Demi Moore is loving those memes about 'The Substance,' talks film's impact on pop culture

Like the younger version of Elisabeth Sparkle, "The Substance" has taken on a life of its own, and Demi Moore is thrilled.

The "Ghost" star, who earned a best lead performance nomination at Monday's Gotham Awards for the body horror movie, told USA TODAY she didn't expect the film to permeate the culture the way it has, including by spawning a wave of memes on social media.

"Some of the bigger surprises are just how it's touched into popular culture — the memes, the costumes, and that it's resonated so deeply in us as human beings, not just specific to women," she said on the red carpet.

Moore noted she went into the project without "any expectations" and "had no idea that this was going to hit."

But she added that she hopes audiences will take away the idea that they should be "a little bit more kind and gentle" to themselves.

The actress stars in "The Substance" as Elisabeth Sparkle, the host of a fitness show who is fired after turning 50 and begins using a serum that creates a younger version of herself, Sue (Margaret Qualley).

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Since the film's theatrical release in September, social media has been flooded with memes jumping off the grabby premise, including viral X posts comparing two people of different ages with similar features and joking that they "took the substance." The movie also inspired many Halloween costumes, with fans dressing as Elisabeth, Sue, or even the body horror monstrosity that emerges as the substance begins causing gnarly side effects.

Moore has been earning Academy Awards buzz for the role, and she was nominated on Monday at the Gotham Awards, the first major awards show of Oscar season, in a category that also included Mikey Madison for "Anora" and Nicole Kidman in "Babygirl." Colman Domingo ultimately won the award for "Sing Sing."

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If "The Substance" has one hurdle heading into the Oscars, it's the fact that the Academy has been historically reluctant to embrace lead performances in horror movies, having previously snubbed actors like Toni Collette for "Hereditary" and Lupita Nyong'o for "Us."

But the Academy could be quicker to embrace "The Substance" with its message about beauty standards and body positivity. On the red carpet, Madison told USA TODAY it's one of her favorite films of the year.

Moore previously told USA TODAY that part of what she liked about the film was that it "wasn't about highlighting my (body) and being lit in my most attractive ways, that in fact, it would be amplifying those things that you might see as flaws or that you don't want somebody to see."

Contributing: Brian Truitt

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Demi Moore talks 'Substance' memes, Halloween costumes