Horror movies have been notoriously snubbed by the Academy Awards, even though so many scary movies clearly deserved to win Oscars. This is especially obvious with the power of hindsight, as years later, many of the actual Oscar winners were largely forgotten by viewers while the horror releases made it through the ages. The sheer terror and emotion in horror movies are also ripe territory for fantastic performances that never get the accolades they deserve.
Many of the best horror movies of all time came out of awards season Oscar-less, and even though most viewers would agree that they deserved the award, it seemed that the Academy thought otherwise. Even the technical achievements of horror movies rarely get their due, as categories related to make-up, visual effects and cinematography are regularly passed over in favor of​​​​ more Oscar-friendly films. Although it is impossible to go back and change the past, All of these horror films deserved Academy Awards.
15
The Birds (1963)
Deserved Best Special Effects
The master of suspense, Alfred Hitchcock, is widely praised for revolutionizing horror movies in the 1960s with PsychoBut his follow-up film the birds was just as awful. The shocking story saw a wealthy socialite’s small town gradually overtaken by birds as they began to infest and overrun every aspect of her life before swarms of birds attacked to the point that military intervention was required. With impressive special effects and over $200,000 ($2 million in today’s money) spent on mechanical birds (via Collider), This trailblazing and iconic horror still lost on the Oscar too Cleopatra.
14
The Babadook (2014)
Deserved Best Original Screenplay
Horror screenplays rarely get their due for their rich psychological resonance and their deep probing into the heart of human anxiety. This was unfortunate because The Babadook Highlighted innate issues of depression and grief As the terrifying creature at the heart of this story represents the need to address problems through acceptance rather than burying negative emotions. Although writer and director Jennifer Kent’s powerful script earned accolades, it was snubbed at the Academy Awards. Instead, the price went to BirdmanA movie whose themes around acting and the film industry likely connected with Academy voters more.
13
A Quiet Place (2018)
Deserved Best Sound Editing
Despite being a horror based entirely on health, or the lack thereof, A quiet place Did not win his nomination for Best Sound Editing At the Academy Awards. Instead, it went to the by-the-numbers music biopic Bohemian Rhapsody. However, the way sound is used to build tension and tension in A quiet place was truly extraordinary. By taking one of the most innate human senses and exploring the deadly consequences of a baby’s cry or an unintentional scream, A quiet place Became truly terrifying, as when faced with death, screaming and sound become inevitable.
12
The Witch (2015)
Deserved Best Cinematography
The Academy tends to be extra harsh on horror movies, and only truly amazing releases manage nominations, while far less superior dramas often get a pass. This truly felt like Robert Eggers’ extraordinarily accomplished debut, The witchA mature horror that Strongly depicts a Puritan New England family encountering evil forces in a forest during the 1630s. What was most impressive about The witch was its stunning cinematography by Jarin Blaszke, which perfectly captured the dark tension of its period. While the 2015 winner, The RevenantAlso looked amazing, the fact The witch Not even being nominated was a travesty.
11
A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
Deserved Best Visual Effects
Few horror movies have endured quite like that A Nightmare on Elm StreetA true classic of horror that became one of the biggest slasher franchises of all time. From the creepy characterization of Freddy Krueger to the dark intensity of his dream sequences, A Nightmare on Elm Street broke new ground in horror movies and still lingers in the subconscious of viewers four decades after it was first released. While the award for best visual effects went to Indiana Jones and the Temple of DoomFreddie’s nightmarish intensity surely deserves this accolade.
10
Mandy (2018)
Deserved Best Cinematography
Throughout the 2010s, it felt like Nicolas Cage’s career was far from his acclaimed Oscar win for Leaving Las Vegas In 1995. However, Cage proved his talents again with an extraordinary performance in the surreal and terrifying revenge story MandyA film that looked so spectacular that it should have taken an Oscar for best cinematography. Unlike the dark, underlit aesthetic of so many horror films, Mandy was bright with color as the true horror of Cage’s character’s grief and pain was brought to the forefront In a fury of emotion and images.
9
American Psycho (2000)
Deserved Best Adapted Screenplay
The screen for American Psycho was co-written by Mary Harron and Guinevere Turner and perfectly captured the satirical essence of Bret Easton Ellis’ extraordinary novel. like The story of the yuppie serial killer Parik BatmanChristian Bale perfectly embodied the excesses of 1980s culture and consumerism as he delivered the script’s razor-sharp dialogue with ease while murdering his way through New York City’s upper class elite. horrible, American Psycho Wasn’t nominated for any Academy Awards despite enduring for decades as a cult classic.
8
Coraline (2009)
Deserved Best Animated Feature
Although kid’s animation and horror movies don’t generally go hand-in-hand, occasionally, a kid-friendly horror film breaks through and introduces a whole new generation of viewers to spooky movies. This was certainly the case for these Excellent stop-motion adaptation of Neil Gaiman CoralineA movie that used the idea of ​​doppelgängers to showcase the importance of courage and appreciation. While Pixar’s Up would claim the Animation Oscar in 2009, Coraline was a truly spectacular film whose creepy alternate universe deserved far more accolades than it received.
7
Under the Skin (2013)
Deserved Best Original Score
Although Jonathan Glazer’s spectacularly funny sci-fi horror Under the skin Completely snubbed by the Academy, it has since built a reputation as among the most enduring cult classics of the 21st century. With Scarlett Johansson as an otherworldly entity luring rural Scottish people to their own deaths, the foreboding nature of Under the skin Worked so well due to Mica Levi’s incredible score. With music tightly woven into its minimalist atmosphere, It was impressive how Under the skin Score became part of his very nature And added to the ominous presence of the film.
6
The Thing (1980)
Deserved Best Visual Effects
John Carpenter’s incredible presentation of a shapeshifting alien entity in The thing was a truly amazing piece of horror filmmaking Which is completely ignored by the academy. The visual effects in The thing It’s been a central reason why the movie has performed so well over the decades, as this, paired with the paranoid isolation of its Alaskan setting, made for truly nail-biting viewing. While the award understandably went to et the extra-terrestrialIt’s a crying shame The thing Was at least not considered in the nominees along Blade Runner And Poltergeist.
5
The Shining (1980)
Shelley Duvall deserved Best Actress
One of the biggest travesties in Hollywood history was the reception of Shelly Duvall’s performance in The Shining. Despite enduring unimaginably difficult onset circumstances that seriously strained her mental health and being controversially nominated for Worst Actress at the Golden Raspberry Awards, Duvall still managed to give a trailblazing performance as Wendy Torrence in The Shining. Duvall perfectly captured the terror and fear of life at the Overlook Hotel And strongly held up against the intensity of Jack Nicholson’s murderous performance. Although Duvall’s performance may not have been appreciated at the time, looking back, it’s clear that she deserved an Oscar.
4
Psycho (1960)
Alfred Hitchcock won Best Director
Alfred Hitchcock Psycho was among the most influential horror movies ever madeHow his strong tension laid the ground for the slasher genre and gave horror movies a real sense of artistry. Hitchcock should have been honored with a best director Oscar for this achievement. However, it must be admitted that 1960 was a tough year in terms of competition, and director Billy Wilder’s win for The apartment Remains a worthy shell. Although both movies have truly stood the test of time, when all is said and done, it is clear that Psycho has had more of a hold on popular culture in the decades since.
3
The Sixth Sense (1999)
Deserved Best Original Screenplay
The sixth sense laid the foundation for the entire career of the writer and director M. Night ShyamalanAs his twist ending was so impressive that he would always be associated with confounding audience expectations. While The sixth sense Was mainly mentioned for this reason, the truth was it only worked so well because everything that came before it was a masterclass in slow-building tension and impressive adult storytelling. disappointing, The sixth sense Lost out on the Oscar too American beautyA film that was released in the morning has an exceptionally bad age.
2
Hereditary (2018)
Toni Collette won Best Actress
While Ari Aster’s directorial debut, hereditary, Signaling the dawn of a new major voice in horror, it was practically overshadowed by the sheer power and intensity of Toni Collette’s extraordinary performance. As the grieving mother Annie Graham, Collette captured the raw emotion and psychological destruction at the heart of the Graham family’s dire circumstances. It was truly a tour de force in acting and one of the best performances in modern movie history, and it was a travesty that Collette not only did not win the Oscar, but was not even nominated for Hereditary.
1
The Shining (1980)
Deserved Best Picture
Although Ordinary people Won Best Picture in 1980Two movies deserved it more: Martin Scorsese’s Raging Bull and Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining. In an incredibly competitive year, Kubrick came out on top for proving the artistry of horror films and raising the bar for the entire genre. The Shining was a fundamental release in the quest for horror movies to finally be taken seriously. Without Kubrick’s laying the ground with The Shining, Horror movies Couldn’t have finally gotten their due more than ten years later with the Best Picture win and ceremony sweep of The silence of the lambs.