Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley Horror film The Substance First Reactions

Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley Horror film The Substance First Reactions

The substancea gruesome body horror film, had its world premiere during the competition on Sunday evening Cannes Film Festival and was greeted with a nine-minute standing ovation from the audience at the Grand Lumiere Theater.

The second directorial and English-language debut of French filmmaker Coralie Fargeat – she also wrote, produced and edited the team – shines Demi MooreDennis Quaid and Margaret Qualley (Qualley also appears in another competition title at this year's fest, Types of kindness), all of whom were present at the screening.

A gory fantasy that is a twisted cross between the classic films Sunset Blvd. And FreaksIt has since become one of the most notable competition films at Cannes Titanium – and with the right mix of judges, that film could go to a major festival prize, if not for the film, then perhaps for Moore.

Produced by Working Title arthouse experts Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner, the film was originally set to be distributed by Universal but will now be released in the US via MUBI. Other areas sold to other distributors during the celebration.

In addition to the cast, the audience included Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Abel Ferrara and Carla Bruni.