Mia Goth Calls For Change After Horror Shutout at 2023 Oscars (original) (raw)

Published Jan 27, 2023, 12:18 PM EST

Shane Romanchick is a TV and Movie News author for Collider. He also runs his own blog Entershanement Reviews where he writes about and reviews the latest movies. He graduated from Regis College in 2019 with a Bachelor's in Communication and minored in both Film Studies and Writing.

His love for writing and film started at a very young age with his earliest memory being watching Blue's Clues when he was 3 months old. That show means the world to him as it unlocked his creative side and made him comfortable in his own skin. From there, Shane became a huge fan of comics books and cartoons. He spent most of his childhood watching Scooby-Doo, Courage the Cowardly Dog, The Batman, and Justice League. His favorite childhood films includes Scooby-Doo 2002, Batman Begins, and Spider-Man.

Shane's High School years is when he discovered his love for Horror. Watching films like Halloween, Scream, and Friday the 13th for the first time, he never looked back. He was a horror fan for life. Paranormal Activity 4, It Follows, and Annabelle were the first batch of films he was brave enough to see in theaters. Now a decade later, he has become an expert in the genre. Black Christmas, Anna and the Apocalypse, Oculus and It Follows are some of his favorite films of all time. However, it has been slasher films that have become his true confort food. Scream VI, Freaky, Sick, Terrifier 2 and X are some of his recent fravorites. In addition, he's a huge Halloween fan and he'll never apologize for his love for Halloween Kills and Ends.

However, Shane isn't just a movie guy. He also loves video games. Super Mario Sunshine, The Last of Us Part 1 and 2, and Batman: Arkham City are some of his favorites. Music plays a big part in his life as well. Given that Shane's a big horror fan, you might be surprised to learn that he's favorite genre is pop. Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo, Dua Lipa, The Jonas Brothers, and Demi Lovato play on repeat while he's writing.

Shane has been writing for Collider since October 2021 and loving every mintue of it. However, one day he hopes to become a screenwriter and a horror author.

This was a big week for the film industry as the annual Oscar nominations were released. So many amazing films and talented people were nominated with a lot of groundbreaking history made, but the one thing that was once again absent from the list of nominees was the horror genre, which got zero recognition across the board. It has been a growing problem that The Academy has faced criticism for in the past. This year was no different. Now one of 2022’s biggest horror stars, Mia Goth, has recently spoken out about the lack of horror representation at The Oscars.

In a recent interview with "Jake’s Takes" promoting her new horror film Infinity Pool, Goth didn’t mince words. “I think that it’s very political,” the Pearl star said. She continued, “It’s not entirely based on the quality of a project per se. There’s a lot going on there and a lot of cooks in the kitchen when it comes to nominations. Maybe I shouldn’t say that, but I think that’s true. I think a lot of people know that.” Goth would finish off saying, “A change is necessary. A shift should take place if they wanted to engage with the wider public. I think it would be of benefit, really, [to nominate horror movies].”

Even though Goth was careful with her words, she is just saying what’s on every horror fans mind. Especially when you consider that most moviegoers thought Goth should have been nominated for her lead performance in Pearl. That film was the second installment in Ti West’s X trilogy. X, a Texas Chainsaw inspired slasher, released early last year to critical and commercial acclaim. That film saw Goth hand in a duel performance as a young wannabe star Maxine and an older jaded woman named Pearl whose prime years were tragically behind her. Goth's performance was so brilliant that it was easy to mistake her for another actress entirely under all the amazing prosthetic work. Those two performances were Oscar worthy on their own, but then came the film’s prequel Pearl which was even better. It acted as a satisfying twisted horror version of Wizard of Oz with the film being one of the best directed, written, and acted theater experiences of 2022. Pearl instantly became a genre icon and that again had to do with Goth’s brilliant performance. Whether it was her six minute one take monologue, her “I’m a star” breakdown, or her smile-inducing end credit scene, Goth more than deserved to be nominated for her work. Arguably she deserved to win.

Image via A24

However, Pearl being snubbed is only the center of this problem. Horror has never gone anywhere, but the genre had one of its best years in history in 2022. When it wasn’t the latest Marvel movie or Avatar, horror dominated the box office. X, Pearl, Scream, Nope, Terrorizer 2, Smile, Barbarian, Fall, and The Menu weren't only some of the most financially successful films, they were some of the best films of last year. When Goth says the situation’s “political”, she doesn’t mean it in the traditional sense. Film studios have to pick and choose what films they want to market for awards runs. If they know their horror film won’t have a shot, given the history of the genre at the Oscars, they’re not going to waste time promoting it, no matter how good it is. That’s why you see studios like A24, mostly known for their mind-bending horror, put the effort behind Everything Everywhere All At Once rather than Men or Midsommar. Long gone are the days when The Silence of the Lambs could win Best Picture or even Get Out could win Best Original Screenplay. The prejudice against the horror genre is at an all-time high. Something as simple as adding a Best Horror Film category, like animation has, could be the step in the right direction that The Oscars desperately need.

The way films are nominated are against horror and The Oscars don’t really try to hide it. When your genre doesn’t have a seat at the table as it offers up the best theater experiences of the year it can make someone's horror loving heart very depressed. However, hopefully someday we can live in a world where Mia Goth’s transformative horror performances, along with Toni Collette in Hereditary or Florence Pugh in Midsommar, can have an equal shot at winning an Oscar. Until then, you can watch Goth’s latest performance in Brandon Cronenberg’s trippy body horror thriller Infinity Pool which is in theaters now. The trailer, along with Pearl’s, can be viewed down below. The 95th Academy Awards will air Sunday, March 12, 2023.