FromThe ExorcisttoThe Substance, some of the greatest horror movies of all time have been recognized with a surprising Best Picture nomination at theOscars. The Academy notoriously tends to disregard genre cinema. While there are plenty of masterpieces in every genre, fromDie Hardin the action genre toThe Matrixin the science fiction genre, the Academy usually only nominates straightforward dramas (and, occasionally, dramedies) in the major categories. From Toni Collette’s powerful performance inHereditaryto John Landis’ airtight script forAn American Werewolf in London, the best work in horror films usually goes unnoticed.
But sometimes, a horror movie is so masterfully crafted that the Academy gives it the highest honor of all: a Best Picture nomination.The nominations for the 2025 Oscarshave been announced, and Coralie Fargeat’s bonkers body horror opusThe Substanceis listed alongsideAnora,The Brutalist, andA Complete Unknownas one of the Best Picture nominees.The Substanceis just the seventh horror movie in Oscars history to score a nomination for Best Picture. But how does it stack up againstthe horror genre’s other Best Picture nominees?
7The Sixth Sense
M. Night Shyamalan’s supernatural thrillerThe Sixth Sensewas nominated for Best Picture at the 72nd Academy Awards. It lost toAmerican Beauty, but it solidified Shyamalan as one of the most exciting new voices in horror cinema. Haley Joel Osment stars as Cole Sear, a boy who claims he can see dead people and communicate with them from beyond the grave. Bruce Willis plays his child psychologist, Malcolm Crowe. The film was also nominated for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay for Shyamalan, Best Supporting Actor for Osment, and Best Supporting Actress for Toni Collette’s turn as Cole’s mother.
The Sixth Senseestablished Shyamalan’s penchant for shocking twist endings, but the twist doesn’t 100% make sense. It turns out that Malcolm has been dead the whole time, but if that’s the case, then who hired him to be Cole’s psychologist?The Sixth Senseworks wonderfully as a somber, character-driven drama dressed up as a paranormal horror movie — and the performances are magnificent — but its plot doesn’t hold up to having a few holes poked in it.
6Black Swan
At the 83rd Academy Awards, Darren Aronofsky’s psychological thrillerBlack Swanwas nominated for Best Picture, but it lost toThe King’s Speech. It was also nominated for Best Director for Aronofsky, Best Cinematography for Matthew Libatique, and Best Editing for Andrew Weisblum, andNatalie Portman won Best Actressfor her breathtaking turn as psychologically distressed ballerina Nina Sayers. The plot revolves around Nina’s intense rivalry with fellow dancer Lily, played by Mila Kunis, in the lead up to a high-profile production ofSwan Lakein New York City. Nina’s mental anguish manifests as a doppelgänger menacing her from afar.
WhileBlack Swanis a finely made film, it’s not quite as untouchable a masterpiece as some of the other horror movies that have been nominated for Best Picture. It doesn’t have characters as three-dimensional asThe Silence of the Lambs, its social commentary doesn’t have the depth ofGet Out, and it didn’t break any new ground likeThe Exorcist. Still, it’s a haunting cinematic study of trauma and the psychological effects of working in a toxic environment. After capturing the gruffness of wrestling inThe Wrestler, Aronofsky captured the elegance of ballet inBlack Swan.
5The Substance
The latest horror movie to be nominated for Best Picture is Coralie Fargeat’s gonzo body horror epicThe Substance. The nominations for the 97th Academy Awards listThe SubstancealongsideConclave,Dune: Part Two, andI’m Still Hereas one ofthe greatest movies of 2024.The Substancehas also been nominated for four other awards, including Best Director for Fargeat and Best Actress for Demi Moore.The Substance’s Oscar nominations were a surprise — not only because the Academy rarely recognizes horror films, but because, even for a horror film,The Substanceis a really bizarre piece of work.
Moore plays washed-up Hollywood starlet Elisabeth Sparkle, who gets fired from her long-running aerobics show due to her advancing age. In an attempt to reclaim her youth, she agrees to take part in an experimental treatment that creates a younger version of herself: Sue, played by Margaret Qualley. Elisabeth is only supposed to spend half of her time in Sue’s consciousness, but Sue develops an identity of her own and starts bending the rules to spend more than her allotted time being young and free, causing unexpected (and horrifying) side effects for a rapidly aging Elisabeth.
In the tradition ofThey LiveandAmerican Psycho,The Substanceuses horror tropes and disturbing imagery to convey a satirical message about a poignant social issue. Fargeat has a lot to say about societal pressures on women’s bodies. “The Substance” itself is a perfect horror metaphor for the cosmetic enhancements that people take to improve their appearance and make them feel better about themselves, but actually end up doing more harm than good. But, while the film is an incisive commentary on institutionalized sexism, Fargeat still has all the fun of a classic body horror movie.
Pierre-Olivier Persin created some of the most impressive prosthetic effects ever put on-screen forThe Substance. He turned Moore into a lopsided, frizzy-haired witch and he turned Qualley into the Elephant Man with an earring. “Monstro Elisasue” is a masterpiece of body horror; a grotesque amalgamation of every disgusting misogynistic comment made throughout the film. Moore’s performance grounds the satiric absurdity in real human emotion, particularly inThe Substance’s heartbreaking bathroom mirror scene. The gleeful excesses ofThe Substancemean it’s not quite as fine a film asJawsorGet Out, but it’s a deliriously entertaining cinematic experience.
4The Silence Of The Lambs
Jonathan Demme’s serial killer thrillerThe Silence of the Lambswas the first horror movie (and remains the only one) to actually win Best Picture. At the 64th Academy Awards,The Silence of the Lambswon in all the major categories: Best Picture, Best Director for Demme, Best Actor for Anthony Hopkins (with just 16 minutes of screen time), and Best Actress for Jodie Foster. Foster plays FBI rookie Clarice Starling and Hopkins plays cannibalistic mass murderer Hannibal Lecter, who she consults with in her search for notorious killer Buffalo Bill.
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Amid the chillingly gruesome murder scenes,The Silence of the Lambsis one of the greatest on-screen portrayals of being a woman in a workplace dominated by men. An early shot of Foster standing in an elevator surrounded by male colleagues towering over her says it all. Her quest to bring down a male serial killer who targets women reflects the occupational misogyny that the movie critiques.
3Get Out
After building a reputation as one of the greatest sketch comics in the world, Jordan Peele built a whole new reputation as one of the most singular voices in horror filmmaking with his directorial debut,Get Out.Get Outwas nominated for Best Picture at the 90th Academy Awards. It lost to Guillermo del Toro’sThe Shape of Water, but Peele did win Best Original Screenplay.Get Outuses the setup of a paranoidStepford Wives-type conspiracy thriller to comment on racial tensions in America: a Black man visits his white girlfriend’s parents’ all-white gated community, where things seem amiss.
Get Outrevitalized the social thriller and reminded Hollywood and the moviegoing public that the horror genre can be a great vehicle to explore timely issues. Peele made masterful use of horror tropes to convey the real-world horrors of racism. He doesn’t just capture the terror of overt prejudice; he also captures subtle microaggressions and performative liberalism.
2The Exorcist
William Friedkin’s supernatural thrillerThe Exorcistwas nominated for Best Picture at the 46th Academy Awards, but it lost to the crime caperThe Sting.The Exorcistwas nominated for eight other Oscars, and William Peter Blatty won Best Adapted Screenplay for turning his own novel into a script. Ellen Burstyn stars as a distraught single mother desperately trying to save her daughter, played by Linda Blair, when she’s possessed by a demon. Max von Sydow and Jason Miller play the two Catholic priests who come in to perform an exorcism.
The Exorcistis renowned as one of the most influential horror movies ever made. Audiences had never seen the Devil depicted so realistically. The genius ofThe Exorcistis that Friedkin doesn’t direct it as a horror film; he plays everything totally straight. He tells the story as a grounded mother-daughter drama that happens to have supernatural elements. It’s no wonder whyThe Exorcistwas the first horror movie to be nominated for Best Picture; if it wasn’t about a demonic possession, it would have all the components of a classic Best Picture nominee: compelling drama, powerful performances, emotional themes.
1Jaws
Steven Spielberg’s aquatic thrillerJawsdidn’t just pioneer the summer blockbuster; it also scored a Best Picture nomination alongsideNashvilleandDog Day Afternoonat the 48th Academy Awards. It lost toOne Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, butJawswon in all the other categories it was nominated for (Best Sound, Best Editing, and Best Original Score). Roy Scheider stars as the police chief of a seaside town, who takes matters into his own hands when a 25-foot great white shark starts eating its residents and the money-grubbing mayor refuses to close the beaches during tourist season.
Jawsis a classic example of popcorn entertainment, which the Academy usually frowns upon, but it’s also as close to perfect as a movie can be. Spielberg shoots and edits the suspenseful set-pieces with Hitchcockian precision, and the actors bring their characters to life. The shark is the main attraction, but the shark is just a plot engine that gets three very different men into the confined space of a fishing vessel in the middle of the ocean, forced to overcome their tensions and bond with each other. It’s as much a three-man play as it is a creature feature.
