Summary
The director ofMaXXXinehas shared his thoughts on the Academy Awards generally snubbing the horror genre. The new movie, which is set in the 1980s, is a direct sequel to the 1970s-setX, a 2022 slasher release that was followed five months after its premiere by the 1918-set prequelPearl. TheMaXXXinecastincludes returning star Mia Goth reprising her title role asXfinal girl Maxine alongside an ensemble of stars that includes Kevin Bacon, Bobby Cannavale, Giancarlo Esposito, Elizabeth Debicki, Lily Collins, Michelle Monaghan, Moses Sumney, and Halsey.
The Hollywood Reporterrecently spoke withMaXXXinedirector Ti West. When asked if he saw the Academy Awards ever changing and recognizing more performances in the horror genre like Mia Goth’s, he admits that the process is something he has “never experienced” and calls it “complicated.” While he admits that certain horror movies with strong campaigns can perform well with awards bodies, hereveals that “it’s not as simple as someone being good in a movie.“Read West’s full quote below:
It depends on the movie, it depends on the campaign. It’s complicated. It’s something that I have never experienced, but it’s not as simple as someone being good in a movie and then they get a nomination. It’s a more dense industry-oriented thing than that. So it’s just a matter of the right performance at the right time and with the right campaign. It’s a whole bunch of work, frankly, to be on the trail for something like that.
Horror Is Snubbed By The Oscars More Often Than Not
MaXXXine Is Unlikely To Get Any Academy Award Nominations
MaXXXinereviewshave been positive, earning it a Certified Fresh 75% score on Rotten Tomatoes in addition to performing well at the box office with projections showing it earning a 3-day total of $8 million, which marks the best debut of the franchise by a wide margin. However, despite its critical and commercial acclaim, it is indeedunlikely to be nominated for any major awards. The most prestigious awards that either of the two previous installments in the trilogy were nominated for were some Fangoria Chainsaw Awards, Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Film awards, and Independent Spirit Awards.
This is in keeping with a general trend for awards bodies. While it can sometimes be debated whether awarded titles such asThe Silence of the LambsorJawscan be considered pure horror movies, nominations for titles that belong in the genre tend to come few and far between. In fact, in the last decade only five such titles were nominated, namelyGodzilla Minus One,El Conde,The Lighthouse,A Quiet Place, andGet Out. Below, see a breakdown of some of the horror or horror-adjacent movies that have been nominated for the most Oscars:
4
2
1
10
3
7
5
TheMaXXXinereleasemay not move the needle, despite the strong reactions to Goth’s performance. Nor did recent horror movies like 2019’sUsor 2020’sThe Invisible Man, which showcased lead performances from Lupita Nyong’o and Elisabeth Moss respectively that shocked and impressed, but were not awarded at the same level as less genre-heavy dramas. However, as horror movies continue to bring more compelling performances to the screen, it is possible that it may chip away at the awards body’s seemingly biased perspective on the genre.
MaXXXine
Cast
In 1980s Hollywood, adult film star and aspiring actress Maxine Minx lands her big break, but her rise to stardom is jeopardized by a mysterious killer targeting starlets. As the body count rises, secrets from Maxine’s past threaten to surface, intertwining her quest for fame with a deadly game of survival.
