--- title: The Oscars Need to Take Horror Seriously description: Three nods for The Substance are a step in the right direction, but a genre that's delivered some of film’s most memorable performances deserves more recognition. canonical: https://time.com/7206716/oscars-2025-horror-demi-moore-the-substance/ author: Megan McCluskey article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2025-01-23T15:29:55.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:43:00.664Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: It's Time for the Oscars to Take Horror Seriously og:description: Three nods for The Substance are a step in the right direction, but a genre that's delivered some of film’s most memorable performances deserves more recognition. og:url: https://time.com/7206716/oscars-2025-horror-demi-moore-the-substance/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt552c003ca00255ba/6998b2ad47fe5159ca55976d/HorrorMovies.png?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: HorrorMovies og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: It's Time for the Oscars to Take Horror Seriously twitter:description: Three nods for The Substance are a step in the right direction, but a genre that's delivered some of film’s most memorable performances deserves more recognition. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt552c003ca00255ba/6998b2ad47fe5159ca55976d/HorrorMovies.png?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # It's Time for the Oscars to Take Horror Seriously > Sponsored content. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account. ## Video: The Biggest Highlights of the 2025 Oscar Nominations [Watch (HLS stream): The Biggest Highlights of the 2025 Oscar Nominations](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/VuBoMlZM.m3u8) (4:45)  _Published 2025-01-23. In the wake of devastating wildfires in Los Angeles that struck at the heart of the movie industry, the nominations to the 97th Academy Awards have been announced._  by [Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Jan 23, 2025 3:29 PM UTC  Grant, Smith: A24 (2); Moore: Universal Studios; Depp: Focus Features; Scott: Paramount Pictures  by [Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Jan 23, 2025 3:29 PM UTC When Demi Moore won the Golden Globe for her turn as aging star Elisabeth Sparkle in French director Coralie Fargeat's body-horror hit [_The Substance_](https://time.com/6980524/the-substance-review/) on Jan. 5, she shared in her acceptance speech that it was the first real award she’d received in her more than 45 years in Hollywood. The moment was a bright spot of the night, with Moore touching on how the movie helped break her out of a particularly disheartening professional slump. "I was at kind of a low point" when the unconventional script came across her desk, she recalled. "And the universe told me that you're not done." But while recognition of the 62-year-old actor was long overdue, it was perhaps a surprise that it came for a role that involved donning grotesque prosthetics and graphically birthing a younger version of herself, considering horror’s grim awards-season track record.  Demi Moore as Elisabeth Sparkle in The Substance. Courtesy of Cannes Film Festival In the nearly 100 years since the Oscars debuted, a grand total of seven horror movies (now including _The Substance_) have been nominated for Best Picture. Only 1991's [_The Silence of the Lambs_](https://time.com/collection/best-mystery-thriller-books/6309191/the-silence-of-the-lambs/)—which is also a detective story—has won. Fargeat also earned a nod for Best Director, making her this year’s sole female nominee in the category and giving her a chance to become the second director to ever win for a horror film (behind only _Silence of the Lambs_' Jonathan Demme). A statuette for Moore, who received her first ever nomination on Jan. 23, would make her just the seventh actor to receive an Oscar for their role in a horror movie. It’s an egregiously low success rate for a genre that’s delivered some of film’s most memorable performances. And Moore is just the chosen representative of a year that produced many stellar turns in a wide range of scary movies. There was Hugh Grant as a fiendishly charming religious zealot in [_Heretic_](https://time.com/7172218/heretic-ending-explained-chloe-east/), Naomi Scott as a pop star fighting both literal and figurative demons in [_Smile_ _2_](https://time.com/7093800/smile-2-explained/), and Justice Smith as a shy teen who develops an obsession with a cult horror series in [_I Saw the TV Glow_](https://time.com/6974710/i-saw-the-tv-glow-ending-explained/). Christmas-day release [_Nosferatu_](https://time.com/7202756/nosferatu-robert-eggers-interview/), [Robert Eggers’](https://time.com/6169663/the-northman-review/) remake of F. W. Murnau’s 1922 silent vampire classic, swiftly climbed into the top 50 highest-grossing horror movies of all time as critics heaped praise on star [Lily-Rose Depp](https://time.com/6281900/the-idol-review-hbo/). Though Grant was nominated for a Golden Globe, the others have been overlooked, save for largely genre-specific or indie-focused accolades.  Lily-Rose Depp as Ellen Hutter in Nosferatu. Focus Features --- Gory and gruesome, _The Substance_ was never a shoo-in for mainstream success. But a buzzy Cannes debut, a message about aging women that resonated widely, and a box-office haul of $76 million on a $17.5 million budget are all testament to how powerful a vehicle horror can be for talented actors. Still, even if Moore ends up on the podium on March 2, it doesn’t change the fact that, historically, the Academy has made a habit of snubbing some of the most deserving performances. To name just a few from the past decade: [Toni Collette](https://time.com/5295637/toni-collette-hereditary-horror-interview/) in [_Hereditary_](https://time.com/5304199/hereditary-toni-collette/), [Lupita Nyong'o](https://time.com/6993136/a-quiet-place-day-one-horror-prequel/) in [_Us_](https://time.com/5552617/review-us-jordan-peele/), [Florence Pugh](https://time.com/collection/next-generation-leaders/6278537/florence-pugh-leaders/) in [_Midsommar_](https://time.com/5615615/midsommar-movie-review/), [Mia Goth](https://time.com/6990983/mia-goth-interview-maxxxine/) in [_Pearl_](https://time.com/7064912/netflix-best-horror-movies/). “At the end of the day, I think the value of award shows is to show innovation in cinema," Nyong'o said of the apparent bias against horror in a 2020 interview with [_BuzzFeed_](https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/davidmack/lupita-nyongo-oscars-horror-films-us). "So having a discrimination against a genre feels so silly really." Critically-acclaimed horror movies like [_Psycho_](https://time.com/collection/100-best-movies/6295282/psycho-1960/), [_The Exorcist_](https://content.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1676793%5F1676808%5F1677008,00.html), [_Jaws_](https://time.com/collection/100-best-movies/6295921/jaws-1975/), [_Carrie_](https://entertainment.time.com/2013/10/21/the-big-chills-10-greatest-stephen-king-movies/slide/carrie/), and [_The Sixth Sense_](https://time.com/7001876/m-night-shyamalan-twists-ranked/) used to be able to break through and at least nab some of the big-five Oscar nominations. Past acting wins in the genre have gone to Kathy Bates for 1990’s [_Misery_](https://entertainment.time.com/2013/10/21/the-big-chills-10-greatest-stephen-king-movies/slide/misery/), Ruth Gordon for 1968’s [_Rosemary's Baby_](https://time.com/archive/6636325/new-movies-rosemarys-baby/), and Fredric March for 1931’s _Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde_, as well as [Jodie Foster](https://time.com/6553247/jodie-foster-interview-true-detective-night-country/) and [Anthony Hopkins'](https://time.com/5950096/the-father-review-anthony-hopkins/) victories for _Silence of the Lambs_. But after that you’d have to jump 20 years to [Natalie Portman](https://time.com/7000223/lady-in-the-lake-review/), who prima ballerina-ed her way to the most recent horror acting Oscar in 2010’s [_Black Swan_](https://time.com/archive/6911057/black-swan-natalie-portmans-oscar-moment/). In the 15 years since, [_Get Out_'s](https://time.com/4680563/get-out-movie-review/) [Daniel Kaluuya](https://time.com/collection/100-most-influential-people-2021/6095923/daniel-kaluuya/) has been the only horror actor to even receive a nomination. And are the films becoming contenders even _horror_ horror at all? Oscar honors seem to be reserved for movies that are considered to have transcended the genre (in itself a fairly subjective category) in some way. As [_The Exorcist_ director William Friedkin put it in 2015](https://time.com/4092445/exorcist-not-a-horror-film/), "I thought it was a film about the mystery of faith...I didn’t set out to make a horror film."  Justice Smith as Owen in I Saw The TV Glow A24 More recently, even as movies like 2014’s [_The Babadook_](https://time.com/6246026/low-budget-horror-movies-skinamarink/) and Eggers’ 2016 breakout [_The Witch_](https://time.com/4226147/review-the-witch-new-england-folktale/) began to give rise to the [controversial](https://www.indiewire.com/features/general/elevated-horror-movies-us-1202053471/) term “elevated horror”—a subjective descriptor for a horror movie that has supposedly achieved a higher level of artistic merit than the genre’s more mainstream fare—the chances of awards recognition seem to have dropped. Despite its undeniable cultural impact, [position as the fastest growing genre at the box office](https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/movies/2024/08/01/horror-movies-growing-genre/), and heightened critical attention, horror clearly continues to be viewed by many Academy voters as less-than or low-brow, at least as compared to the period dramas and biopics that frequently earn awards glory. If the Academy doesn’t reward those like Moore who are willing to take the horror leap of faith, it tacitly disincentivizes what she described in her Globes speech as “magical, bold, courageous, out-of-the-box, absolutely bonkers” performances from some of the best names in the biz. Scary thought, isn’t it? ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/7206716/oscars-2025-horror-demi-moore-the-substance/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/7206716/oscars-2025-horror-demi-moore-the-substance/"},"headline":"It's Time for the Oscars to Take Horror Seriously","datePublished":"2025-01-23T15:29:55.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:43:00.664Z","description":"Three nods for The Substance are a step in the right direction, but a genre that's delivered some of film’s most memorable performances deserves more recognition.","url":"https://time.com/7206716/oscars-2025-horror-demi-moore-the-substance/","keywords":["awards","Magazine","Second click","culturepod"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt552c003ca00255ba/6998b2ad47fe5159ca55976d/HorrorMovies.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Megan McCluskey","jobTitle":"Staff Writer","url":"https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt552c003ca00255ba/6998b2ad47fe5159ca55976d/HorrorMovies.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"HorrorMovies","caption":"HorrorMovies","creditText":"Grant, Smith: A24 (2); Moore: Universal Studios; Depp: Focus Features; Scott: Paramount Pictures","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/awards/","name":"awards"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/7206716/oscars-2025-horror-demi-moore-the-substance/","name":"It's Time for the Oscars to Take Horror Seriously"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"The Biggest Highlights of the 2025 Oscar Nominations","description":"In the wake of devastating wildfires in Los Angeles that struck at the heart of the movie industry, the nominations to the 97th Academy Awards have been announced.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/VuBoMlZM/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2025-01-23T17:11:39.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/VuBoMlZM.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/7206716/oscars-2025-horror-demi-moore-the-substance/","duration":"PT4M45S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/7206716/oscars-2025-horror-demi-moore-the-substance/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```