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Toni Collette's Oscar Snub is True Horror



The biggest Oscar snub this year was Toni Collette's visceral performance in 2018's Hereditary. Her portrayal of Annie, a cold, distant matriarch of a highly dysfunctional family beset by tragedy was the kind of performance actors might have once in a career. The pivotal dinner scene was easily the most emotionally harrowing and difficult to sit through in 2018.


Collette without a doubt gave a performance of a lifetime, in a film embraced by critics and the horror community but shockingly snubbed by both the Oscars and even the Golden Globes. It has become A24's highest-grossing film worldwide, making over $79 million (on a $9 million budget).


The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences who hands out the Oscars has historically held a strong bias against genre films in its prestigious top categories (Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director). Only a handful of horror films have ever been nominated for Best Picture, often relegating awards to the technical categories, so at least they have some merit. Take a look at the horror films in Oscar's history:


Best Picture Nominations

The Exorcist (1974)

Jaws (1976)

The Silence of the Lambs (1991) - WINNER!

The Sixth Sense (2000)

Black Swan (2011)

Get Out (2017)


Best Picture Biggest Snubs

Bride of Frankenstein (1935)

Psycho (1960)

The Birds (1963)

The Haunting (1963)

Rosemary's Baby (1968)

Night of the Living Dead (1968)

The Omen (1976)

Alien (1979)

The Shining (1980)

Poltergeist (1982)

Misery (1990)

The Babadook (2014)

The Witch (2016)

Suspiria (2018)

Hereditary (2018)


Horror Oscar Winners

DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE (1932) - Actor in a Leading Role

REBECCA (1940) - Best Picture, Cinematography (considered Suspense/Thriller)*

THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (1943) - Cinematography, Art Direction

THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY (1945) - Cinematography

WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE? (1962) - Costume Design

ROSEMARY'S BABY (1968) - Best Actress in a Supporting Role

ALIEN (1979) - Visual Effects

ALIENS (1986) - Visual Effects, Sound Editing

THE EXORCIST (1973) - Adapted Screenplay, Sound

JAWS (1975) - Sound, Film Editing, Music

THE OMEN (1976) - Music

BRAM STOKER'S DRACULA (1992)- Costume Design, Sound Editing, Makeup

AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON (1981) - Makeup

THE FLY (1986)- Makeup

MISERY (1990) - Actress in a Leading Role

THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS (1991) - Best Picture, Director, Actor in a Leading Role, Actress in a Leading Role, Adapted Screenplay

DEATH BECOMES HER (1992) - Visual Effects

THE GHOST AND THE DARKNESS (1996) - Sound

BEETLEJUICE (1998) - Makeup

SLEEPY HOLLOW (1999) - Art Direction

PAN'S LABYRINTH (2006) - Cinematography, Art Direction, Makeup

SWEENEY TODD (2007) - Art Direction

NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN (2007)* - Best Picture, Actor in a Supporting Role, Directing, Adapted Screenplay

BLACK SWAN (2010) - Best Actress in a Leading Role

THE WOLFMAN (2010) - Makeup

THE SHAPE OF WATER (2017) - Best Picture, Directing, Music, Production Design (considered Adventure/Fantasy)*

GET OUT (2017) - Original Screenplay


*Horror-adjacent

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