The bigger players in awards season lean towards horror films, but that never meant the genre was without artistic merit. While it's true that the horror segment of cinema has its share of happily cheesy slasher shlock, many of the best horror movies ever are mind-blowing affairs with plots that can leave viewers on the edge of their seats - even diminishing all scares.

There have been occasional Oscars for horror projects over the years, but Oscar nominations in 2025 shower surprising prestige on the genre. Both Robert Eggers' vampire film Nosferatu and Coralie Fargit's horror journey The Substance received nominations in several categories. Additionally, Alien: Romulus was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, making this year's horror Oscars a very respectable three-film field.

The stylistically terrifying Nosferatu is nominated in four categories — namely, cinematography, costume design, makeup and hair, and production design. Elsewhere, "Substance" did even better on its own. Star Demi Moore's Golden Globe win has already (correctly) implied that she could win a Best Actress Oscar. In addition, writer-director Fargeat is nominated for best director and best original screenplay, while the actual film is among 10 contenders for this year's best picture award. Add a well-earned nod to Best Makeup and Hairstyling to the list, and Substance can have a total of five Oscar nominations to its name.

While horror films can't even hope to compete with biopics or dramas for prestige when it comes to the sheer number of Oscar nominations, the genre has boasted several high-profile nominees and even winners over the years. The most infamous recent one is undoubtedly Jordan Peele's stellar 2017 psychological horror Get Out, which was nominated for four Oscars at the 2018 Academy Awards — the same categories as "Substance," minus best makeup and hair — and won Peele the Oscar for best original screenplay. Similarly, in 1974, William Friedkin's supernatural horror classic The Exorcist scored an impressive 10 nods, eventually winning two gold statuettes for best sound and William Peter Blatty's adapted screenplay. Then in 1991, Kathy Bates took home the Oscar for Best Actress for the horror-adjacent (but admittedly thriller-leaning) Misery.

It's been a quarter of a century since we've seen as many horror films on the Oscar nominees list as this year. The last time more than one horror film made a serious impact at the Oscars was in 1999 when Tim Burton's "Sleepy Hollow" (three nominations) and M. Night Shyamalan's "The Sixth Sense" (six nominations) made waves. The Sixth Sense, in particular, boasts some seriously impressive categories thanks to its Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Film Editing, and Best Supporting Actor (Haley Joel Osment) and Best Supporting Actress (Toni Collette) nominations. However, at the end of the ceremony, "Sleepy Hollow" was the only one to win something (taking home the award for best art direction). Horror fans will no doubt be hoping that the combined might of Nosferatu, Substance and Alien: Romulus can do one better at the Dolby Theater on March 2, 2025.