As of today, a staggering 611 films have been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture. That’s a lot of movies. And after nearly one whole century of Oscar ceremonies, only 1.3% of those Best Picture nominees were in the horror genre — including this year’s “The Substance.”
That’s a low number by any estimation, and it says a lot more about the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences than it does about the horror genre. Although horror movies have long struggled to gain recognition of their artistic achievements, there has never been any shortage of ingenious movies that explore our deepest fears and anxieties.