Horror fans and the Oscars have not had a long and friendly relationship. Over the decades, when some incredible performances have been given out in a wide variety of titles, because they are classified as horror, they usually get passed over. Not always, but in the history of cinema that is well over a century old, let’s face it… traditionally, if it is a horror film, it won’t get nominated besides maybe in makeup or visual effects.

Now if you do the research, you’ll see there is a lot of horror films that have not only been nominated but even taking home the golden statue. Going way back to 1931 when Fredrick March won Best Actor for his dual performance in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. But overall, especially when you look at the amount of horror films coming out each year, the numbers are few.

But things have been changing. While it’s been over two decades since Silence of the Lambs won the “Big Five” awards, or Kathy Bates winning Best Actress for Misery the year before, every now and then we get a little nod. Natalie Portman won Best Actress for her performance in Black Swan (2010), which definitely a horror film. But 2017 was a big year for monster movies. Jordan Peele’s Get Out was nominated for 4 different Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor and Best Original Screenplay, but only took home the one for the screenplay. That same year though, Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape of Water was nominated for 13 Oscars, and took home 4, including Best Picture and Best Director. No one was more shocked than me.

But now, almost a decade later, del Toro is back with his adaptation of Frankenstein, which has received 9 nominations, including Best Picture and Best Supporting Actor for Jacob Elordi. Unfortunately, del Toro himself was not nominated for Best Director, but they did get 7 others for most of the technical side, like makeup, costume, cinematography, etc.

But the real surprise was Ryan Coogler’ Sinners, which set the record for the most nominations, with 16 different ones, including Best Director, Best Picture, Best Actor, and ones for Best Supporting Actor and Actress. Just amazing. This was one of my favorites of 2025 and every nomination it got was well deserved. Rewatching it recently, it impressed me even more. And while Michael B. Jordon does a phenomenal job in playing twins, I was very happy to see Delroy Lindo and Wunmi Mosaku get nominations for their supporting roles. I’ve been a big fan of Lindo’s work for quite some time, and Mosaku’s work in His House (2020) was amazing.

Plus, let’s also remember that even though the “big” categories might not win, but the fact that the technical side, from the makeup to costumes to cinematography, visual effects, all show the incredible work being done by so many talented people. So yeah, that’s a pretty big deal too!

But then we got to see Amy Madigan score a nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Gladys in Weapons. Not only well-deserved, but she really created one hell of a scary character in that film, and I’m thrilled to see her get the recognition for it. Just the thought of a performance like that, in a film like that, would be given serious consideration is a big step in the right direction.

So, what does all this mean? It means there is hope. It means times are changing. It means that all of cinema is starting to be appreciated and recognized for their efforts, not just turning their noses up at the horror genre. Okay… for the most part, normal society still is, but the change is there! Remember that when John Carpenter’s The Thing came out in 1982, all the critics hated it, but now it’s considered one of the best horror films ever made. That means that the real fans of that picture when it came out, are now the ones that are the journalists, or making their own movies, or working in the industry that is giving praise to these modern-day horror movies that really would have been passed by decades prior. Maybe because the fan base is so much larger, and more importantly, more vocal about what they like, maybe, just maybe, that is bringing that positive spotlight on these kinds of films.

Or maybe I’m just feeling really optimistic about all of it since the nominations just came out and I want to focus on something positive. But honestly, even if they don’t win everything, at least they are getting nominated. Either way, it definitely is a good time to be alive, and a horror fan!