Singer Katy Perry has made a bold claim about Demi Moore's new film The Substance.
The movie is a satirical horror that follows faded Hollywood celebrity Elisabeth Sparkle, played by Demi Moore, who, after being fired from her aerobics show on her 50th birthday, begins taking a laboratory substance that turns her into a younger and more beautiful version of herself.
The film is directed by French filmmaker Coralie Fargeat and also stars Dennis Quaid and Margaret Qualley. It opened in theaters on September 29 and has made nearly $16 million at the U.S. box office.
In a post on X yesterday, Perry declared: "The Substance – best film this year."
This was her first post since election day, when the singer vehemently urged fans to vote for Kamala Harris. Newsweek has emailed Katy Perry's representatives for comment.
Critics are split over The Substance. Some celebrate its fresh approach to a well-trodden topic, while others have criticized it for too much gore and not enough, well, substance.
Variety praised the film as a "weirdly fun, cathartically grotesque fusion of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Showgirls."
However, others have claimed the film is too graphic for its own good, with the New York Times branding it "absurdly gory" and a slew of user reviews on IMDb calling out the film as "horrible" and "disgusting."
Less concerned with the gore and more the actual substance of the film, The Hollywood Reporter declared that the "thin plotting" of the film is strained due to its long 2 hour 20 minute run time, to the extent that "there are scenes, especially in the middle of the film, that land as leaden repetition instead of clever mirroring."
Perry's post has so far had 66.3 million views with many fans agreeing with her high praise.
One user said: "[It] truly stands out as one of the best films this year."
"I agree," said another fan, though they admitted they thought the ending was "stupid and childish."
One fan slightly disagreed with Perry, saying "it's good but far from the best."
Others seemed keen to take Perry's words as recommendations, pledging to watch it and asking fellow followers for brief summaries.
Another fan snidely suggested that Perry's musical offerings could do with some renewing substance herself, saying "as a massive fan of your classic pop albums, that latest record really needed a shot of The Substance. I have a good feeling that you'll get your sound in order soon though."
However, many social media users simply took Perry's post as an opportunity to target her for endorsing Kamala Harris in the election.
"Not really taking your recommendations after the whole Kamala thing," was one response, while also social media user said: "[You] also said Kamala was the best candidate. Can't trust you on anything these days."
Perry performed at a rally for Harris in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on the eve of the election. Of Harris, Perry told the crowd: "I know she will protect my daughter's future, your children's future, and our family's future. So, Pittsburgh, let's make Kamala Harris the next president of the United States."
She performed a range of her own hits, including "Firework" and "Part of Me" before singing a cover of "Greatest Love of All" by Whitney Houston.
Comedian John Oliver recently joked that the Perry's cover of the Whitney song – which he described as a "drunk bachelorette karaoke night performance" and "ill-advised" - was the reason why Harris lost the election.
English (US) ·