This narrative that horror movies are being shunned from the Oscars for political reasons started last month when Mia Goth, responding to her “Pearl” Oscar snub, had this to say:
I think that it’s very political. “It’s not entirely based on the quality of a project per se. There’s a lot going on there, and a lot of cooks in the kitchen when it comes to nominations.”
Can you honestly, fully believe that the Academy has it against the horror genre? I’m not on-board that narrative. After all, you’ve had films like “The Silence of the Lambs,” “The Sixth Sense” “Black Swan” and “Get Out” nominated for Best Picture. Kathy Bates also won an Oscar for her deranged performance in “Misery.”
I remember a small movement in the ‘90s backing ‘The Blair Witch Project’ for a Best Picture nomination, but that was never going to happen given how divisive that movie was. However, one cannot deny how influential ‘Blair Witch’ has become, beyond just the horror genre.
A recent Esquire article by Henry Wong makes the case for Academy voters unfairly shunning horror movies. The problem is that the films he mentions, well, weren’t worthy of consideration. Don’t start your thesis on the unfairness of horror and Oscar by mentioning “Bodies, Bodies. Bodies.” No, just no.
Wong then mentions “Barbarian,” which was bloody good, but was hampered by a wobbly and predictable ending. Then there’s Jordan Peele’s “Nope,” which I really liked after a rewatch, but can definitely see why it didn’t connect with voters and audiences. It’s an ambiguous art film.
The best case to be made is for Mia Goth’s wonderful performance in “Pearl.” She deserved to be part of the conversation this year, but not even Riseborough-esque grassroots campaigning would have worked in getting her a nom. The film and performance were just too “out there” for the token, very timid-minded, Oscar voter.
There has been a resurgence of the genre, a neo-horror movement that started around 2014 or 2015, most notably with Robert Eggers’ “The Witch,” but how many of the movies released since then actually merited an Oscar nom?
The problem with Oscar and the horror genre is not that it’s too political, but rather that the genre itself is too divisive. I would have loved to have seen “Hereditary” “It Follows” or “A Quiet Place” get Best Picture nominated, but there are plenty of people, including readers of this site, who would be repulsed by any of these three getting recognized. And, they’re three of the most critically acclaimed horror films of the 21st Century.