Horror movieshave notoriously been snubbed by the Academy Awards, even though so many scary movies clearly deserved to win Oscars. This has become especially apparent with the power of hindsight, as years later, many of the actual Oscar winners have mostly been forgotten by viewers while these horror releases have endured through the ages. The sheer terror and emotion on display in horror movies were also ripe territory for fantastic performances that never got the accolades they deserved.
Many of thebest horror movies of all timecame out of awards season Oscar-less, and even though most viewers would agree they deserved the award, it seemed the Academy thought differently. Even the technical achievements of horror movies rarely got their due, as categories related to makeup, visual effects, and cinematography have been continually passed over in favor of more Oscar-friendly films. While it’s impossible to go back and change the past,all of these horror films deserved Academy Awards.
15The Birds (1963)
Deserved Best Special Effects
The Master of Suspense, Alfred Hitchcock, was widely lauded for revolutionizing horror movies in 1960 withPsycho, but his follow-up filmThe Birdswas just as terrifying. This 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 (viaCollider),this trailblazing and iconic horror still lost out on the Oscar toCleopatra.
The Academy Award for Special Effects changed its name to Best Special Visual Effects in 1964 and its current name, Best Visual Effects, in 1977.
The Birds
Cast
The Birds, released in 1963, is a suspenseful thriller directed by Alfred Hitchcock. The film follows a series of unexplained and deadly bird attacks on the residents of a seaside town, as the townspeople struggle to survive in the face of this terrifying avian threat.
14The 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 anxieties. This was unfortunate becauseThe Babadookhighlighted innate issues of depression and griefas the terrifying creature at the heart of this story represented the need to address these problems through acceptance rather than burying negative emotions. While this strong script from the writer and director Jennifer Kent deserved accolades, it wassnubbed entirely at the Academy Awards. Instead, the prize went toBirdman, a movie whose themes around acting and the film industry likely connected with Academy voters more.
The Babadook
The Babadook, directed by Jennifer Kent, explores the struggles of a single mother grieving her husband’s death while confronting her son’s fear of a lurking monster. As they contend with this unseen entity, the sinister presence grows increasingly pervasive in their lives.
13A Quiet Place (2018)
Deserved Best Sound Editing
Despite being a horror entirely based around sound, or the lack thereof,A Quiet Placedid not win its nomination for Best Sound Editingat the Academy Awards. Instead, it went to theby-the-numbers music biopicBohemian Rhapsody. However, the way sound was utilized to build suspense and tension inA Quiet Placewas truly extraordinary. By taking one of the most innate human senses and exploring the deathly consequences of a baby’s cry or an unintentional shriek,A Quiet Placebecame truly frightening, as when faced with death, screaming and sound become inevitable.
A Quiet Place
A Quiet Place, directed by John Krasinski, follows a family navigating a post-apocalyptic world where they must live in silence to evade deadly creatures that hunt by sound.
12The Witch (2015)
Deserved Best Cinematography
The Academy tends to be extra harsh on horror movies, and only truly astounding releases manage nominations, while far less superior dramas often get a pass. This felt truly for Robert Eggers' extraordinarily accomplished debut,The Witch, a mature horror thatpowerfully depicted a Puritan New England family encountering evil forces in a forest during the 1630s. What was most impressive aboutThe Witchwas its stunning cinematography from Jarin Blaschke, who perfectly captured the dark tension of its period. While the 2015 winner,The Revenant, also looked astounding, the factThe Witchwas not even nominated was a travesty.
The Witch
The Witch follows a 1630s family that relocates to a remote New England farm. Strange, unsettling events transpire, causing mounting suspicion and paranoia. This testing environment challenges the family’s faith, loyalty, and love amid isolation and tension as they confront the unknown forces lurking beyond their new home.
11A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
Deserved Best Visual Effects
Few horror movies have endured quite likeA Nightmare on Elm Street, a true classic of horror that went on to become one of the biggest slasher franchises of all time. From the creepy characterization of Freddy Krueger to the dark intensity of its dream sequences,A Nightmare on Elm Streetbroke 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 toIndiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Freddy’s nightmarish intensity surely deserved this accolade.
A Nightmare on Elm Street
A Nightmare on Elm Street, released in 1984, explores the terror faced by a group of teenagers haunted in their dreams by Fred Krueger, a vengeful spirit. As they confront a series of mysterious deaths, Nancy Thompson uncovers the truth about Krueger’s dark past and seeks to stop him.
10Mandy (2018)
Throughout the 2010s, it felt like Nicolas Cage’s career was far from his acclaimed Oscar win forLeaving Las Vegasin 1995. However, Cage proved his talents once again with an extraordinary performance in the surreal and horrific revenge storyMandy, a film that looked so spectacular it should have taken home an Oscar for Best Cinematography. Unlike the dark, underlit aesthetics of so many horror films,Mandywas bright with color as the true horror ofCage’s character’s grief and pain was brought to the forefrontin a fury of emotion and imagery.
Mandy
2018’s Mandy is a Horror and Action film starring Nicholas Cage. Written and directed by Panos Cosmatos, Cage plays a recovering alcoholic that lives a solitary life with his girlfriend who ends up kidnapped by a mysterious cult. The remainder of the film sees Cage embarking on a bloody quest for revenge.
9American Psycho (2000)
Deserved Best Adapted Screenplay
The screenplay forAmerican Psychowas co-written by Mary Harron and Guinevere Turner and perfectly captured the satirical essence of Bret Easton Ellis’s extraordinary novel. Asthe story of the yuppie serial killer Parick Bateman, Christian 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 the elite of New York City’s upper echelon. Shockingly,American Psychowas not nominated for any Academy Awards despite enduring for decades as a cult classic.
American Psycho
Based on the book of the same name by Bret Easton Ellis, American Psycho follows Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale) an investment banker in New York in 1987 who leads a double life as a serial killer. As investigators circle Bateman after the disappearance of a colleague, he finds himself trapped in a spiral of murder and excess, unable to stop himself from giving in to his increasingly dark urges. Also stars Willem Dafoe, Jared Leto, Justin Theroux, and Reese Witherspoon.
8Coraline (2009)
Deserved Best Animated Feature
While kid’s animation and horror movies don’t generally go hand-in-hand, occasionally, achild-friendly horror filmbreaks through and introduces a whole new generation of viewers to spooky movies. This was certainly the case for theexcellent stop-motion adaptation of Neil Gaiman’sCoraline, a movie that utilized the idea of doppelgängers to showcase the importance of courage and appreciation. While Pixar’sUpwould claim the Animation Oscar in 2009,Coralinewas a truly spectacular film whose creepy alternative universe deserved far more accolades than it received.
Coraline
Based on Neil Gaiman’s novella, Coraline follows Coraline Jones, a lonely young girl who, after moving to a new house with her inattentive parents, discovers a portal to another, more sinister alternate reality behind one of the house’s many doors. Written and directed by Henry Selick, the film uses stop-motion animation and stars Dakota Fanning as Coraline.
7Under the Skin (2013)
Deserved Best Original Score
Although Jonathan Glazer’s spectacularly strange sci-fi horrorUnder the Skinwas entirely snubbed by the Academy, it has since built up a reputation as among the most enduring cult classics of the 21st century. With Scarlett Johansson as an otherworldly entity luring rural Scottish men to their own demise, the foreboding nature ofUnder the Skinworked so well due to the incredible score by Mica Levi. With music tightly woven into its minimalist atmosphere,it was impressive howUnder the Skin’sscore became part of its very natureand added to the ominous presence of the film.
Under the Skin
Under the Skin is a sci-fi thriller directed by Jonathan Glazer and starring Scarlett Johansson. Johansson plays “The Female,” an alien from another world that hunts men in Scotland. Despite receiving high praise upon release, Under the Skin was a box office bomb, only making a little over half of its budget.
6The Thing (1980)
John Carpenter’s incredible presentation of a shapeshifting alien entity inThe Thingwas a truly astounding piece of horror filmmakingthat was wholly ignored by the Academy. The visual effects inThe Thingwere a central reason the movie has endured 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 toE.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, it’s a crying shame thatThe Thingwas at the very least not considered in the nominees alongsideBlade RunnerandPoltergeist.
The Thing
A team of researchers set out to study an alien spacecraft found in Antarctica, where they also discover an alien body on the site. The alien buried in ice is actually alive and has the ability to imitate human form. The group must find a way to distinguish who the real person is from The Thing and stay alive. John Carpenter’s 1982 film is a remake of 1951’s The Thing from Another World and stars Kurt Russel as the hero RJ MacReady.
