Movies

Dear Academy: Horror Movie Actors Who Should Have Got an Oscar Nod in 2023

Published

1 year ago

January 27, 2023

The Academy of Motion Pictures is a popularity game, we all know it. So when we see the yearly Oscar* nominations we don’t expect to find actors getting nods for the horror movies they starred in.

Yes, industry awards like iHorror’s are great for recognizing outstanding talents in the genre, but most actors dream of receiving that Award of Merit golden statuette at some point in their careers.

It’s no secret that young actors often start their professions in horror movies. Take a look at Jamie Lee Curtis who was introduced to the world in the original Halloween over 40 years ago. It was only this year that she got her first Oscar nomination for Everything Everywhere All at Once.

So, we would like to send this message out to the Oscar board for actors they overlooked on this year’s ballot:

To Academy voters: It is okay to nominate blockbusters and the talent involved in them. We get it. That’s the name of the Hollywood game. But below are some incredible actors who did exceptionally well this year both in their craft and in their films.

Perhaps you were too busy gawking at the digital pagentry in Avatar or the heartstopping stunts in Top Gun: Maverick to notice these incredible performances. But your nomination of Michelle Yeoh for Everything Everywhere All at Once shows otherwise, and that you do pay attention to Indies.

iHorror offers this list to you in hopes that in the future you can recognize horror movies are not just filler anymore and the talent in them are no longer B-quality. You were almost there in 2018 with four nominations, including Best Picture, for Get Out (winning one for Best Original Screenplay), but it’s been rigorously reported that some of your “older” members didn’t even watch it.

It may be unpopular among your circle of esteemed board members to even suggest a horror film be on the ballot, but watch any one of the films below and pay close attention to the performances. Yes, All Quiet on the Western Front on Netflix was phenomenal but who actually watched it? More people watched Wednesday because of the talented Jenna Ortega (Scream, X) which only proves that your aging voters are not feeling the pulse of the generation.

Wednesday. (L to R) Thing, Jenna Ortega as Wednesday Addams in episode 104 of Wednesday. Cr. Courtesy of Netflix © 2022

We don’t want to detract from the great work that this year’s nominees did in their respective movies. We propose that you consider thinking outside the box (office) in the future and just nominate some actors/directors who are just as good as any of your traditional picks.

Mia Goth for Pearl or X

Since both of these films came out in the same year a lot of people cannot decide which is their favorite. But what they do agree on is star Mia Goth.

Her performances in both movies is the definition of range. From her conflicted but powerful role as Maxine in X to her emotional and unhinged turn as Pearl in the prequel, Goth is all talent and the camera loves her. If you need an example just watch her run through every emotion in a tortured, feigned smile, just as the credits roll in Pearl.

Maika Monroe for Watcher

Maika has been acting since 2009, but as her career grows so does her talent. In last year’s Watcher, the actor left us in awe of her ability to completely make Julia an anxious American fish out of water in the gothic city of Bucharest.

Not only that, she is so fearful that she thinks she is being watched by a creepy stranger, and her husband is less than supportive. With not much to do but react, Maika literally wears her emotions on her sleeve as she slowly slips into paranoid madness by the end of the film. It is art at its finest.

Rebecca Hall for Resurrection

Another paranoid thriller of 2022, Resurrection puts Rebecca Hall into a abusive game of control. Although Resurrection is more of an offbeat horror movie, Hall’s performance captures all the triggering hallmarks of a woman being emotionally abused by a fiend from her past.

Then there is that ending which is so incredibly disturbing that we still can’t wrap our head around it. Hall is an actor who can conform to any role and it never feels forced. She becomes the character and sometimes so much so we forget it is only a movie.

Timothée Chalamet for Bones and All

Chalamet wasn’t just a one-trick pony. He has become an up-and-coming actor with serious clout. He has already been nominated for an Academy Award for the 2018 drama Call Me By Your Name. He took a drastic turn as Lee in Bones and All.

It’s really not a story for the faint of heart, but a good one none-the-less. Lee is a tortured young adult who must feed on human flesh in order to survive. But this cannibalistic tale has a twist; it’s also a romance.

Chalamet gives a great performance in this acclaimed movie. He is able to make us feel empathy for the monster he is, all the while rooting for him to find peace. It’s a great performance, one definitely worth an Academy nod.

Taylor Russell for Bones and All

Co-starring with Chalamet in Bones and All is Russell. She is the ying to his yang as far as acting goes. There isn’t a moment in the film where she isn’t vulnerable and confused. She is a rising star who isn’t afraid to do different things, all of them mesmerizing.

Amber Midthunder for Prey

This was the one snub that hits different. Midthunder reaches new heights, performing against an invisible alien for a portion of the film. There is an innocence to her in the beginning that blossoms into a powerhouse of strength and bravery by the end.

Of course, behind the scenes, a lot of her reactions are to a tennis ball and green screen. Which makes her performance even more incredible. Academy, how could you?

Julia Stiles in Orphan: First Kill

If there were an Oscar category for Best Picture in a Bat Shit Crazy Horror Film or Musical, Orphan: First Kill would take home top honors, perhaps in both. Although Isabelle Fuhrman as Esther plays a great psycho, it is Julia Stiles’ performance that solidifies her place as one of 2022’s most memorable characters.

Completely convincing as a mother questioning reality, then becoming unhinged when the truth comes out, Stiles should at least get a nod from the Academy for her dedication and tireless work in Orphan: First Kill.

*The Oscar is copyrighted property and registered trademark and service mark of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

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Editorial

Yay or Nay: What’s Good and Bad in Horror This Week

Published

2 days ago

May 4, 2024

Timothy Rawles

Welcome to Yay or Nay a weekly mini post about what I think is good and bad news in the horror community written in bite-sized chunks.

Yay:

Mike Flanagan talking about directing the next chapter in the Exorcist trilogy. That might mean he saw the last one and realized there were two left and if he does anything well it’s draw out a story.

Yay:

To the announcement of a new IP-based film Mickey Vs Winnie. It’s fun to read comical hot takes from people who haven’t even seen the movie yet.

Nay:

The new Faces of Death reboot gets an R rating. It’s not really fair — Gen-Z should get an unrated version like past generations so they can question their mortality the same as the rest of us did.

Yay:

Russell Crowe is doing another possession movie. He’s quickly becoming another Nic Cage by saying yes to every script, bringing the magic back to B-movies, and more money into VOD.

Nay:

Putting The Crow back in theaters for its 30th anniversary. Re-releasing classic movies at the cinema to celebrate a milestone is perfectly fine, but doing so when the lead actor in that film was killed on set due to neglect is a cash grab of the worst kind.

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Lists

The Top-Searched Free Horror/Action Movies on Tubi This Week

Published

3 days ago

May 3, 2024

Timothy Rawles

The free streaming service Tubi is a great place to scroll when you’re unsure what to watch. They are not sponsored or affiliated with iHorror. Still, we really appreciate their library because it’s so robust and has many obscure horror movies so rare you can’t find them anywhere in the wild except, if you’re lucky, in a moist cardboard box at a yard sale. Other than Tubi, where else are you going to find Nightwish (1990), Spookies (1986), or The Power (1984)?

We take a look at the most searched horror titles on the platform this week, hopefully, to save you some time in your endeavor to find something free to watch on Tubi.

Interestingly at the top of the list is one of the most polarizing sequels ever made, the female-led Ghostbusters reboot from 2016. Perhaps viewers have seen the latest sequel Frozen Empire and are curious about this franchise anomaly. They will be happy to know it’s not as bad as some think and is genuinely funny in spots.

So take a look at the list below and tell us if you are interested in any of them this weekend.

1. Ghostbusters (2016)

Ghostbusters (2016)

An otherworldly invasion of New York City assembles a pair of proton-packed paranormal enthusiasts, a nuclear engineer and a subway worker for battle.An otherworldly invasion of New York City assembles a pair of proton-packed paranormal enthusiasts, a nuclear engineer and a subway worker for battle.

2. Rampage

When a group of animals becomes vicious after a genetic experiment goes awry, a primatologist must find an antidote to avert a global catastrophe.

3. The Conjuring The Devil Made Me Do It

Paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren uncover an occult conspiracy as they help a defendant argue that a demon forced him to commit murder.

4. Terrifier 2

After being resurrected by a sinister entity, Art the Clown returns to Miles County, where his next victims, a teenage girl and her brother, await.

5. Don’t Breathe

A group of teens breaks into a blind man’s home, thinking they’ll get away with the perfect crime but get more than they bargained for once inside.

6. The Conjuring 2

In one of their most terrifying paranormal investigations, Lorraine and Ed Warren help a single mother of four in a house plagued by sinister spirits.

7. Child’s Play (1988)

A dying serial killer uses voodoo to transfer his soul into a Chucky doll which winds up in the hands of a boy who may be the doll’s next victim.

8. Jeepers Creepers 2

When their bus breaks down on a deserted road, a team of high school athletes discovers an opponent they cannot defeat and may not survive.

9. Jeepers Creepers

After making a horrific discovery in the basement of an old church, a pair of siblings find themselves the chosen prey of an indestructible force.

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Movie Reviews

Panic Fest 2024 Review: ‘Haunted Ulster Live’

Published

4 days ago

May 2, 2024

Jacob Davison

Everything old is new again.

On Halloween 1998, the local news of Northern Ireland decide to do a special live report from an allegedly haunted house in Belfast. Hosted by local personality Gerry Burns (Mark Claney) and popular children’s presenter Michelle Kelly (Aimee Richardson) they intend to look at the supernatural forces disturbing the current family living there. With legends and folklore abound, is there an actual spirit curse in the building or something far more insidious at work?

Presented as a series of found footage from a long forgotten broadcast, Haunted Ulster Live follows similar formats and premises as Ghostwatch and The WNUF Halloween Special with a news crew investigating the supernatural for big ratings only to get in over their heads. And while the plot has certainly been done before, director Dominic O’Neill’s 90’s set tale of local access horror manages to stand out on its own ghastly feet. The dynamic between Gerry and Michelle is most prominent, with him being an experienced broadcaster who thinks this production is beneath him and Michelle being fresh blood who is considerably annoyed at being presented as costumed eye candy. This builds as the events within and around the domicile becomes too much to ignore as anything less than the real deal.

The cast of characters is rounded out by the McKillen family who have been dealing with the haunting for some time and how it’s had an effect on them. Experts are brought in to help explain the situation including the paranormal investigator Robert (Dave Fleming) and the psychic Sarah (Antoinette Morelli) who bring their own perspectives and angles to the haunting. A long and colorful history is established about the house, with Robert discussing how it used to be the site of an ancient ceremonial stone, the center of leylines, and how it was possibly possessed by the ghost of a former owner named Mr. Newell. And local legends abound about a nefarious spirit named Blackfoot Jack that would leave trails of dark footprints in his wake. It’s a fun twist having multiple potential explanations for the site’s strange occurrences instead of one end-all be-all source. Especially as the events unfold and the investigators try to discover the truth.

At its 79 minute timelength, and the encompassing broadcast, it’s a bit of a slow burn as the characters and lore is established. Between some news interruptions and behind the scenes footage, the action is mostly focused on Gerry and Michelle and the build up to their actual encounters with forces beyond their comprehension. I will give kudos that it went places I didn’t expect, leading to a surprisingly poignant and spiritually horrifying third act.

So, while Haunted Ulster Live isn’t exactly trendsetting, it definitely follows in the footsteps of similar found footage and broadcast horror films to walk its own path. Making for an entertaining and compact piece of mockumentary. If you’re a fan of the sub-genres, Haunted Ulster Live is well worth a watch.