MaXXXine Director Weighs In On Horror’s Lack Of Major Awards Recognition: “It’s Complicated”

Summary MaXXXine director Ti West has reflected on performances like Mia Goth's not being nominated for Oscars.

The filmmaker said that the process is "complicated" and requires a solid campaign.

The horror genre is frequently snubbed by the Academy, though movies such as The Exorcist and The Silence of the Lambs have previously won major awards.

The director of MaXXXine has shared his thoughts on the Academy Awards generally snubbing the horror genre. The new movie, which is set in the 1980s, is a direct sequel to the 1970s-set X, a 2022 slasher release that was followed five months after its premiere by the 1918-set prequel Pearl. The MaXXXine cast includes returning star Mia Goth reprising her title role as X final girl Maxine alongside an ensemble of stars that includes Kevin Bacon, Bobby Cannavale, Giancarlo Esposito, Elizabeth Debicki, Lily Collins, Michelle Monaghan, Moses Sumney, and Halsey.

The Hollywood Reporter recently spoke with MaXXXine director Ti West. When asked if he saw the Academy Awards ever changing and recognizing more performances in the horror genre like Mia Goth's, he admits that the process is something he has "never experienced" and calls it "complicated." While he admits that certain horror movies with strong campaigns can perform well with awards bodies, he reveals that "it’s not as simple as someone being good in a movie." Read West's full quote below:

It depends on the movie, it depends on the campaign. It’s complicated. It’s something that I have never experienced, but it’s not as simple as someone being good in a movie and then they get a nomination. It’s a more dense industry-oriented thing than that. So it’s just a matter of the right performance at the right time and with the right campaign. It’s a whole bunch of work, frankly, to be on the trail for something like that.

Horror Is Snubbed By The Oscars More Often Than Not

MaXXXine Is Unlikely To Get Any Academy Award Nominations

MaXXXine reviews have been positive, earning it a Certified Fresh 75% score on Rotten Tomatoes in addition to performing well at the box office with projections showing it earning a 3-day total of $8 million, which marks the best debut of the franchise by a wide margin. However, despite its critical and commercial acclaim, it is indeed unlikely to be nominated for any major awards. The most prestigious awards that either of the two previous installments in the trilogy were nominated for were some Fangoria Chainsaw Awards, Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Film awards, and Independent Spirit Awards.

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This is in keeping with a general trend for awards bodies. While it can sometimes be debated whether awarded titles such as The Silence of the Lambs or Jaws can be considered pure horror movies, nominations for titles that belong in the genre tend to come few and far between. In fact, in the last decade only five such titles were nominated, namely Godzilla Minus One, El Conde, The Lighthouse, A Quiet Place, and Get Out. Below, see a breakdown of some of the horror or horror-adjacent movies that have been nominated for the most Oscars:

Title Nominations Wins The Phantom of the Opera (1943) 4 2 What Ever Happened to Baby Jane (1962) 4 1 The Exorcist (1973) 10 2 Jaws (1975) 4 3 Aliens (1986) 7 2 The Silence of the Lambs (1991) 7 5 Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992) 4 3 Black Swan (2010) 5 1

The MaXXXine release may not move the needle, despite the strong reactions to Goth's performance. Nor did recent horror movies like 2019's Us or 2020's The Invisible Man, which showcased lead performances from Lupita Nyong'o and Elisabeth Moss respectively that shocked and impressed, but were not awarded at the same level as less genre-heavy dramas. However, as horror movies continue to bring more compelling performances to the screen, it is possible that it may chip away at the awards body's seemingly biased perspective on the genre.

Source: THR