The Screen Critic: A blistering body horror satire, a robot learns to be a mother and a teen girl gets a visit from her future self

The pursuit of fame and beauty hits a new level of desperation and depravity in The Substance, a bizarre, compelling adults-only nightmare that infuses satire with lashings of glamour and body horror.

When former Hollywood darling Elisabeth Sparkle (Demi Moore) is kicked off her popular TV fitness show by her greasy producer Harvey (Dennis Quaid) she is offered a means of reclaiming her spotlight.

Thanks to a super-secret miracle drug, Elisabeth transforms into Sue (Margaret Qualley), an idealised version of her beautiful young self who replaces her old self as the new host of the show, which becomes a huge hit.

All she has to do to keep it all is to stick to the strict rules about how and when to take the drug.

Her hunger for adoration overwhelms her self-discipline, however, leading to devastating consequences – and that’s putting it mildly.

The film fuses an exaggerated visual style with dark humour and a growing number of shock moments that’ll keep you totally engrossed.

For a slightly more sedate take on fame and power, The Critic tells of an acidic theatre critic (Ian McKellen) who is the terror of the 1934 London theatre scene.

In fear of losing his prestigious job, he makes a deal with a struggling actress (Gemma Arterton). She thinks it’s mutually beneficial but soon discovers a darker motive from her devious partner, who considers ethics a bothersome distraction to getting what he wants.

Handsome production values and a solid story are anchored by a top cast and a typically strong central performance from McKellen. (Opens 3 October)

But, hang on. It’s still school holiday time. What about the kids?

Currently drawing crowds in multiplexes across the nation is The Wild Robot, a beautifully animated futuristic adventure about Roz, a domestic droid whose transport ship crashes into the depths of a forest. Programmed to serve, Roz begins raising an orphaned duckling, teaching it to eat, swim and fly.

A warm, sci-fi fairy tale, the film is full of visual humour and some heartening themes about quality parenting and family togetherness. A lovely holiday movie treat.

Wisdom and instinct collide in My Old Ass, an unusual romantic comedy charmer in which Elliott (Maisy Stella), a teenage girl on the verge of going to college, gets a visit from her advice-dispensing future self (Aubrey Plaza).

The mission of the older Elliott is to keep the younger Elliott from falling in love with the wrong guy. But when the attractive Chad (Percy Hynes White) shows up Elliott finds him hard to resist.

Set mostly on a berry farm in the scenic Canadian countryside, the film offers a humourous look at what happens when a braggish youth is confronted with hard life choices. Very well done.

Those who like their horror-movie thrills cheap and nasty will get their due in The Strangers: Chapter 1, a rather gruesome variation on the conventional cabin-in-the-woods scenario.

While driving through the wilds of Oregon on their way to a new life, young couple Maya and Ryan (Madelaine Petsch and Froy Gutierrez) are forced by car trouble to stay overnight in a remote town.

Their plans for a romantic interlude in an isolated house are rudely interrupted by three masked psychos, each brandishing sharp gardening implements.

The first part of a trilogy, this low-budget slasher has the distinction of being very well-directed by veteran action man Renny Harlin (Cliffhanger; Driven; Die Hard 2) who injects some quality jolts into an otherwise routine jaunt through the woods.

Catch it on Binge.

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