In honor of Halloween, let’s take a look at this year’s horror films and prognosticate their fantasy value. It is not a secret that horror films are grossly underrepresented at the Academy Awards, but that doesn’t mean they can be written off for fantasy purposes. Sure there are horror films that go on to be Oscar nominated. Jordan Peele was a fantasy juggernaut with his debut Get Out, but that is certainly the exception and not the rule. However, there are enough organizations that award a Best Horror Film award, or other variation combining Horror with Sci-Fi and/or Fantasy genres. There are also enough organizations that will throw some love to particularly masterful horror performances, especially in the actress category. Toni Collette in Hereditary and Lupita Nyong’o in Us come immediately to mind.
The very first ceremony in the regular season has seen the horror genre already netting fantasy points. The Gotham Awards nominations saw several horror films garner accolades: Jane Schoenbrun (DIR-EDIT-SCRN) and Anna Cobb (ACTRS) for We’re All Going to the World’s Fair as well as Taylor Russell (ACTRS) and Mark Rylance (ACTR) in Bones and All. In fact, these four could go on to have marginal fantasy value for different reasons. Schoenbrun and Cobb have breakthrough appeal whereas Russell and Rylance have the starpower appeal.
Let’s take a look at the horror films from 2022 that have at least a chance of fantasy value.
We’re All Going to the World’s Fair
Like I said before, this film already has two nominations, one for Jane Schoenbrun and one for Anna Cobb. The picture itself may not be worth picking up, but given that Jane Schoenbrun has EDIT eligibility and could garner more breakthrough nominations for the ceremonies that have them, she’s at least worth putting on your watchlist. And given Anna Cobb’s youth, she could find herself on nomination lists for the ceremonies that combine “youth” with their “breakthrough acting” categories.
Bones and All
Like We’re All Going to the World’s Fair, Bones and All is represented twice already for the Gotham Awards. However, the pedigree for Bones and All is arguably richer than any other horror film that has come out in 2022 (Nope being the other one in the “arguably.”)
Taylor Russell is a perennial fringe fantasy player as is Mark Rylance, but there are some other big names attached to this film. Director Luca Guadagnino is no stranger to fantasy success, most recently from Call Me By Your Name. His value is limited, though, since he only has DIR as his position designation, We also can’t forget about Timothée Chalamet who is also a perennial fantasy contributor.
The best value, though, might be found in the SCORE and SONG categories with multiple Oscar winners Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross is flirting with being a triple threat, scoring both Bones and All and Empire of Light while writing an original song for Bones and All, according to an interview with Guadagnino. It’s not a stretch of the imagination that Reznor and Ross could have their names called thrice on any given ceremony’s nomination list. Because of this potential, they both were likely drafted, but if they happen to be on the waiver wire in your league, don’t hesitate too much in picking them up.
Nope
Jordan Peele’s third feature film will likely have similar fantasy success as his second feature film Us. The film itself will likely get nominations everywhere there is a special Best Horror category. Unlike the other films on this list, though, Nope is a contender for some technical categories, especially in cinematography and visual effects. Hoyte Van Hoytema is a perennial name in film awards fantasy, and his uniquely shot night scenes that were actually filmed during the day may be enough to gain some serious steam at the American Society of Cinematographers awards.
Also in play, although in a crowded field, is the Nope VFX. If anything, the VFX will slide into that fifth Oscar slot.
Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer will likely find their names sparsely on nomination lists. I need some more proof that they’d be worth picking up. They would likely offer good streaming value for matchups that feature African American centric ceremonies.
Bodies Bodies Bodies
Although Amandla Stenberg, Maria Bakalova, and Pete Davidson could get some acting love, don’t be too surprised if Sarah DeLappe gets a few points for writing the screenplay. There’s probably not enough evidence to consider picking her up off waivers just yet, though. Same with Halina Reijn, who makes her American debut as director, which could qualify her as a breakthrough candidate, but doubtful.
Crimes of the Future
Pursue anything from this film with caution. If any horror film has such a wide gap between its fantasy point potential as being low-floor/high-ceiling, it’s this one. David Cronenberg should never be discounted, and there are some solid acting performances in this film. I’m not jumping on the bandwagon just yet, but there is definitely some potential here.
Dashcam
The Dashcam VFX already earned accolades, but at last year’s British Independent Film Awards (BIFA.) So if Dashcam has any value whatsoever, it would have to break into the American awards. I really see that happening, especially in VFX, but it might find itself on some lists for Best Horror Film.
Fresh
Fresh appears on this list only because it won the Hollywood Critics Association Mid-Season Awards back in July. The other nominees were X, The Black Phone, Master, and Scream. This film is certainly fun, and maybe Fresh gets a nomination or two for Best Horror, but I wouldn’t take too much stock in its mid-season win just yet.
X
Ti West’s first entry to his X trilogy was a very solid start to the new franchise. I was quite surprised that Fresh beat out X at HCA’s mid-season awards, leading to some speculation of its value as a fantasy player. However, don’t overlook X for makeup. Mia Goth pulls double acting duty in X, and she is unrecognizable as old Pearl, which could be enough for X MUAH to make some noise later in the regular season. Horror is especially underrepresented in Makeup and Hairstyling at the Oscars, but if Border can get a nomination, so can X.
Pearl
Mia Goth missing at the Gotham Awards may hurt her stock, but if there is any actress appearing in a horror film this year that can offer value, it’s Mia Goth. She earned high praise from Martin Scorsese, and that level of influence can manifest as fantasy points. I doubt she’ll do enough to get an Oscar nomination, but she can very well be that fantasy sleeper. If her name shows up at the Satellite Awards Nominations, put in that waiver request.
Mad God, Wendell & Wild
Both stop-motion animation. Both from respected filmmakers. Don’t be surprised if either of these break onto some Animated Feature nomination lists, although Wendell & Wild has the better chance to do just that.
Studio 666
The only chance at fantasy points this horror comedy has is for the SONG category. If you’re a huge Dave Grohl fan, you have my permission to snag him on your team. Just don’t expect much.
Men
Jessie Buckley is getting all kinds of buzz, but for another film, Women Talking. Given the deep symbolism and timely allegories in Men, though, the film itself may appear on some nomination lists while Jessie Buckley may give your team some bonus points. Rory Kinnear may even get his name on some supporting acting lists.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
Few will claim this as a horror film (it’s not), but many will claim that Sam Raimi brought a lot of his horror sensibility to the MCU. Because of that, I put it here on this post. However, the only realistic value for this film is the VFX.
There you have it! I may have overlooked a horror film that will find its way to some fantasy points, but I’m pretty confident that they won’t be worth much, if anything.
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