Does Horror Need Awards Recognition? (RANT)
Genre fans are rejoicing as Demi Moore picks up her first Best Actress award for her performance in 2024’s “The Substance.” With this win, another round of discussions about how Horror, and genre films generally, get snubbed at the major award shows. Articles from Variety speak to how historically misrepresented the genre has been over the years, with only 6 films receiving nods for Best Picture and only one of them ever winning, “The Silence of the Lambs.” Labeling that film as “horror” in and of itself was controversial even though folks now tend to consider it more in the horror vein, that was not the case in 1990 when it was released. At the time, and to some extent still today, Horror was a dirty word that referred to what was seen as “low brow, low class” entertainment. From the Variety article:
“Horror has historically lived on the fringes of awards season — celebrated by fans yet primarily dismissed by the Academy. The genre is often viewed as too graphic, too niche, or too “lowbrow” for the refined tastes of Oscar voters, even when its artistry is undeniable. Mia Farrow in “Rosemary’s Baby” (1968) and Jamie Lee Curtis in “Halloween” (1978) were performances that redefined the genre, yet the Academy snubbed both.”
Considering the category that "The Substance” was bundled in (Musical / Comedy) it feels somewhat disingenuous to give the award to a film that is very clearly neither, but at the same time, a win is a win, and recognition matters. Genre fans often feel left out when it comes to major awards, but that often dismisses the role of auxiliary and niche genre awards shows like The Saturn Awards or the recently revived Fangoria Chainsaw Awards with the latter being driven explicitly by fan votes rather than a board of reviewers. The Saturn Awards are much smaller in scope, but more focused than The Academy Awards, BAFTA, or Golden Globes and celebrate horror and adjacent genres such as sci-fi and fantasy. The question then becomes, does genre film need recognition from these more mainstream associations, or should more emphasis be placed on promoting award shows that cater to the needs of genre fans more directly?
Writer and Director of “The Substance,” Coralie Fargeat has spoken to IndieWire on the matter and had this to say:
“I don’t see horror films as any different from other movies,” she said. “They are so political. They are such a great way to tell so many things in a very rude way, and in a very indelicate way. To me, they should compete at the same level as everything else. I learned to accept who I was as a filmmaker, not loving writing dialogue, for instance, but expressing myself in a visual and very visceral way. And that’s when you accept who you are, and then the magic can happen. The best thing I wish for the Academy is that there is not this barrier, that every movie is considered as cinema, which I think it is.”
We are inclined to agree with Fargeat, that every genre can be considered part of the broader cinema spectrum and should be viewed on the same level regardless of personal preference. It’s not a hard argument to disagree with, but if it logically makes sense what is stopping it from being true? “The Substance” wasn’t the only Horror film released in 2024 worthy of praise with indies like “I Saw The TV Glow,” “Oddity,” and “Out of Darkness” all receiving high praise from critics, but are woefully forgotten when it comes to nominations. Part of this may have to do with certain requirements that limited-release films may not meet. Additionally, part of getting nominated means a marketing push to increase consideration amongst the voting boards. If smaller production and distribution arms can’t fund that effort, it can impact their ability to get considered, a form of “pay to play.”
So where do we go from here? Well, that’s hard to say. Oscar nominations haven’t been released, and while the enthusiasm for Moore and “The Substance” is high after the Golden Globes it is worth remembering how misaligned those two award shows are. As Vanity Fair has put it:
“We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: The voting groups for the Golden Globes and the Oscars are very different. The former is made up of 300 journalists, many of them based internationally. The latter is made up of 9,905 voters, who work in the industry as executives, actors, crew, filmmakers, and more. Still, the Golden Globes often have an effect on the ongoing Oscar race because they happen just ahead of Oscar-nominations voting.”
As you can see, while there is some tangentially between the two award shows the voting power is shifted from the press to the industry. We aren’t here to comment on which is better or worse, it’s highly subjective anyway, but what this does allude to is that industry folks are less inclined to give genre films a shot. And historically, the industry has not been kind to horror when it comes to accolades and achievements.
For what it’s worth, we believe that Horror and genre films do deserve recognition at the highest levels of the entertainment industry. Not only are they often financial successes, but they push the boundaries of narrative, effects, and production design more than any other genre out there. Regardless of how one feels about the content, the artistry is on display and that should be what is getting recognized at industry awards shows. To that end, change is a slow and fickle beast, so instead of waiting for the big award shows to catch up start spending more time on award shows that cater to your tastes.
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