Why do horror films never win the Oscar for Best Picture?

For decades, horror films have been the "ugly duckling" of the Academy Awards. In the 1950s and 1960s, the Academy often viewed them as a cheap genre, lacking depth or artistic value. Curiously, despite the passage of time, that mentality hasn't changed much.

To this day, only one horror film has won the Oscar for Best Picture: The Silence of the Lambs (1991). Throughout history, other great films in the genre have been nominated—The Exorcist (1973), Jaws (1975), The Sixth Sense (1999), Get Out (2017), and most recently, The Substance (2024)—but none have managed to take home the statuette.

So why are they nominated but not winning?

The answer lies in the prejudice that still exists within the Academy. Many of its members continue to view horror as a "lesser" type of cinema, more focused on scaring than on telling a profound story. It's as if inducing fear weren't a valid emotion, when in reality, horror speaks directly to our most human insecurities.

Furthermore, horror is a very subjective genre. What gives one person nightmares may seem absurd to another. Perhaps that's why, when voting, academics prefer to avoid risks and choose "safer" films. But horror has something that few genres achieve: it can be symbolic, critical, and emotional at the same time.

It's unfair that it continues to be underestimated. If you look closely, there are horror films that are more creative, complex, and technical than many Oscar winners. Behind every scare is a tremendous amount of work: direction, photography, acting, sound, editing. Everything is calculated to generate a real reaction in the viewer.

Perhaps it's not a topic that could be written in an entire book, but it is one that deserves more discussion. Horror has evolved, and so should the way the Academy views it.

Hopefully, one day, horror will also be recognized as an art form.