7 Horror Movies That Should Have Won Oscars

At this year’s Academy Awards, the horror genre was honored much more highly than it typically is, with horror and horror-inspired films taking home some of the night’s biggest awards.

Jordan Peele won Best Original Screenplay for Get Out, a horror film about a man going to meet his girlfriend’s family for the first time and uncovering horrifying schemes. The Shape of Water might not have been a straightforward horror movie, but when it’s a love story clearly inspired by Creature from the Black Lagoon from a genre filmmaker, it’s hard to see that as anything but a win for horror. The film took home a total of four awards, including Guillermo del Toro for Best Director and the night’s top acclaim, Best Picture.

These awards are sure to change Hollywood’s perspective on the horror world, yet it’s too late for countless horror movies that were ignored by the Oscars when they initially debuted.

Regardless of the competition these films faced when they were released, we think the following films should have been recognized by the Academy in some way, shape, or form to remind the world what can be accomplished with the world of horror!

‘Frankenstein’

Released in 1931, Frankenstein had the odds stacked against it, as many of the categories only featured three nominees. With its accomplishments in makeup, one would think the film would be recognized by the organization, yet it failed to make an appearance in any category.

The film’s director, James Whale, followed up this film with The Old Dark House, The Invisible Man, and Bride of Frankenstein, proving that Frankenstein was only the beginning of what he had to offer audiences in the way of classic monster movies.

Horror wasn’t completely overlooked at the ceremony that year, however, with Fredric March taking home the award for his performance in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde as the titular characters.

‘Psycho’

The film that made audiences everywhere terrified of ever spending a night at a motel was overlooked by the Oscars despite its many accomplishments.

Pyscho wasn’t completely ignored at the year’s awards, having scored nominations for Best Director, Best Supporting Actress, Best Art Direction, and Best Cinematography. This film was only one of many of Hitchcock’s losses, who is widely regarded as one of the most accomplished directors of all time. Hitchcock might have never earned the distinction after five nominations, but he was awarded the Irving J. Thalberg Memorial Award in 1968 for his impact on cinema.

One of the most shocking upsets is that Anthony Perkins, who gave a career-making performance, was completely ignored for his portrayal of Norman Bates, despite the character remaining one of the most famous horror movie villains to this day.

‘Carrie’

Stephen King’s first novel also resulted in the first feature film adaptation, which remains a defining story of telekinetic terror.

Sissy Spacek starred as Carrie, a young girl tormented by many of her classmates. The girl found little relief at home, as her mother, played by Piper Laurie, was a religious fanatic that exerted as much control over her daughter as she could, potentially because she knew what her daughter was capable of.

Both Spacek and Laurie earned nominations but no wins for their roles in the film, which ultimately may have been for the best as it could have all been an elaborate setup to pour pigs’ blood on the actresses.

‘The Shining’

Another adaptation of the works of Stephen King, The Shining has given audiences a seminal horror movie full of horrifying performances and haunting imagery, yet it was completely overlooked by the Academy.

In the years since its release, The Shining has earned itself a massive following while it was critically panned in the year of its debut. Not only was the film snubbed by the Academy, but it earned nominations for Worst Actress for Shelley Duvall and Worst Director for Stanley Kubrick at the Razzies.

King himself regularly shared his disdain for the film, leading him to tap Mick Garris to direct a miniseries in the ’90s in hopes of more accurately mirroring the tone of the original book. 

‘The Sixth Sense’

The ’80s were full of countless slashers, which led to many audiences dismissing the genre, but the ’90s helped changed the perception of horror, with critically-acclaimed films both kicking off and closing out the decade.

In 1992, The Silence of the Lambs took the ceremony’s top honors, including Best Picture, Best Director (Jonathan Demme), Best Actor (Anthony Hopkins), and Best Actress (Jodie Foster). The decade closed with the supernatural story The Sixth Sense, whose accomplishment earned nominations for Best Picture, Best Director (M. Night Shyamalan), Best Supporting Actress (Toni Collette), and Best Supporting Actor (Haley Joel Osment).

The film helped launched Shyamalan’s career, with Osment’s achievements made all the more impressive as he was 10 at the time of filming.

‘The Babadook’

Not only is The Babadook one of the most frightening movies of the decade, it is also one of the most complex movies from the horror genre in recent years, resulting in massive praise.

When a widow (Essie Davis) discovers a mysterious book on her doorstep, she sees no harm in reading it to her young son. This proves to be the biggest mistake she’s ever made, as it results in a monster invading their homes and making their lives a living hell.

More than just an effective horror movie, The Babadook offered audiences a metaphor for grief and ways to cope with such a monster, featuring a riveting performance from Essie Davis in writer/director Jennifer Kent’s debut feature.

‘Jaws’

Jaws effectively changed the face of cinema and helped give birth to the idea of a summer blockbuster, which the Academy Awards couldn’t deny. 

Steven Spielberg’s breakthrough film did earn a bevy of awards, including Best Editing, Best Sound Mixing, and Best Score, with the accolade being the first of five Oscars for composer John Williams.

Despite the film helping pave the way for Spielberg, who would go on to earn seven nominations for Best Director, the filmmaker’s debut film failed to notice his abilities. It was nominated for Best Picture, but faced stiff competition and lost out to One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.