The Substance, Nosfertau and Demi Moore shine Cinemax
Usually we – horror the fans – don’t look forward to January when the list of Oscar nominees is announced. The reason is that the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences ignores horror films, which rarely receive nominations. Actors and actresses who star in horror films are also not included in the final lists, regardless of the praise they receive.
However, the 97th Academy Awards – which will take place March 3created a different feeling. Some films have been talked about very loudly in recent months, like “The Substance” and breathtaking performances led by Demi Moore. The good news is that the representation of the world of horror in the 2025 Oscar nominations list is there, with five nominations for “The Substance” (including Best Picture), four nominations for “Nosferatu” and even a technical nomination for “Alien: Romulus”.
Substance Oscar buzz is on
“The bottom” is undoubtedly one of the best horror films of recent years. The film has earned respect in the current list of nominees, with five nominations. There were indeed films with longer nomination lists – the French musical crime comedy “Emilia Perez” (13 nominations, the most nominations for a non-English film); the excellent historical blockbuster “Wicked”, the origin story of Glinda the Good and Wicked Witch of the West, before the events of “The Wizard of Oz”; the epic historical drama “The Brutalist” (ten nominations), which tells the story of Hungarian-Jewish architect Laszlo Tou after World War II; and “Anora” (six nominations), the romantic comedy-drama about a stripper’s relationship. and the spoiled son of a Russian oligarch.
“The Substance” will compete in the best film category category against “The Brutalist,” “Anora,” “Conclave,” “A Complete Unknown,” “Emilia Perez,” “Dune: Part Two,” “I’m Still Here,” “Nickel Boys,” and “Wicked.” It probably won’t win, but even the nomination of a horror film in this category is quite rare, because it was preceded by seven films in total: “The Exorcist” (1973), “Jaws” (1965), “The Sixth Sense” (1999), “Black Swan” (2010), “Get Out” (2017) and, of course, “The Silence of the Lambs”, the only horror film to be released with the coveted statuette.
2025 Oscar Acting Nominees: Demi Moore and Some of Those Who Were Snubbed
Demi Moore, who gave the role of her life in the film (in fact, she said that she even considered retiring from the world of cinema after losing her status over the years), received her first Oscar nomination in the Best Actress category.
Moore, who won the Golden Globe Award a few weeks ago in the category of best actress in a comedy or musical, and her moving speech was one of the highlights of the evening, will face the Best Actress in the Leading Role category again Cynthia Erivo (“Wicked”), Karla Sofía Gascón (“Emilia Perez”), Fernanda (“I’m Still Here”) and Mikey Madison (“Anora”), who we remember as Amber in “Scream 5,” as one of the – – uh… something – most disappointing in franchise history.
Margaret Qualley, who starred in “The Substance” as the younger, sexier version of Demi Moore, wasn’t nominated for Best Supporting Actress – but I’m pretty sure we’ll see her on the nominees list in the future because she’s a super talented actress. Other actors mentioned as candidates for nominations also ended up being left aside, like Hugh Grant, the psychotic who locks two girls in his home in the excellent “Heretic”.
Will the substance come away with a price? Maybe!
The marvelous Coralie Fargeatthe director of “The Substance”, will compete in the best director category against Sean Baker (“Anora”), Brady Corbet (“The Brutalist”), James Mangold (“A Complete Unknown”) and Jacques Audiard (“Emilia Perez”).
The film received two additional nominations at the 2025 Academy Awards in the categories of Best Original Screenplay (where he will face “Anora”, “The Brutalist”, “A Real Pain” and “September 5”) and Makeup and hairstyling (against “Emilia Perez,” “A Different Man,” “Wicked,” and “Nosferatu,” which we’ll get to in a moment).
He will perhaps walk away with the statuette in the original screenplay category because he has already won the screenplay prize at the Cannes Film Festival. In the makeup and hair category, at least in my opinionhe should receive the award without a shadow of a doubt.
Nosferatu shines with four nominations
“Nosferatu” by Robert Eggers (“The Witch,” “The Lighthouse”) has received excellent reviews and quite impressive success at the box office, grossing approximately $158 million worldwide to date. The film — which is essentially a remake of Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau’s German expressionist film “Nosferatu,” which itself is an unofficial remake of Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” (due to copyright issues) — received four nominations and could win at least one award.
“Nosferatu” did not receive nominations in the main categories of the 2025 Oscars – i.e. best picture, best director or best actor (although Lily-Rose Depp received widespread praise for her role) – but only in categories considered more technical.
However, alongside the makeup and hairstyle category, she will also compete in the categories of Best Cinematography (against “The Brutalist”, “Dune: Part Two”, “Maria” and of course “Emilia Perez”), Best production design (against “The Brutalist”, “Conclave”, “Dune: Part Two” and “Wicked”) and Best Costume Design (against “A Complete Unknown”, “Conclave”, “Gladiator 2” and “Wicked”).
Alien Franchise Gets Additional Nomination
Another representation of horror films at the 2025 Oscars is in the category of Best visual effectswhere the very pleasant “Alien: Romulus” (one of the franchise’s most successful films since the first two, in my opinion) will compete for the coveted award against “Dune: Part Two,” “Wicked,” “Kingdom of the Planted of the Apes” and “Better Man: The Robbie Williams Story,” which received a nomination probably because a chimpanzee, voiced by Robbie Williams, plays the character of the pop artist.
Of course, this isn’t the first nomination for a film in the hit “Alien” franchise, which has been around for about 45 years and, along with “Alien: Romulus,” already has seven films. The first “Stranger” (1979) won Academy Awards for visual effects and was nominated for the best artistic design. The excellent sequel “Aliens” (1986) earned nominations for seven awards, including a deserved nomination for Sigourney Weaver as Best Actress, and won two awards: Best Visual Effects and Best Sound Effects Editing. The next film in the franchise, “Alien 3” (1992)which was obviously less successful, received a nomination for Best Visual Effects, as did “Prometheus” from 2012. “Alien Resurrection” (1997) And “Alien: Alliance” did not receive any Academy Award nominations.
The announcement of nominations for the 97th Academy Awards was delayed for several weeks following the unprecedented fires in Los Angeles, which also affected the prestigious Pacific Palisades neighborhood and the homes of several celebrities associated with the genre, such as Anthony Hopkins (“Silence of the Lambs”) and scream queen Jamie Lee Curtis (“Halloween”, “The Fog”) », “Prom Night”, “Terror”. Train”) and many others. The ceremony that will take place March 2will be hosted by comedian Conan O’Brien.
