10 Horror Films That Actually Won Oscars

Won: Best Actress

Also Nominated For: Best Adapted Screenplay

Before The Omen and The Exorcist there was Rosemary’s Baby, and who could make a better film about Satanism in modern day New York than Roman Polanski?

At that point in his career, Polanski had won critical (if not commercial) success for Repulsion and Knife In The Water and he brings the same eerie stylings to this astonishingly faithful adaptation of Ira Levin’s bestseller. When producer William Castle (who as the director of The Tingler knew a thing or two about cheap horror movies) said that when he saw the finished film it was like ordering a Mini and receiving a Rolls Royce.

As good as Mia Farrow is in the lead, the acting honors go to Ruth Gordon as Minnie Castevet, the kindly old neighbor who turns out to be a member of a satanic coven. It’s a sign of how good Gordon’s performance is that she can go from motherly to sinister without overplaying, and her newfound fame later brought her roles in similar fare, including Whatever Happened To Aunt Alice and the TV Movie sequel, Look What’s Happened To Rosemary’s Baby.