The Silence of the Lambs / Misery / The Exorcist

More than a billion people worldwide gather around their televisions every year to see who will win highly-coveted Academy Awards. Though horror movies are often passed over for their exceptional achievements, there have been some happy exceptions. Here are clips from 11 selections, with their awards noted.

 

The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

Best Picture, Best Actor (Anthony Hopkins), Best Actress (Jodie Foster), Best Director (Jonathan Demme), Best Adapted Screenplay (Ted Tally).

In search of a serial killer, an FBI trainee questions another serial killer, who may do more harm than good.

 

Misery (1990)

Best Actress (Kathy Bates).

An automobile accident leaves a writer temporarily disabled and in the care of a woman who is a bit too devoted to her favorite fictional character.

 

Rosemary's Baby (1968)

Best Supporting Actress (Ruth Gordon).

A friendly neighbor proves to be more diabolical than she initially appears.

 

The Exorcist (1973)

Best Adapted Screenplay (William Peter Blatty), Best Sound.

A bestselling novel is transformed into one of the most traumatic experiences ever captured on screen.

 

Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992)

Best Costume Design (Eiko Ishioka), Best Effects - Sound Effects Editing, Best Makeup (Greg Cannom, Michele Burke, Matthew W. Mungle).

Gorgeous costumes and superb makeup adorn an old-fashioned fright flick.

 

Jaws (1975)

Best Music (John Williams), Best Film Editing (Verna Fields), Best Sound.

An incredibly memorable musical score heightens the tension in this scary story of a very hungry shark.

 

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)

Best Art Direction.

Tim Burton's murderous musical also featured an Academy Award-nominated performance by Johnny Depp, set against a backdrop that is marvelously detailed, even when it looks nearly monochramatic.

 

Sleepy Hollow (1999)

Best Art Direction.

An earlier teaming between director Burton and star Depp leaned heavily on a very creepy atmosphere.

 

Beetlejuice (1988)

Best Makeup.

Going back a decade further in Tim Burton's career, the makeup (and effects) in this clip are oustandingly morbid.

 

The Fly (1986)

Best Makeup.

Jeff Goldblum eventually becomes unrecognizable in the award-winning makeup. Geena Davis says all that is necessary: "Be afraid. Be very afraid."

 

An American Werewolf in London (1981)

Best Makeup.

An old friend pays a visit, seeking to avoid any more horrors to be visited upon the good people of London.