The Monster Post of 'Horror' Films That Are Best Picture Oscar Worthy

Eyes Without a Face (1960)

It’s all about the mask – the cold, smooth plaster with two haunting eyes staring out at you. That one brilliant visual is at the heart of Eyes Without a Face, a horror film that is at once frightening and tremendously melancholic. A young woman, after enduring a tragic car accident, is left with a disfigured face and has to wear a mask to hide her injury. But her surgeon father isn’t satisfied with allowing her to remain in this state. He is determined to find her a surrogate face, even if that means stealing faces from kidnapped girls.

And while family loyalty is always to be commended, this does all feel like a little much. The lyrical camerawork and poetic nature of the narrative belie its solid standing in the horror genre. Although it was not properly appreciated in its time, Eyes Without a Face has undergone a serious reappraisal and is now frequently regarded as a standout piece of 1960s European horror. Not exactly the genre the Oscars are most known for rewarding, but that’s neither here nor there. – – – – – Audrey @audonamission

The Omen (1976)

Is it Jerry Goldsmith’s haunting choral score, the use of Catholic Rome, the vault of mystical secrets, as the backdrop for the story’s unraveling; the up ending of the warm, wholesome English governess archetype (a la Mary Poppins popularized ten years before) with Billie Whitelaw’s chilling portrayal as the demon child’s zealous protector; seeing familiar, safe, everyman hero Gregory Peck grapple with the discovery that his switched-at-birth offspring is devil spawn that must be put down; watching the fresh-faced, girl-next-door Lee Remick actually struggling to be maternal with her abnormal child?

Or just the thought of the devil lurking in a prominent political family in line to the White House that keeps even new audiences enduring sleepless nights grasping crucifixes? Perhaps the familiar and good being turned inside out is the reason for The Omen’s tremendous success and noteworthiness as a topper in the genre before the jump scare (not even one here) and special effects that dominate horror films made ever since.

Whatever it is, what we do know is that The Omen consistently scares the bejesus out of its viewers and provides cinematic images and sequences that play on viewers’ minds long after the light comes up in the theater or the family TV room. When asked how he put scary on the page during an interview with Mike DeLuca, David Seltzer, The Omen screenwriter and author of one of the very few successful novelizations of a film, replied, “I think everything is scary, to tell you the truth, if you turn down the lights, play the right music, and put the right shadows in.” Given The Omen, we have to agree. – – – – – Gina @_imaGINAation_

An American Werewolf in London (1981)

So we all know An American Werewolf in London. A groundbreaker in the horror realm. One of the most famous winners of the Best Makeup award, for veteran Rick Baker of course. But that was it. There were no other nominations for the satirical gore-fest surprisingly. Not cited in Visual Effects (which only had two nominees), none of the Sound categories – and I would say John Landis netting a Best Original Screenplay nod would not have been unjust. All other films in contention aside, An American Werewolf in London would have made for grizzly good reading when looking back into the Best Picture history books, in the year the mediocre Chariots of Fire won the top prize. – – – – – Robin @Filmotomy

Poltergeist (1982)

All three of the horror films that have been nominated for Best Picture are far more metaphorical than literal, so Tobe Hooper’s Poltergeist doesn’t seem to immediately fit the bill as an early 80s chiller. But just like ‘73’s nominee The Exorcist, this film uses its horror to craft a biting critique of the guilt of suburbia. Coming two years after fellow suburban critique Ordinary People won the top honor, Poltergeist came out at the perfect time to get some love from the Academy.

Amid a sea of high-profile genre films and films that blurred the line between popcorn and art house being recognized, Poltergeist is severely missing. While its reputation has been tarnished by two mediocre sequels, a bad remake, and the series of tragedies that befell its cast, it shouldn’t be forgotten how charming, genuinely terrifying, and subtly smart the original Poltergeist is from beginning to end. – – – – – Davey @DaveyPeppers

The Babadook (2014)

Late in Jennifer Kent’s creature-feature The Babadook, Amelia Vanek (Essie Davis) snaps. That she breaks doesn’t surprise us. Amelia has been internalizing psychological trauma after her husband’s death, and all while avoiding the titular character, a storybook monster that wants Amelia to lose her mind and kill her son (Noah Wiseman, giving a boldly unsympathetic performance). Whatever horror movie we thought we were watching, it wasn’t this: a terrifying ode to postpartum depression.

Credit Davis, who gives one of the great genre performances. Recently, the critical cognoscenti have been talking up Toni Collette’s Oscar prospects. Like The Babadook, Hereditary uses its monsters to symbolize mental illness, and treats the mind as a prop, reducing Collette to little more than a plot device. The Babadook never takes the focus off Davis. Her character might grow unhinged, but Davis maintains flawless control of the performance. To call what Davis does here a great genre performance feels patronizing. If there was a better performance in 2014, I didn’t see it. – – – – – Josh @TrppdnthCg

Shaun of the Dead (2004)

Any list that shines a light towards the greats of horror Edgar Wright’s Shaun of the Dead deserves a damn good place. Some may even take umbrage with this choice given its comedy roots, but in no way does that make its shocking scares or emotional intensity any less powerful. The more it makes you care and laugh with its characters, the more heart-breaking the eventual descent into blood-splashed tragedy becomes. This film is a dynamic example of masterful screenwriting and phenomenal direction with a more than outstanding cast layered on top.

It is the first entry in what would later become the anthology style Cornetto Trilogy, telling the tale of a humdrum 30-something man (Shaun) attempting to win back his ex-girlfriend and reconcile with his mother – all whilst trying to protect them both from the sudden raising of the dead. Along on this journey is Shaun’s best mate and general slacker, Ed. As awards are concerned, a small-scale British horror-comedy would admittedly have been an unusual Best Picture contender, but in a year where Finding Neverland and Sideways were nominations it’s not unfair to say Shaun of the Dead has more than earned a place among them (aside from your standard Academy politics). – – – – – Jon @jonnbridges

Psycho (1960)

In the beginning of Psycho, we are set up to believe Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) is our main protagonist. We see the film through her eyes, as she decides to steal money for her employer in order to pay off her debts and be with her lover Sam Loomis (John Gavin). It’s a typical Hitchcock setup, with us identifying with Marion’s predicament, seeing her commit a crime, and wondering if the cops will catch up with her or not. Not a bad suspense film, but nothing really “psycho” about it so far.

That’s when Hitchcock lowers the boom, and suddenly everything we thought we knew, isn’t really important. When rain starts to poor, Marion parks into an empty looking motel, and we are introduced to Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) and his “mother”. Suddenly, everything we that we thought was important to the plot isn’t really, and the stolen money, and Marion herself become insignificant once she is murdered, and we have a whole new ball game.

We cannot downplay the utter shock of Psycho, and how it completely plays with our expectations. Not only that, but Hitchcock had the audacity to let us into the mind of a person like Norman Bates, a very unhinged personality, who lacks motive, or real understanding This was such a departure for Hitchcock, when it came to his own style, you could tell he wanted to try something new, and shock his audience in a way he never had before. The gamble paid off of course. – – – – – Jeremy @jeremytwocities

Carrie (1976)

One of the greatest Stephen King adaptations (if that is saying anything concrete), Brian De Palma’s coming-of-age chiller landed acting nominees for Sissy Spacek and Piper Laurie. Quite the novelty achievement, as even today we champion strong performances by women in horror films, with very few being recognized by AMPAS voters. Carrie landed in a year when an uncharacteristic choice for the Academy in Taxi Driver, complete with gratuitous language and hefty bouts of violence, made the Best Picture line-up. That’s a different kettle of fish though, the horror genre just can’t catch a break when it comes to the Oscars. Even a compelling film like Carrie, which boasts not just the horror narrative, but also delves into the pain of adolescence and self-awareness. – – – – – Robin @Filmotomy