Matthew Percefull
For almost 100 years, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has set out to celebrate films and the people who make them through the Academy Awards (Oscars). Unfortunately, they haven’t always included everybody in these celebrations. Films and artists have been completely overlooked, simply because of race, gender, or genre. These exclusions are obviously not equal in impact, but they all represent the same type of stubbornness and elitism. The Academy Awards have tried reckoning with this over the years. In the last decade or so, more POC, women, and members of the LGBT community have been allowed more celebration and screentime (not nearly enough, but a start). A subtle example of the Academy’s (slow) evolution is the increased recognition of the horror genre in recent years.
As someone who dedicates a large percentage of my life to watching, discussing, and thinking about films, the Oscars should excite me, right? “This is like your Super Bowl!” I’ll hear from family and friends, but it really isn’t. I often dread this award show. The celebrity butt-kissing, awkward speeches, and bizarre decisions often just annoy me. Some years, I don’t even watch. This year, however, had me intrigued. Not only was a horror film (Sinners) gunning for the best picture trophy, Frankenstein, Weapons, and The Ugly Stepsister were nominated for awards as well. I watched with bated breath this year for the first time in a while.
The 98th Academy Awards saw the horror genre walk out with eight wins, easily the most in the genre’s history. Ryan Coogler’s vampire epic, Sinners, led the pack with four awards. Guillermo Del Toro’s Frankenstein was not far behind it with three. The night’s first televised award was given to Amy Madigan for her transformative performance as Aunt Gladys in Weapons. Considering that just a few years ago, horror fans were begging for a mere nomination, eight awards in the same night is a huge win for the genre.
Horror’s history at the Oscars is long and storied. The winners have often defied odds and been underdogs in their respective categories. Or seen as one-offs. Notably, many of the winning films are not “pure” horror. Jaws is an adventurous blockbuster with strong horror elements (Steven Spielberg also directed it). The Silence of the Lambs is a police procedural that contains a few truly terrifying scenes (Oh, and Anthony Hopkins is overdue). Sinners is as much a historical drama (which has a high success rate at the Oscars) as it is a vampire flick (and Ryan Coogler directed it). These films are all excellent, but it seems like the genre needs a stamp of prestige to be considered a serious film. They usually need an auteur, a seasoned actor, an impressive box office, or multiple genres to even be considered. That’s slowly shifting, but largely still true.
To get a larger scope of Horror’s relationship with the Academy, and the types of films that have been able to break through. We will take a look at the genre’s history in each category.
The Craft Categories
It’s no surprise that Horror has been the most successful in these categories. Effects, costumes, and makeup are the heartbeat of these films. Even then, the wins have been sparse. Roughly a dozen horror films have won these below-the-line categories, nearly half of those wins coming in Makeup and hairstyling. For years, it felt like horror was only allowed representation in these categories. I love a good gory kill or cool monster design, but the genre has way more to offer than that. It looks like the Academy is finally waking up to this fact.
Editing and sound are two categories that horror should thrive in. You can’t sell a scare without a solid cut and sound cue. These two crafts are central to what makes the genre work, yet rarely seem to get their due. The Exorcist is the only horror film to win Best Sound, while Jaws managed to snatch up both prizes. Both were in the 1970s. A horror film has won neither award since then. That’s a travesty.
Until this year, Horror was frankly non-existent in the best score and best cinematography categories as well. When it comes to film scores, movies like Halloween and The Exorcist rank among the most iconic and recognizable, yet got no love on cinema’s biggest night. Cinematography is even more egregious. Some of the most talented DP’s to ever touch a camera have worked on horror films; According to the Oscars, all that mastery is undone the moment some blood appears. Autumn Durald Arkapaw made history at the 98th Academy Awards by becoming the first woman to win for best cinematographer. Sinners taking both of these awards home is a great sign for the future.
Horror fares slightly better in the visual effects category, but once again, it’s few and far between. It usually requires a big monster effect or transformation scene to get the job done. Notable winners were American Werewolf in London, Godzilla: Minus One, Alien, and Aliens.
This year, Frankenstein cleaned up, below the line. Del Toro’s adaptation of the classic novel took home the awards for best visual effects, makeup & hairstyling, and production design. It’s refreshing to see a sweep like this for a horror film. Recently, the Oscars’ love has started spreading farther than just the technical categories, most notably for acting.
Acting
In 1931, only a few years into the awards show’s history, Fredric March became the first to win best actor in a horror movie for his dual roles as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. After that, 37 years went by without a horror win in the acting categories. Ruth Gordon ended the drought in 1968 for her supporting role in Rosemary’s Baby. Between March and Gordon, only a handful of horror performers were ever even nominated. The most notable examples are Joan Fontaine and Lawrence Olivier for Rebecca in 1941 (more gothic than horror), and Janet Leigh for Psycho in 1961. So, your horror film could get nominated; you just had to be named Alfred Hitchcock. Since then, horror has remained an inconsistent presence, at best.
Seven (give or take depending on how you define the genre) horror performers have taken home acting prizes: Fredric March, Ruth Gordon, Kathy Bates, Anthony Hopkins, Jodie Foster, Natalie Portman, Amy Madigan, and Michael B Jordan. Jordan and Madigan’s wins are the first for the genre in over 20 twenty years. This is a disrespectfully low number for a genre that consistently delivers visceral and vulnerable performances. The acting categories are where we’ve seen the most egregious snubs.
The Oscars seem to have a type when it comes to the performances they award. The more “grounded” the more likely you are to walk away with the gold. The film can’t be too mainstream, but it also can’t be too niche. The Academy is always aiming at that elusive middle-ground; they often miss. They over-reward obvious choices and overlook the ‘cool’ picks (think Adam Sandler missing for Uncut Gems). Horror performances are often left out due to this type of decision-making.
The horror acting snub that still frustrates me today is Toni Collette for Hereditary. Before the nominations had been revealed in 2019, even non-horror fans were ready to give Collette a slot in the Best Actress category. Her beautifully committed and at times unhinged performance is exactly the type of swing these awards should be gushing over. Instead, she wasn’t even nominated. There have been many cases like this. Lupita Nyong’o for Us, Mia Goth for Pearl, Bill Skarsgard for IT. If I named them all, we’d be here all day.
Horror fans had gotten so used to the exclusions that when Demi Moore was nominated for The Substance in 2025, it was a pleasant surprise. More shocking was that she seemed to be in contention to win. Mikey Madison wound up with the trophy that night, but the momentum Moore gained during her campaign showed us that horror films can be major awards players. I honestly expected this to be a one-off.
This year, they proved me wrong. Not only did Amy Madigan win Best Supporting Actress for her turn as a villainous witch, but she shared the category with Wunmi Mosaku for her empathetic role in Sinners. The fun didn’t end there. Michael B Jordan won the Best Actor prize in one of the tightest categories. These awards can be silly and shallow, but it’s hard not to be excited watching a film as important and fresh as Sinners get its flowers on such a big stage. It’s not only a win for horror and black filmmakers, but a win for cinema as a whole.
The Big One
While all of these awards are meaningful in their own ways, there’s a reason why Best Picture is given out last. This coveted prize is monitored all year. Every time a new great film is released, Best Picture conversations are soon to follow. It’s more than an award; it usually becomes a year-long conversation. A conversation that horror is seldom invited to.
Nine horror films have been nominated for best picture: The Exorcist, Jaws, The Silence of the Lambs, The Sixth Sense, Black Swan, Get Out, The Substance, Frankenstein, and Sinners. None of these films took home the big prize. Many of these films are not exclusively considered horror either. Black Swan, The Sixth Sense, and The Silence Of The Lambs all consistently spark debate over their genre.
One third of these nominations happened in the last two years. Sinners was so close to winning this year in one of the closest Best Picture races we’ve seen in quite a while. Horror is no longer the red-headed stepchild of cinema; the genre is proving that it can hang with the big boys. Respected directors like Ryan Coogler and Guillermo Del Toro openly embracing the genre certainly helps as well. Horror is undeniably one of the healthiest and most reliable genres in today’s unpredictable landscape. Even a group as snooty as the academy has to recognize that.
When superheroes are fading, reboots are getting old, and stars are becoming unreliable, horror is always able to draw in excitement and ticket sales (often on a lower budget). The studio heads and producers who once scoffed at the blood and guts are now begging filmmakers for it. Studios like A24 and NEON have shown us that these films don’t need extensive ad campaigns or huge stars; they just need to connect to their audiences creatively. Films like Barbarian and Longlegs in recent years have been able to build organic buzz through simply understanding their audiences. Instead of blindly throwing a wide net and hoping for the best, these films laser focus on the people who are already into the genre. If they’re able to attract a general audience, that’s great, but the base has become the focus.
As Horror continues its quiet dominance, will the academy continue to award it? Were the last two years a fluke, or is there more to come? I’m skeptical. This is an organization that took 98 years to reward a female cinematographer and has yet to give a black filmmaker the director prize. The same that shut out brilliant films such as No Other Choice and Sorry, Baby. These small gestures of change can sometimes be just that, gestures.
The Academy will always be The Academy, but I’m willing to celebrate this moment while we have it. These awards can seem trivial, but they’re also symbols. They represent the hard work and years of being overlooked. For many, they represent beating the odds. This year’s results proved that in many beautiful ways.
