10 Horror Films That Actually Won Oscars

Won: Best Makeup

When Mel Brooks realized he had too much baggage as a director of comedies to make darker films, he produced them through his company Brooksfilms and brought in directors like David Cronenberg, the only filmmaker who could do this remake justice.

Having established himself as the go-to guy for “body horror” with Shivers, Rabid, Scanners et al, Cronenberg got the biggest budget of his career to date on The Fly, and it shows in Chris Walas' award-winning effects, which still hold up after more than thirty years (and yes, these practical effects are more convincing than CG).

Seth Brundle (Jeff Goldblum) is an expert in the field of matter transportation, able to send objects between a series of “telepods” he’s developed, and after impressing a female journalist with a demonstration, he decides to transport himself, little realizing there’s a fly inside the pod with him.

As he transforms into an insect-human hybrid he calls “Brundlefly”, his fingernails fall off, body parts mutate and he takes on the characteristics of a common housefly. In one scene, to the understandable surprise of his girlfriend, he’s shown crawling across the ceiling.

It all ends in an incredibly gooey climax so the squeamish should probably give this one a miss.