Joey Magidson
The Sunday Scaries are upon us once again! Yes, as the weekend concludes, most of us feel an oncoming sense of anticipatory dread about the week ahead. Anxiety about work manifests itself into a feeling that’s known as the Sunday Scaries. However, we at Awards Radar are here to combat that, by taking back the name. Now, we want you think about a horror-centric piece on the site when you hear the term. So, let us continue on with another installment of the Awards Radar Sunday Scaries! Today, we’re looking at the Oscar nominations for the genre this year, led by one specific title…
Sinners is in the history books, ladies and gentlemen. Thursday morning, the horror film from Ryan Coogler set a record during the Oscar nominations, scoring sixteen citations. The old record of fourteen has been shattered, and by a fright flick, no less. It’s a stunning achievement for any title, let alone for a scary movie. It would be malpractice not to cite that in this column, as it’s a horror one on an awards website. In a way, the Sunday Scaries were built to celebrate this Sinners achievement.
Back earlier this year, I wrote a Sunday Scaries here about the awards potential of the movie. At that point, it was fairly speculative, as Oscar voters had begun moving in a more accepting direction of the genre, but it still appeared like an uphill battle. At the same time, there was an early sense that things could be different for this film. It felt not just populist but artistic as well, in a way that could appeal to the Academy above and below the line.
My rave review here had the following praise, as well as early Oscar analysis:
Okay, listen up folks. For anyone who ever complains that Hollywood never does anything original, Sinners is for you. This is the type of film that spits in the face of those who say cinema has nothing new to offer. By taking one of the oldest movie monsters there is, spinning them on their ear, and filtering it through a setting/time period that’s never utilized them before, and you have something completely singular. There has never been anything quite like Sinners. Not only is this 2025’s first truly great blockbuster, it’s also the best film of the year so far.
Sinners absolutely rocks. Bloody, horny, musical, and full of genre-bending on the part of filmmaker Ryan Coogler, it’s all the right kinds of audacious. What begins as a light period drama, with plenty of reverence for the power of music, it slowly but surely transforms into horror, with the third act becoming an actual bloodbath. Through it all, there’s impeccable technical aspects, first rate acting, and a true feeling that you’re watching the full possibilities of film. Coogler makes movies for the big screen, with Sinners being just the latest example of an event picture, meant to be seen with the best sound and on the biggest screen possible.
In a just world, Sinners would be an Oscar contender above and below the line. Now, being an early year release, as well as being an expensive film that may struggle to make back its money, will prove challenging. Still, the movie should be up for Best Picture, Best Director/Best Original Screenplay for Coogler, Best Actor for Jordan, Best Production Design, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing, Best Makeup & Hairstyling, Best Sound, Best Original Score, Best Visual Effects, and the newest category of Best Casting. Yes, the flick is just that good.
In that review, I mentioned how thirteen nominations was possible. That felt like a best day, pie in the sky, situation. Little did I know, that would be a major underestimation of Sinners‘ power. The wildest thing? It could have gotten up to nineteen nominations, as Miles Caton was a possibility in Best Supporting Actor, Hailee Steinfeld could have been a coattail nomination in Best Supporting Actress, and a second Best Original Score nod was there for the taking. As it stands, it will be hard for any other film to get a nom total like this. Had it gotten everything? It could have been a practically unbreakable record.
Beyond Sinners, Frankenstein was in the Best Picture lineup, Weapons also scored a major nomination, getting Amy Madigan into Best Supporting Actress, while The Ugly Stepsister showed up in Best Makeup & Hairstyling. This really built on last year’s success for Noferatu and especially The Substance. Two years in a row, a horror film has gotten into Best Picture. That used to be a spot where fright flicks basically need not apply. Now? That’s changed, with scary movies dotting the Oscar landscape above and below the line.
Hopefully, this continues the Academy’s trend in honoring types of work that used to fly below their radar, regardless of popularity and quality. I’m becoming more and more optimistic about this membership, as they’ve largely embraced interesting films with the Oscars. If it keeps up? Truly then, anything will be possible, but for now, Sinners can be a shining beacon…
Stay tuned for another Sunday Scaries installment next week!
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