Repulsion (1965)
We’re playing catch-up with director Roman Polanski’s psychological thriller Repulsion. Its distributor, the Compton Group, specialized in softcore porn, and I imagine that Compton exec Michael Klinger expected something straightforward with gratuitous nudity from star Catherine Deneuve, not this subjective exploration of a woman’s fraying psyche. Repulsion entered the canon because of other features. Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver has the same sexual anxieties plaguing Deneuve’s character as Travis Bickle. Cross-breed Repulsion and The Red Shoes, and you get Darren Aronofsky’s Academy Award-winning Black Swan. And in Jennifer Kent’s The Babadook, the villain isn’t sex but its biological conclusion. It’s a monster movie about motherhood.
Still, I’m tempted to stick with Repulsion. Deneuve has never been better: it’s hard to watch the disconnect between her placid surface and the rage bubbling underneath. And DP Gilbert Taylor’s jittery monochrome cinematography (which received a BAFTA nomination) makes Repulsion look like a professional snuff film – you feel like the slightest camera bob could shatter the image and everyone watching it. – – – – – Josh @TrppdnthCg
Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992)
There’s a very strong argument that Gary Oldman could have won his Best Actor Oscar some 25 years earlier – had he been nominated. Bram Stoker’s Dracula won three of its four Oscar nominations on the night, Costume Design, Sound Effects Editing, and Makeup, losing Art Direction. It is easy to imagine how a much higher nomination tally could have made this a real contender (Score? Director? Editing? Cinematography?). Murmurs it was a weakish year for film generally, and Coppola had of course been there before, but the contrasting mediocrity of some of the performances (wooden Keanu Reeves; over the top Anthony Hopkins) may have hindered the “horror’s” prospects. – – – – – Robin @Filmotomy
The Witch (2016)
A seventeenth century in family in New England are being tormented by something… witchy. But who’s responsible? First-born daughter, Thomasin or the family goat, Black Phillip? Robert Eggers removes his production designer hat and instead, excels behind the camera – although his eye for detail, aesthetics and style is still just as strong, if not heightened. Arguably, it’s the visual concept of The Witch (or VVitch if you’re being authentic), that makes it so disturbing. The lighting, camera angles and costumes work together to create a bleak sense of disquietude from the off, making you absolutely dread the night time scenes.
All of this is intensified with subtle undertones of womanhood, sexuality and coming-of-age, for Thomasin. Much like it would have been then (and frequently still is today), Thomasin’s natural progression into womanhood is seen as dirty, dangerous and something to be scared of. So it’s both scary and satisfying when she leaves her life as she knows it and seemingly joins a coven. But you know what they say, if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em… – – – – – Shannon @shazzzzakhan
Hereditary (2018)
We’re calling this one early. We all know Hereditary will be overlooked for a Best Picture nomination. Those horror films falling more into the arthouse category will never sit well with the Academy, especially one that leaves you with an entirely hollow feeling upon exiting the cinema. But therein lies the power of Hereditary, a deeply, deeply unsettling and horrifically disturbing film, filled with imagery that will genuinely haunt you for a lifetime.
In only his debut feature film, writer/director Ari Aster delivers a piece of horror cinema that wisely avoids the endless stream of jump-scares so synonymous with the most disappointing of scary movies. His shocks instead come from his commitment to an array of confronting imagery that linger long in your memory. It doesn’t hurt the film is led by an impeccable and career-best performance from Toni Collette, as a mother slowly descending into madness. It’s a tour-de-force turn that will likely also be overlooked (that’s another rant article in itself) in a film that demands to be in the Best Picture race. Prove us wrong, Academy. – – – – – Doug @itsdougjam
Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
The Bride of Frankenstein ranks up there with The Godfather Part 2 and The Empire Strikes Back as a sequel that could be considered better than the original. Part of that reason is director James Whale was given the opportunity to really let his freak flag fly, and make a much more personal, and subversive film. Bride is considered a horror film, but it is in fact one of the great tragic comedies about death ever made. The film is a return of Boris Karloff’s monster who is really more of an anti-hero than an actual villain. Karloff is able to bring the same amount of pathos he did in the original, and even more so with the monster’s new ability to speak.
We see in The Monster, the need for connection, but he is constantly perceived as evil and unholy by the villagers, he can never be accepted. He seems to realize this when he visits a cemetery and feels more at home there than with the living. To me one of the most tragic lines in film is when Frankenstein is sitting with rotting corpses and says “I love dead, hate living”, and then again in the film’s climax with his final line “we belong dead”.
The film is rich with visuals, and Whale’s flamboyant filmmaking is no better demonstrated than in the film’s climactic creation scene of Elsa Lanchester’s The Bride, an image that has remained in the public consciousness ever since. At its heart though, the film is about the loneliness of an outcast who discovers it’s easier to be with the dead than the living. It’s a timeless story, and ironically for the monster, it’s a film that is able to live on, long after he’s gone. – – – – – Jeremy @jeremytwocities
It Follows (2015)
Let’s not forget, that although It Follows carried some of the classic, well-used horror film conventions, it spun them around somewhat, almost making the themes and techniques original concepts. And to boot, it is a very good film, brimming with natural tension. That notion of being followed is a great horror trope, and It Follows executes the tenderness of our fears. In the days of over five Best Picture nominees, and even with the abundance of multi-genre competition, this is a film that would have warranted a spot. A fan favorite, and acclaimed with the critics, it made the genre look worthy again, awakening its reputation and reminding us just how much we love to be scared. – – – – – Robin @Filmotomy
The Fly (1986)
Remakes are usually a poor copy of the original. However, David Cronenberg’s The Fly is anything but a poor copy or imitation. Cronenberg’s rewrite of Charles Edward Pogue’s screenplay switches focus from the damsel in distress freak show of the original 1958 film to the slow transformation and decomposition of the human body. The Fly follows Seth Brundle (Jeff Goldblum), an eccentric inventor who meets reporter Veronica Quaife (Geena Davis) at a science convention, and tells her about his latest invention, one that will “change the world as we know it”.
A teleportation system for inanimate objects. Seth unwisely decides to rush testing the system with himself, but is unaware that a seemingly innocent house fly is also in the teleportation device with him. The Fly is more than just a horror film, in fact it is a depiction of what happens when man meddles too much with science and tries to play the role of God. It also shows us how fragile the human body and spirit truly is. When you consider the film’s release during the start of AIDS epidemic, the film takes on another sinister meaning. With strong performances, a well crafted script, and special effects which still stand up today; The Fly seems to tick all the right boxes for the academy, but sadly it was overlooked. – – – – – Bianca @thefilmbee
Rosemary’s Baby (1968)
If Darren Aronofsky’s mother! can’t get any awards traction, how can you expect a disturbing film like Rosemary’s Baby to make the Best Picture line-up some fifty years earlier? A not wholly valid comparison, sure, but you see both the similarities and the fact that times have not changed that much. Roman Polanski’s horror did have reason to attend the ceremony though, he was nominated for Screenplay, and Ruth Gordon actually won for Best Supporting Actress. So the Academy were a little afraid to honor such a film – no Director, Actress mentions either – but had some courage in their convictions. – – – – – Robin @Filmotomy
