45:10","date_gmt":"2025-11-30T22:45:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/168284\/"},"modified":"2025-11-30T22:45:10","modified_gmt":"2025-11-30T22:45:10","slug":"john-carpenter-says-he-hated-everything-about-2024s-greatest-body-horror-masterpiece-the-substance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/168284\/","title":{"rendered":"John Carpenter Says He Hated ‘Everything’ About 2024’s Greatest Body Horror Masterpiece, The Substance"},"content":{"rendered":"

At 77 years old, John Carpenter<\/a> remains one of the few living \u201ctraditional horror\u201d directors. Although he\u2019s been retired from filmmaking since directing The Ward in 2010, Carpenter\u2019s \u201870s and \u201880s masterpieces speak for themselves, with films like Halloween, The Fog, and The Thing placing him on the Mount Rushmore of horror filmmakers for many moviegoers. Carpenter may have walked away from directing, but he is still extremely active on the producer end, and still scores films, including David Gordon Green\u2019s Halloween trilogy and the most recent remake of Stephen King\u2019s Firestarter. Carpenter, who recently received his Hollywood Star, stays current on modern horror films and has never been one to mince words when it comes to the movies and directors he loves and loathes. Surprisingly, the latter includes one of the biggest horror hits of the last decade, 2024\u2019s The Substance<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Garnering an 89% critics\u2019 score on Rotten Tomatoes and nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actress, Coralie Fargeat\u2019s The Substance was one of the most publicly celebrated horror films in years. While it isn\u2019t a shocker that Demi Moore was nominated for her incredible performance as Elizabeth Sparkle, Best Picture nominations don\u2019t come often in the genre, and while the film only took home the Oscar for Best Makeup, the horror genre made some serious noise during awards season. For Carpenter, though, awards and recognition mean exactly squat when it comes to being a good horror movie.<\/p>\n

John Carpenter Was Very Vocal About His Disdain for The Substance<\/p>\n

\"John
\n John Carpenter in The Search of DarknessImage via Shudder<\/p>\n

Unfortunately for Fargeat, who had previously listed Carpenter\u2019s 1982 remake of The Thing<\/a> as one of her biggest influences on The Substance, Carpenter was loud and definitive about his dislike for Fargeat\u2019s sophomore film. In an interview with Inverse, Fargeat said, \u201cThere is David Cronenberg, there is John Carpenter\u2026 When I write, I welcome the homage I want to make to those filmmakers that I love and admire.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carpenter wasn\u2019t equally kind when discussing The Substance. At a recent fan expo, Carpenter asked the interview if they liked the film. When they responded positively and asked Carpenter what he liked about The Substance, Carpenter responded with, \u201cZero.\u201d When the interviewer asked what Carpenter didn\u2019t like about it, Carpenter responded with \u201cEverything!\u201d<\/p>\n

While Fargeat is probably disappointed with the reaction from one of her filmmaking heroes, she has nothing to be disappointed about. The Substance absolutely crushed it at the box office, making $80 million against its $18 million budget, and the film was praised by other, fantastic horror filmmakers, including Nosferatu\u2019s Robert Eggers<\/a> and David Cronenberg, one of The Substance\u2019s biggest influencers.<\/p>\n

About The Substance, Eggers said, \u201cI really like The Substance. It had a consistent, clear, specific vision and was very well-executed. As a filmmaker, you can\u2019t help but admire that and champion it.\u201d About Fargeat\u2019s inspiration from Cronenberg, the Canadian filmmaker said to Indiewire, \u201cI must say there\u2019s a lot of, and of course, some of them are filmmakers who have said that they\u2019ve been influenced by me. So that\u2019s kind of interesting, and it makes me feel good. That pleases me.\u201d Not a bad couple of filmmakers to have as support in her corner.<\/p>\n

Carpenter Has Been Openly Critical of Body Horror and Elevated Horror Before<\/p>\n

\"Monstro
\n Monstro Elizasue in The SubstanceImage via Mubi<\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t the first time that John Carpenter has been vocal<\/a> about his disdain for award-winning films. Even away from the horror genre, Carpenter spoke out against Oppenheimer, saying it was \u201calright,\u201d and Barbie, which he said he couldn\u2019t believe he even watched. Being that Carpenter is such a name in the horror genre, that\u2019s where he\u2019s the most critical.<\/p>\n

In an interview with AVClub, Carpenter shut down any knowledge of \u201celevated horror,\u201d telling the host he \u201chad no idea what you\u2019re talking about\u201d when asked about Ari Aster\u2019s Midsommar<\/a> and Hereditary. He seemed to divert from the idea of it and claimed, \u201cThere\u2019s metaphorical horror. But all movies have\u2026 they don\u2019t have messages. They have themes. Thematic material, and some horror films have thematic material. The good ones do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of course, both Midsommar and Hereditary are known for being incredibly serious and devastating, and Carpenter has been very vocal about not loving that kind of horror, especially when it comes to David Cronenberg\u2019s body horror films<\/a>. In an interview with All the Right Moves, Carpenter told a story about being shunned by Cronenberg, who was a friend of his, at a directors\u2019 dinner.<\/p>\n

Carpenter lamented Cronenberg\u2019s treatment of him, \u201cI think the night that got me was when David Cronenberg showed up. He is an old friend of mine. Unfortunately, he takes himself so seriously these days. He is an artist now, and literally, he was holding court in the middle of the room, and I came over to talk to him, and he didn\u2019t even look at me. I thought this is enough of this. Forget it. Goodbye.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carpenter believes many modern horror directors don\u2019t actually enjoy the genre, and their films are little more than intense dramas. He believes the modern horror genre is oversaturated, but he has been optimistic about what\u2019s going to come. Unfortunately for him, his opinions on The Substance<\/a> aren\u2019t with the majority.<\/p>\n

\"the-substance-2024-official-poster.jpg\"
\n The Substance (2024) Official Poster<\/p>\n

Release Date<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSeptember 20, 2024<\/p>\n

Runtime<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t140 Minutes<\/p>\n

Director<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCoralie Fargeat<\/p>\n

\"instar53791913.jpg\"<\/p>\n

Demi Moore<\/p>\n

\n Elisabeth Sparkle\n <\/p>\n

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