8 Great Horror Movies Unfairly Snubbed At The Oscars

James Wan’s superbly polished story of religious devotion and demonic possession in a Rhode Island farmhouse in the early-1970s has bile and holy water in its veins. The Conjuring follows the real-life characters of Ed and Lorraine Warren (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga) – husband and wife demonologists and part-time exorcists who are called upon by a fraught mother to investigate unusual disturbances at the home she shares with her husband and young girls.

Exploring themes of strained faith, family, and the clash of good and evil, The Conjuring calls to mind the likes of The Exorcist, and clearly James Wan’s film owes Friedkin’s a considerable debt, especially in its lengthy and gruelling exorcism scene in which Lili Taylor’s fragile mother succumbs to bodily infestation by a demon witch. Unusually for a modern, mass-market movie, The Conjuring is overtly religious, explicitly championing the power of an Almighty God. This is a reflection of the faith of the real-life Warrens, whose influence on the film was not insignificant (Vera Farmiga spent significant time with Lorraine Warren, absorbing her “essence,” and Warren herself spent time on the film set during production).

The Conjuring is horror through and through, and is proud of its jump-scares. But it’s horror of the highest class. James Wan’s smoothly dynamic direction; a layered script inspired by real events; brilliantly authentic period detail; uniformly impressive performances from a strong cast; a number of instantly iconic set pieces (witch on the wardrobe, anyone?); and an admirable aversion to CGI in favour of practical effects. It all adds up to a movie that will stand the test of time, haunting the basements of our minds for decades to come. Despite enthusiastic reviews from the critics, it received not a single nomination from The Academy.

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What other great horror movies were ignored at the Oscars? Give them some praise down in the comments.