Screw the Oscars, here's the Fangoria Chainsaw Awards nominees

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      The 2015 Academy Award nominations were announced today and, as expected, the horror genre got left out in the winter cold to die a slow, painful death.

      When was the last time those geeks at the Academy even recognized the value of a fright flick? Sure, we all know that Kathy Bates won a Best Actress for 1990's Misery, and that great '80s efforts like Aliens and The Fly have garnered the award for Best Visual Effects and Best Makeup, respectively.

      But 1991's The Silence of the Lambs is the first and only horror movie to ever win a Best Picture award! It also took Best Director, Best Actress, and Best Screenplay, but that's beside the point.

      And that was nearly a quarter-century ago. Time for those tuxedo-wearin' squares at the Academy to admit once more that scary movies should not be exempt from consideration. 

      The folks over at renowned horror magazine Fangoria aren't waiting around for the next Silence of the Lambs to come along and sweep up the golden statuettes, however. In response to the ongoing Oscar debacle in regards to genre films, it has released the nominees for its annual Chainsaw Awards, celebrating the year in fear.

      I for one am happy to see that The Babadook has been nominated in four categories: Best Limited-Release/Direct-to-Video Film, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Screenplay. In my opinion the Aussie shockerwhich screens at the Vancity Theatre tomorrow night—was 2014's best horror film.

      I was also pleased to see that the B.C.-shot Horns is up for Best Actor and Best Makeup/Creature FX. And I'm giving a severed thumbs-up to Michael Parks' nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his delightfully demented role in the twisted Tusk.

      My biggest complaint about the Chainsaw Award nominations is the inclusion of Dracula Untold for Best Wide-Release Film. That's ridiculous. Just like the movie.

      At any rate, here's Fangoria's list. "And the nominees are...":

      BEST WIDE-RELEASE FILM
      AS ABOVE, SO BELOW, directed by John Erick Dowdle
      DRACULA UNTOLD, directed by Gary Shore
      GODZILLA, directed by Gareth Edwards
      OCULUS, directed by Mike Flanagan
      THE QUIET ONES, directed by John Pogue

      BEST LIMITED-RELEASE/DIRECT-TO-VIDEO FILM
      THE BABADOOK, directed by Jennifer Kent
      THE BATTERY, directed by Jeremy Gardner
      HOUSEBOUND, directed by Gerard Johnstone
      THE SACRAMENT, directed by Ti West
      UNDER THE SKIN, directed by Jonathan Glazer

      BEST FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM
      BIG BAD WOLVES, directed by Aharon Keshales and Navot Papushado
      A GIRL WALKS HOME ALONE AT NIGHT, directed by Ana Lily Amirpour
      THE HOUSE AT THE END OF TIME, directed by Alejandro Hidalgo
      THE STRANGE COLOR OF YOUR BODY’S TEARS, directed by Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani
      WITCHING & BITCHING, directed by Alex de la Iglesia

      BEST ACTOR
      Lior Ashkenazi, BIG BAD WOLVES
      Nick Damici, LATE PHASES
      Jake Gyllenhaal, ENEMY
      Jared Harris, THE QUIET ONES
      Daniel Radcliffe, HORNS

      BEST ACTRESS
      Essie Davis, THE BABADOOK
      Alexandra Essoe, STARRY EYES
      Scarlett Johansson, UNDER THE SKIN
      Marta Milans, DEVOURED
      Tilda Swinton, ONLY LOVERS LEFT ALIVE

      BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
      David Asavanond, COUNTDOWN
      Tzahi Grad, BIG BAD WOLVES
      Gene Jones, THE SACRAMENT
      Michael Parks, TUSK
      Noah Wiseman, THE BABADOOK

      BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
      Olivia Cooke, THE QUIET ONES
      Anne Ramsay, THE TAKING OF DEBORAH LOGAN
      Katee Sackhoff, OCULUS
      Rima Te Wiata, HOUSEBOUND
      Mia Wasikowska, ONLY LOVERS LEFT ALIVE

      BEST SCREENPLAY
      Jennifer Kent, THE BABADOOK
      Gerard Johnstone, HOUSEBOUND
      Jeff Baena, LIFE AFTER BETH
      Mike Flanagan, Jeff Howard, OCULUS
      Zack Parker, Kevin Donner, PROXY

      BEST SCORE
      Frank Ilfman, BIG BAD WOLVES
      The Newton Brothers, OCULUS
      Jozef van Wissem, SQÜRL, ONLY LOVERS LEFT ALIVE
      Jonathan Snipes, STARRY EYES
      Mica Levi, UNDER THE SKIN

      BEST MAKEUP/CREATURE FX
      Tamar Ouziel, AFFLICTED
      Steinaar Karstein, Mike Elizalde, DEAD SNOW 2
      Gregory Nicotero, Howard Berger, HORNS
      Robert Kurtzman, Brian Spears, LATE PHASES
      Hugo Villasenor, SOTA FX, STARRY EYES

      BEST TV SERIES
      AMERICAN HORROR STORY: FREAK SHOW
      HANNIBAL
      PENNY DREADFUL
      TRUE DETECTIVE
      THE WALKING DEAD

      BEST TV ACTOR
      Hugh Dancy, HANNIBAL
      Josh Hartnett, PENNY DREADFUL
      Andrew Lincoln, THE WALKING DEAD
      Matthew McConaughey, TRUE DETECTIVE
      Mads Mikkelsen, HANNIBAL

      BEST TV ACTRESS
      Nicole Beharie, SLEEPY HOLLOW
      Eva Green, PENNY DREADFUL
      Janet Montgomery, SALEM
      Anna Paquin, TRUE BLOOD
      Sarah Paulson, AMERICAN HORROR STORY: FREAK SHOW

      BEST TV SUPPORTING ACTOR
      David Bradley, THE STRAIN
      Zane Holtz, FROM DUSK TILL DAWN: THE SERIES
      Rory Kinnear, PENNY DREADFUL
      Norman Reedus, THE WALKING DEAD
      Finn Wittrock, AMERICAN HORROR STORY: FREAK SHOW

      BEST TV SUPPORTING ACTRESS
      Gillian Anderson, HANNIBAL
      Madeleine Martin, HEMLOCK GROVE
      Melissa McBride, THE WALKING DEAD
      Billie Piper, PENNY DREADFUL
      Deborah Ann Woll, TRUE BLOOD

      BEST TV MAKEUP/CREATURE FX
      Francois Dagenais, HANNIBAL
      Nick Dudman, PENNY DREADFUL
      Steve Newburn, Sean Sansom, THE STRAIN
      Todd Masters, Dan Rebert, TRUE BLOOD
      Gregory Nicotero, Howard Berger, THE WALKING DEAD

      WORST FILM

      We’ll leave this one up to you (2014 releases only)

      My choice of one individual (no movies/TV shows) for induction into the FANGORIA Hall of Fame

      Comments

      2 Comments

      Jeff

      Jan 19, 2015 at 7:20am

      Unfortunately, Mia Farrow did not win an Oscar for 1968's Rosemary's Baby. In fact, she wasn't even nominated!

      Steve Newton

      Jan 19, 2015 at 9:39am

      Damn! She deserved it, too! Thanks Jeff. I've corrected the story now.