Coralie Fargeat has never been one to shy away from pushing boundaries. The writer-director of The Substance, one of the best horror movies of recent memory—and now a 2025 Oscar nominee for Best Picture—has built a career on visceral, thought-provoking storytelling. But, when it came to studio feedback on her bold, best blood-soaked body horror flicks, the most unexpected pushback didn’t come from its extreme violence or unsettling themes. It involved a not-so-gory scene, and Fargeat says it came from… just the “guys.”
The French filmmaker recently appeared on Variety’s Awards Circuit Podcast recalled receiving a particularly odd studio note regarding a pivotal lunch scene featuring cast member Dennis Quaid. The filmmaker was taken aback by how strongly certain people reacted to something she never imagined would be controversial. She explained:
From all the things in the movie that I thought could bother people, the one that I could have never imagined was the shrimp… It came only from guys, I might say. Like, ‘Come on, calm down with the shrimp.’ And I think it made them uncomfortable because it was portrayed in a way that felt over the top.
At first glance, it’s an absurd critique, but as Coralie Fargeat sees it, the discomfort wasn’t about the crustaceans themselves—it was about what the scene represented.
The Revenge filmmaker has always been interested in exploring the visceral and grotesque, and this moment, like many others in The Substance, uses exaggerated imagery to comment on larger themes of beauty, power, and control. The shrimp was just another element that made specific viewers uneasy, which is precisely what the director intended. And I get it because this film is one of my favorite recent horror flicks, but it’s so weird that I find it difficult to recommend it. The shrimp scene contributes to that oddness.
The Substance has been making waves since it was released, with critics praising its blend of visceral horror and biting social commentary, with CinemaBlend hailing it as one of the 25 best films of 2024. The film dives deep into beauty, aging and self-worth themes in an industry that often sidelines women past a certain age. Lead actress Demi Moore‘s performance, in particular, has been hailed as a career-best, winning her a Golden Globe and earning her an Oscar nomination.
Of course, the shrimp note wasn’t the only studio concern. The Le télégramme director also revealed that execs had reservations about the film’s monstrous creature—a grotesque yet strangely vulnerable manifestation of the film’s themes. Some thought it didn’t fit traditional “beauty standards” for creature design. But Coralie Fargeat, who has spoken at length about the two words she kept repeating while conceptualizing The Substance’s monstrous visuals, stood her ground. To her, the entire purpose of the film was to challenge expectations.
Demi Moore is no stranger to industry double standards herself, connected deeply with the film’s themes–revealing in a past interview that it came at the right time in her career. In one of the film’s most potent scenes, her character removes her makeup in front of a mirror—a moment of raw vulnerability that becomes the emotional turning point of the film. The scary flick’s helmer has credited Moore’s performance with bringing a level of depth and intensity that made the scene truly land.
At the end of the day, the shrimp controversy is just another example of how The Substance pushes boundaries. If a seemingly harmless detail can rattle some viewers, it only reinforces the film’s ability to provoke discomfort and spark conversation. And honestly? That’s exactly what great horror should do.
With The Substance continuing to rake in award nominations and keep audiences talking, Coralie Fargeat has cemented herself as a force in modern horror. And, if this film is any indication, whatever she does next will be just as daring, unsettling, and unforgettable. The film is now available to stream on the digital service Mubi. Also, check out our 2025 movie schedule to see what other upcoming horror movies are headed to theaters soon.