Ask just about anyone in the horror movie fan community and they will tell you that the previous year was a truly great one for the genre. Even a few of our own picks for the best movies of 2022, as well as some of the year’s hidden gems, are also widely considered to be some of the scariest of the bunch. However, our satisfaction could potentially be met with utter disappointment as we embark on the road toward this year’s Academy Awards.
With a few exceptions — including 1992’s Best Picture Oscar winner, The Silence of the Lambs, for instance — the horror genre has been widely overlooked by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Honestly, I would not be surprised if such a fate befalls some of the best 2022 horror movies when the nominations for the 2023 Oscars are announced later in January. Yet, in a effort to bring some optimism to the conversation, I figured I would offer suggestions for some spooky potential contenders, along with what nominations they deserve, starting with the latest by someone who already beat the odds years ago with his horror debut.
Nope (Best Actress - Keke Palmer, Best Visual Effects, Best Cinematography)
Jordan Peele became one of the most respected horror filmmakers of his time with Get Out, even before it earned him a Best Original Screenplay Oscar in 2018. However his follow-up from the next year, Us, received no love from the Academy despite many reasons it should have, include Lupita Nyong’o’s striking dual performance.
Yet, Peele’s unique take on the alien invasion genre has a good shot at receiving recognition for its top-notch visual effects and breathtaking cinematography by Hoyte Van Hoytema, who previously received a nom for his work on Dunkirk. As much as I love what Daniel Kaluuya did here, too, he already has an Oscar and the standout from the Nope cast is easily Keke Palmer, whose infectious, scene-stealing performance deserves at least a nomination.
Pearl (Best Actress - Mia Goth)
However, my personal favorite performance in a 2022 horror movie (and one of my favorite performances of the year, period) was given by Mia Goth. As the homicidal title role of writer and director Ti West’s World War I-era period piece, Pearl — which Martin Scorsese is a fan of — she both earns your sympathy and chills you to the core with effortless balance.
I think the unhinged smile Goth sustains for the entirety of the film’s closing credits sequence, alone, earns the performance the right to be called Goth’s best yet. The British Scream Queen (also known for A Cure for Wellness and Luca Guadagnino’s Suspiria remake) has, thankfully, already received multiple nominations and one win for the role, which, to me, means the Academy has no reason not to push their chips her way as well.
X (Best Makeup)
If my suggestions become a reality, we could see the rare (if not unprecedented) instance of a movie and its own prequel both receiving Oscar nominations in the same year. Released mere months before Pearl, X — Ti West’s shocking slasher throwback set in 1979 — also stars Mia Goth, but in two roles: aspiring adult film actor Maxine, and the aforementioned Pearl in her 80s.
However, you — like myself — might not have realized that, due to the uncannily transformative makeup job. Speaking as someone who, in all honestly, rarely takes awards talk too seriously, I would be genuinely upset if the makeup department for X received absolutely no recognition from the Academy at all.
Prey (Best Actress - Amber Midthunder, Best Makeup, Best Stunts)
Another great horror movie prequel released in 2022 was Prey, which sees the titular extra-terrestrial hunter from the Predator movies (played this time by former basketball star Dane DiLiegro) on one of his first visits to Earth in the 18th Century. This is another one I would nominate for its makeup as the creature design is brilliant and truly scary, but I was especially impressed by its stunt choreography, which led to some of the most exciting action sequences of the year, in my opinion.
Yet, the overall brightest highlight of director Dan Trachtenberg’s thriller, to me, is Amber Midthunder’s fierce performance as the hero — aspiring Comanche warrior, Naru. I really believe she is strong enough here to become the sixth indigenous person to be nominated for an acting Oscar.
Hellraiser (Best Makeup)
If there is one horror movie that could rival and X and Prey in this year’s Best Makeup category, it would have to be director David Bruckner’s Hellraiser. One of the most pervasive thoughts I had while watching Hulu’s reimagining of Clive Barker’s 1987 classic was just how impressed I was with the new character design.
The detail put into Jamie Clayton’s take on Pinhead (an iconic villain originated by Doug Bradley) and, especially, in her demonic Cenobites, is brimming with glorious imagination, and gruesome enough to haunt you for days. While I still prefer the original Hellraiser overall, no installment of the franchise is as much of a visual treat as this one, thanks to the insane makeup effects.
Fresh (Best Actress - Daisy Edgar-Jones, Best Actor - Sebastian Stan, Best Original Screenplay)
Out of all the horror movies released on Hulu this year (or released anywhere for that matter), my favorite would easily be Fresh. Of course, anyone who has seen the disturbing, somewhat romantic, thriller knows that the less you are familiar with the story, the better the experience will be for you.
I will say, though, that Daisy Edgar-Jones is absolutely breathtaking in her lead performance and I have never seen better acting from Sebastian Stan than in this role that is a far cry from Bucky Barnes. However, what I think really makes Fresh a deserved Oscar contender — and one of the best horror movies helmed by a female director, namely Mimi Cave — is Lauryn Kahn’s wonderfully twisted and cleverly satirical script that keeps the audience on its toes with a playful structure and subversive narrative.
Speak No Evil (Best International Feature Film, Best Original Screenplay)
In second place for my personal favorite horror movies of 2022 is Speak No Evil, which is yet another case in which the less you know, the more rewarding the experience will. Actually, to be more precise, the less you know about Danish filmmaker Christian Tafdrup’s third directorial feature, the more deeply and pervasively unsettling the experience will be.
I was convinced I had seen one of the best horror movies on Shudder as soon as the credits rolled for how brilliantly the screenplay — written by Tafdrup with his bother, Mads — leads you into assuming the story will go one way before pulling the rug right from under you in a most unimaginably horrifying manner. I believe at least a nomination for the Academy’s Best International Feature Film is in order here.
I think more recent years have shown us that the Academy is more willing to see beyond genre conventions and honor the types of films that rarely get Oscar attention. Hopefully this is the year when the horror genre finally rules the night.
