Though horror has done extremely well at the Oscars in the past, the 2020 season had no love for horror movies, despite a few being very deserving of some critical acclaim from the Academy.
2018 was the last big season for horror movies at the Oscars, with the 90th Academy Awards giving out the most awards of the night to Guillermo Del Toro's creature feature, The Shape of Water. Not only did The Shape of Water take home what is considered to be the biggest award of the night, Best Picture, but Jordan Peele's sociopolitical horror movie, Get Out, seemed to be neck-and-neck. Get Out earned Jordan Peele the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. Genre films, in general, earned recognition in 2018, with Blade Runner 2049 winning Best Cinematography and Best Visual Effects.
Horror has seen incredible heights in the past, and while sometimes they have to reclassify themselves as "thrillers" to earn their spot, the genre has proven itself to be a worthy contender in the past. For example, The Silence of the Lambs is one of only three films in the history of the Academy Awards to win what is known as "the big five": Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, and Best Screenplay (either Original or Adapted).
Why The 2020 Oscars Snubbed Horror Movies & Performances
Following suit from the Golden Globes nominations, which also failed to recognize some of the excellent performances in 2019 horror movies, as well as the phenomenal production elements, the Oscars snubbed horror yet again. This has prompted fans of the genre - and genre fans in general - to consider whether or not there should be some sort of difference in category to ensure these oversights don't continue happening. There have been outliers in horror and other genres, like how the MCU saw significant amounts of critical acclaim for Black Panther, and the 2020 season has been very good to Joker, but other than these occasional outliers, there's no room for honoring films that extend beyond the more traditional films that are highlighted year after year. Other award ceremonies, such as the Golden Globes, separate by category and can influence those nominated for Oscars each year. The Academy Awards don't have genre divisions, but if there was more room for horror elsewhere, this could be different.
The two biggest disappointments in the horror genre from 2019 were Us and Midsommar. Jordan Peele might not have managed to exceed on the greatness of Get Out, but Us was another thought-provoking example that cut outside the box many consider horror to reside within while simultaneously keeping its finger directly on the pulse of what terrifies audiences. Jordan Peele's direction for the film was solid, but the biggest let-down was that Lupita Nyong'o, who was tasked not only with one character in the film, but two distinct characters - Adelaide and Red - wasn't given a Best Actress nomination for her work in Us, and has become an instant horror icon for her Tethered character.
Similarly, Ari Aster's Midsommar, which many consider to be a stronger effort from the director than his directorial debut, Hereditary, was overlooked on numerous merits that were worthy of award nominations, if not wins. Pawel Pogorzelski, who did the cinematography for both Midsommar and Hereditary, managed to create a setting that was almost a character in and of itself. Since Midsommar is such a nuanced film where setting and tone is integral to its success - and was successful - this surely was deserving of a Best Cinematography nod. Florence Pugh did get a Best Supporting Actress nomination for her role in Little Women, but deserved a Best Actress nod for Midsommar. Pugh's performance as Dani beautifully depicted the ups and downs of human grief, and was just as captivating to watch as it was horrifying. While 2020 was a let-down at the Oscars, the horror genre only continues to grow and establish itself beyond its reputation with critics; there's still hope for the future.