Horror films have always held an interesting place in cultural and cinematic circles. Despite proving consistently profitable and boasting a considerable fanbase, the genre has also been the target in several moments of cultural crisis. Think the video nasties of the 1970s and 80s, or the implied conservatism of the violence in torture porn films of the 2000s.
Though the genre has been one of the industry’s most profitable genres since the 1930s, due to its perceived low status, horror has largely been unrecognised by award bodies, mainstream critics and the gatekeepers of more “legitimate” cinema. There’s an implied sense that the genre is somewhat different from respectable film-making – that it is low status, trashy and in some cases outright nasty.
Only seven horror films have been nominated for best picture at the Oscars since the first ceremony in 1929. Two of those nominations were in the last decade, and there was widespread conversation about the bias against the genre after Toni Collette failed to receive an Oscar nomination for her performance in the 2018 film Hereditary.
