Rebecca Jozwiak | staff writer

As award season progresses, films cement themselves into history: movies like “Emilia Perez” won big, netting four wins in the 10 nominations that the movie received. Hollywood veterans, such as Kieran Culkin and Adrien Brody, were recognized for their respective works in “A Real Pain” and “The Brutalist.”

While heavy-hitting films and brilliant actors and actresses dominate the award circuit, there’s always an underdog: Enter “The Substance.”

“The Substance,” a horror film starring Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley, was received well by in the social media sphere. The film, directed by Coralie Fargeat, follows Moore’s character, Elisabeth Sparkle, who is attempting to navigate life after being fired from her role as a television fitness guru. In a gory turn of events, Sparkle attempts to preserve her youth by taking a black market drug called “The Substance” – and must battle a younger version of herself, Sue, for fame.

The film ends grotesquely. In a panic, Elisabeth reuses leftover activation serum in an attempt to appear younger, disregarding the one-use warning of the serum. Elisabeth’s actions result in a mutated body — a combination of herself and Sue. In the studio, an audience member decapitates the monster – dubbed as “Monstro Elisasue” – creating a graphic scene in which Elisasue’s arm detaches, soaking the audience in blood. Elisasue explodes, with only Elisabeth’s face surviving, which crawls to her Walk of Fame star before being scrubbed away by a worker the day after.

Fargeat’s work tackles a major issue for women in the spotlight. As they get older, women are often pushed aside for younger talent; the film highlights the true dangers of forgetting women in Hollywood and their achievements – and how attempting to preserve youthfulness can be dangerous.

In addition to sending a message about women and their youth to Hollywood, “The Substance” achieves what most horror films can not, mixing gore and horror with a realistic, multidimensional character arc.

When people think of horror films, they often think of the stereotypical film where a killer sneaks up on a character, surprise-blitzing them with their death, and they bleed and scream with agony. Film series such as “Scream” and “Terrifier” don’t necessarily have a message behind them. “Scream” is more of an entertaining horror, while “Terrifier” aims to have as much gore as possible while being a passion project for director Damien Leone.

On the other hand, films such as “Silence of the Lambs” and “Get Out” are multidimensional, breaking out of the flatness and overly-done stereotypes often seen in horror films. “Silence of the Lambs” created discourse surrounding gender and identity, while the more recent “Get Out” sparked conversations about race and physical ability.

These movies create a heroic (or an anti-heroic) journey, full of development, growth and resolution for the main characters. Whether it’s good or bad, these two films, along with “The Substance” leave room for a climax, with some sort of resolution that gives the audience something to truly think about when leaving the theaters or turning the TV off.

Fargeat tells a story that viewers, specifically older women, could actually relate to while simultaneously paying tribute to bloody gore that is often seen in cheesier horror films.

Demi Moore’s win in the “Best Performance by an Actress” in the musical or comedy genre emphasizes that while horror work, not often a common genre to win major awards, has the ability to add layered emotions and thought into characters, even when their face is combined with a monstrous body pumped full of a black market serum.

To put it into perspective, the last Golden Globe win for the horror genre occurred 18 years ago when Johnny Depp won “Best Performance by an Actor” in 2007 for his work in “Sweeney Todd.” The last female win in horror dates back over 30 years ago, when Jodie Foster was recognized for her work in “Silence of the Lambs” in 1992.

With graphic, grotesque films such as “The Substance” or “Get Out” on the rise, more awareness spreads. Horror films aren’t just passion projects or money grabs, and can evoke emotion and thought that drama films, which almost always win, also evoke.

The success of “The Substance” hopefully sets the table for more wins in the horror category. Time will tell if the film can be recognized on the biggest stage — the Oscars. The Academy Award nominations will be made public on Friday. Even if Moore, Qualley and the film as a whole are snubbed in the nomination process, Moore’s Golden Globe win highlights that true horror is still around, and will continue to be. We should celebrate horror films that are more than a scary guy with a knife.