Unofficial Academy Awards Discussion Board

jack wrote:Saw? Hostel? Think The Thing as a best picture contender as it should have been. King Kong in 1933 deserved a best picture nomination even though it was largly considered an exploitation horror film.

I completely agree that horror has been largely overlooked by the Academy. It still boggles the mind that Hellraiser failed to earn both make-up and original score nominations.

Reading this, I had to think some of it is meant as a joke. It is obvious why a movie like Saw or Hostel would not merit consideration. And while the makeup in Hellraiser was effective, it was too gruesome for many viewers. This the line that is straddled in successful horror movies. How is the technique used to serve the film? Much of the time, horror movies are made just to shock. Maybe that is what makes it so difficult for the Academy. They may ignore the genre so frequently so they can avoid making the judgment on what can be accepted as art versus what is technically-advanced shlock.

Halloween's score (and that for A Nightmare on Elm Street) are both absolute icons today...both ignored by the Academy. I can understand why horror, which tends towards the mediocre, low art variety, isn't recognized much by the Academy. Even Stanley Kubrick's The Shining, the highest form of horror as art didn't get Academy notice. They just feel it's for titillating the masses and nothing more even though they grossly (pun intended) underestimate its power. Think The Innocents or The Others.

Saw? Hostel? Think The Thing as a best picture contender as it should have been. King Kong in 1933 deserved a best picture nomination even though it was largly considered an exploitation horror film.

I completely agree that horror has been largely overlooked by the Academy. It still boggles the mind that Hellraiser failed to earn both make-up and original score nominations.

anonymous1980 wrote:Don't forget The Sixth Sense.

Well, the Academy embraced The Sixth Sense largely because they didn't view it strictly as horror. It plays as a drama. Similarly, The Silence of the Lambs is more of a mystery than all-out horror. The best horror movies can be viewed as a mixture of drama and horror, like The Omen or The Exorcist. The characters are strong enough that we can identify with them in a way that elevates it from mere shocker to something special. I would argue that even horror movies like New Nightmare and Scream attempt to create something beyond their original invention in the genre, but both were dismissed as clever variations on a familiar theme rather than reaching for the next level. That's the fate of most horror movies. Even the good ones.

Don't forget The Sixth Sense.

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If you're going to include makeup winners you have to include An American Werewolf in London.

I echo the sentiment that most horror films are crap. I would have included the screenplays of Wes Craven's New Nightmare and Scream, however.[/quote]

I totally forgot about that one ( AAWIL)

I also think Olivia Hussey ( Actress) and Margot Kiddor ( Supporting Actress) should have been nominated in 1974 for Black Christmas

mojoe92 wrote:Granted there have been Horror films to be nominated and win in the past

- The Wolfman

If you're going to include makeup winners you have to include An American Werewolf in London.

I echo the sentiment that most horror films are crap. I would have included the screenplays of Wes Craven's New Nightmare and Scream, however.

Sweden didn't submit Let the Right One In. They submitted Everlasting Moments (which was unfortunately not nominated).

I thought Let Me In was the best American movie of 2010, and would've given it several nominations last year--Picture, Director, Actor, Screenplay, and a lot of techs. Overall most horror movies are crap though.

Granted there have been Horror films to be nominated and win in the past
-The Bad Seed
- The Exorcist
-Rosemary's Baby
-Misery
- The Silence of the Lambs
- The Wolfman
-Black Swan

but unless it gets high recognition it seems that horror is always looked over. There have been great horror films in the past 10 years that deserved recognition
- Saw ( Original Screenplay)
- Hostel part 2 ( Heather Matarazzo- Supporting Actress)
- The Descent ( Cinematography and Make-up)
_ Let the Right One In ( Foreign Film)

etc. Does anyone else have any others off the top of their head they could add? Agree? Disagree? Im curious to know