A History of Horror Movies and the Oscars

Jeff Pfeiffer March 6, 11:00 am

image from the 1992 Oscar ceremony picturing, from left to right, Anthony Hopkins, Jodie Foster and Jonathan Demme, each holding the Oscar award they won for — Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)

**(L-R) Stars Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster, and director Jonathan Demme, after *The Silence of the Lambs* swept the "Big Five" categories at the 1992 Academy Awards ceremony**

Throughout Hollywood history, horror movies have generally not received a lot of love from the Academy Awards. Let’s face it, though; filmmakers in this genre have not always made it easy to take them seriously, since there have been a lot of bad horror films.

Making a good scary movie is kind of like making a good comedy movie (of which there are also plenty of bad examples). Both seem deceptively simple to pull off, but while there are scary and funny things that are common among most people, it can also be pretty subjective among individual audience members as to what makes them laugh or scream.

So, while there have been countless hacks who have made lousy scary movies, and also a number of those films that have been just okay, truly good horror filmmakers know it takes more than just simple jump scares and gross-outs to make a film that is effective and enduring not only as a classic in its genre, but often as an overall movie classic.

black and white promotional image for the 1931 movie "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde," showing star in dual role as Mr. Hyde (on the left, a deformed monstrous looking creature wearing a dress shirt and tux) and Dr. Jekyll, on the right, looking in shock at Mr. Hyde while also wearing a tux and shirt, with a top hat.

Courtesy Everett Collection

**Fredric March in his Best Actor Oscar-winning role as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in the 1931 classic**

Some of these productions have been acknowledged by the Academy with Oscar nominations, at least, and often wins — and wins in high-profile categories in more than a few cases.

It’s interesting that a good many of those winners and nominees are not necessarily what I would consider to be straight-out “horror”; they often combined horrific scenes with a thriller element.

The Academy still seems loath to even give technical nominations to a film like John Carpenter‘s Halloween (1978), which I think has award-worthy cinematography, or Tobe Hooper‘s The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), which has fantastic film and sound editing that makes it so nightmarish (I’m sure with its title and reputation alone, no Academy member even bothered watching that one).

You’ll also notice that among the nominations in some of the films are some notable omissions. (How Steven Spielberg did not receive a Best Director nod for Jaws, or Anthony Perkins a Best Actor nomination in Psycho, is beyond me, for example.)

But, we horror fans will take what we can get when it comes to Oscar wins and nominations. And, as you can see below, there have been a good number over the years:

HORROR MOVIE ACADEMY AWARDS (WINS & NOMINATIONS)

DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE (1931) — Three Nominations, One Win

Won for Best Actor (Fredric March, who tied with Wallace Berry for The Champ)

Also nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Cinematography

BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1935) — One Nomination

Nominated for Best Sound, Recording

PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (1943) — Four Nominations, Two Wins

Won for Best Cinematography — Color and Best Art Direction-Interior Decoration, Color.

Also nominated for Best Sound, Recording and Best Music, Scoring of a Motion Picture (Edward Ward)

THE UNINVITED (1944) — One Nomination

Nominated for Best Cinematography, Black and White

THEM! (1954) — One Nomination

Nominated for Best Effects, Special Effects

'Them!': Warner Bros.' Sci-Fi Classic Was the First and Best of the '50s 'Big Bug' Movies

This classic about desert ants turned into giant monsters by A-bomb testing is a cut above the other 'big bug' creature features that followed, in both its atmosphere and execution.

Remind

PSYCHO (1960) — Four Nominations

Nominated for: Best Supporting Actress (Janet Leigh), Best Director (Alfred Hitchcock), Best Cinematography, Black-and-White (John L. Russell), Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White

via MovieStillsDB

WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE? (1962) — Five Nominations, One Win

Won for Best Costume Design, Black-and-White (Norma Koch)

Also nominated for Best Actress (Bette Davis), Best Supporting Actor (Victor Buono), Best Cinematography, Black-and-White and Best Sound

ROSEMARY’S BABY (1968) — Two Nominations, One Win

Won for Best Supporting Actress (Ruth Gordon, pictured below)

Also nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay (Roman Polanski, based on Ira Levin‘s novel)

image from the 1968 movie "Rosemary's Baby." We are looking through the peephole of an apartment door at Ruth Gordon's character, Minnie Castevet, who is standing outside the door waiting for it to be opened. She is frowning and looks disturbed by something as she waits, and has her hair up in a wrap.

Courtesy Everett Collection

THE EXORCIST (1973) — 10 Nominations, Two Wins

Won for Best Adapted Screenplay (William Peter Blatty) and Best Sound (Robert Knudson and Christopher Newman)

Also nominated for Best Picture, Best Director (William Friedkin), Best Actress (Ellen Burstyn), Best Supporting Actor (Jason Miller), Best Supporting Actress (Linda Blair), Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Best Film Editing

JAWS (1975) — Four Nominations, Three Wins

Won for Best Original Score (John Williams), Best Film Editing (Verna Fields) and Best Sound

Also nominated for Best Picture

CARRIE (1976) — Two Nominations

Nominated for Best Actress (Sissy Spacek) and Best Supporting Actress (Piper Laurie)

THE OMEN (1976) — Two Nominations, One Win

Won for Best Original Score (Jerry Goldsmith)

Also nominated for Best Original song (Goldsmith’s “Ave Satani”)

ALIEN (1979) — Two Nominations, One Win

Won for Best Effects, Visual Effects (H.R. Giger, Carlo Rambaldi, Brian Johnson, Nick Allder and Dennis Ayling

Also nominated for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration

AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON (1981) — One Nomination, One Win

Won for Best Makeup (Rick Baker; the first time this was awarded as a competitive category, and the first of Baker’s seven wins from a record 11 nominations)

POLTERGEIST (1982) — Three Nominations

Nominated for Best Effects, Visual Effects; Best Effects, Sound Effects Editing; and Best Original Score (Jerry Goldsmith)

ALIENS (1986) — Seven Nominations, Two Wins

Won for Best Effects, Visual Effects; and Best Effects, Sound Effects Editing

Also nominated for Best Actress (Sigourney Weaver), Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Best Sound, Best Film Editing and Best Music, Original Score (James Horner)

THE FLY (1986) — One Nomination, One Win

Won for Best Makeup (Chris Walas and Stephen Dupuis)

MISERY (1990) — One Nomination, One Win

Won for Best Actress (Kathy Bates, pictured below)

Everett Collection

THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS (1991) — Seven Nominations, Five Wins

Won for Best Picture, Best Actor (Anthony Hopkins), Best Actress (Jodie Foster), Best Director (Jonathan Demme), Best Adapted Screenplay (Ted Tally, based on Thomas Harris‘ novel) (just the third film in Hollywood history to win the “Big Five” main Oscar categories, with 1934’s It Happened One Night and 1975’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest)

Also nominated for Best Sound and Best Film Editing

BRAM STOKER’S DRACULA (1992) — Four Nominations, Three Wins

Won for Best Effects, Sound Effects Editing; Best Makeup; and Best Costume Design (Eiko Ishioka)

Also nominated for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration

THE SIXTH SENSE (1999) — Six Nominations

Nominated for: Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor (Haley Joel Osment), Best Supporting Actress (Toni Collette), Best Director (M. Night Shyamalan), Best Original Screenplay (Shyamalan) and Best Film Editing (Andrew Mondshein)

SLEEPY HOLLOW (1999) — Three Nominations, One Win

Won for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration (Rick Heinrichs and Peter Young)

Also nominated for Best Cinematography (Emmanuel Lubezki) and Best Costume Design (Colleen Atwood)

BLACK SWAN (2010) — Five Nominations, One Win

Won for Best Actress (Natalie Portman)

Also nominated for Best Picture, Best Director (Darren Aronofsky), Best Cinematography (Matthew Libatique) and Best Film Editing (Andrew Weisblum)

GET OUT (2017) — Four Nominations, One Win

Won for Best Original Screenplay (Jordan Peele; Peele was the first African American to win this Oscar)

Also nominated for Best Picture, Best Actor (Daniel Kaluuya) and Best Director (Peele)