AwardsWatch Podcast Ep. 254: ‘The Substance’ Review plus ‘Transformers One’ and TIFF Winner ‘The Life of Chuck’

On episode 254 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by AwardsWatch contributors Karen Peterson and Dan Bayer to review and give their reactions to the movie everyone is talking about, The Substance.

Since its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year, audience can’t stop talking about the latest body horror thriller from director Coralie Fargeat, The Substance. Led by powerhouse performances from actresses Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley, and filled with tons of blood, twists, and turns, the film just came off of winning the TIFF People’s Choice Award for the Midnight Madness section of the program. As it heads into theaters across the country, Ryan, Karen, and Dan break down their inventive, unique world that Fargeat created, the make-up design as well as the stellar work by the entire ensemble, making for one of the team’s favorite films of the year. They did their best to not give any of the film’s reveals away, knowing audiences show go into The Substance knowing little to nothing about it in order for the full wave of shocking moments Fargeat’s second feature presents. Also on the show this week was brief thoughts by Karen about Transformers One, and Dan’s thoughts on the TIFF Audience Winner, The Life of Chuck. A rare one-hour episode with lots packed in, so we hope you enjoy!

You can listen to The AwardsWatch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more.

This podcast runs 1h08m. We will be back next week to do discuss the latest film release, Megalopolis. Til then, let’s get into it.

Music: “Modern Fashion” from AShamaleuvmusic (intro), “B-3” from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro).

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Ryan McQuade

Ryan McQuade is the AwardsWatch Executive Editor and a film-obsessed writer in San Antonio, Texas. Raised on musicals, westerns, and James Bond, his taste in cinema is extremely versatile. He’s extremely fond of independent releases and director’s passion projects. Engrossed with all things Oscars, he hosts the AwardsWatch Podcast. He also is co-host of the Director Watch podcast. When he’s not watching movies, he’s rooting on all his favorite sports teams, including his beloved Texas Longhorns. You can follow him on Twitter at @ryanmcquade77.

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