Inside Demi Moore’s Oscar-nominated Substance transformation: 20,000 litres of ‘blood’ and 5 hours of make-up
Inside Demi Moore’s Oscar-nominated Substance transformation: 20,000 litres of ‘blood’ and 5 hours of make-up
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The extreme body horror’s make-up artist tells The Independent how he achieved the special effects that shot the film to cult status. Hailed as one of the most grotesque films in recent times, Coralie Fargeat’s body horror The Substance has made waves with its striking visuals and gruesome depictions of the female body.
![[Moore endured hours of make-up to transform into Elizabeth Sparkle]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/24/13/BackStitch.jpg)
Fargeat’s insistence on practical effects over VFX meant that Demi Moore, who has scored her first Oscar nomination for her performance in the film, endured hours of prosthetic enhancements. The film follows Moore’s character, Elizabeth Sparkle, a has-been actor desperately clinging on to relevance by taking a mysterious substance to retain her youth.
![[Monstro Elisasue was played by a stunt double]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/24/13/2562_D047_00093_CROP.jpg)
Pierre Olivier Persin, the lead special effects and make-up designer, who has also been Oscar nominated for Best Make-Up and Hairstyling, oversaw a team of 15 people across a gruelling 11-month process to implement Fargeat’s vision. The result were scenes that catapulted the film to unprecedented word-of-mouth and award-winning success.
![[The creature was inspired by ‘The Elephant Man’]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/24/13/2562_D048_00118.jpg)
“Demi was like the best friend you can have from a professional make-up artist’s point of view,” Persin tells The Independent of working with the movie star. “Her make-up took an average of four to five hours and she could be up in the chair for up to six or seven. But she was a consummate professional, she wasn’t scrolling on her phone for hours or asking for breaks every 15 minutes like some people do. She had her little dog, a chihuahua, on her lap and that was it.”.
![[Over 20,000 litres of ‘blood’ were used in the film’s final scenes]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/24/13/2562_D070_00114.jpg)
