10 Horror Films That Actually Won Oscars

Won: Best Sound, Best Film Editing, Best Original Score

Also Nominated For: Best Picture

Dated only by its lack of show off digital effects, Jaws shows how a stripped-down narrative with good actors trumps an overextended blockbuster that depends upon OTT effects sequences for its thrills. Spielberg’s rubber shark with its pneumatic movements might look unconvincing, but the attack sequences stand up better than any of its digital equivalents will four decades from now.

Sure, you can dismiss Jaws as bubble-gum if you want, but don’t forget the effect it had on an unsuspecting public. William Goldman saw the film when it was first shown in New York and knew from the moment he heard John Williams’ score that the audience was hooked. For the next two hours, nobody spoke, they just screamed at key moments.

“When the lights came up,” he wrote, “we all knew something remarkable was about to go out into the world.”