My final horror movie post of the year sings the praises of the genre’s acting. While many low-budget scary movies are notorious for wooden performances, particularly by dim-witted teens being lined up for slaughter, others are showcases for extraordinary screen acting.

The Academy Awards have famously ignored this genre, along with comedy, for nearly 100 years. Only six actors have won Oscars for horror movies: Frederic March for 1931’s Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, Ruth Gordon for 1968’s Rosemary’s Baby, Kathy Bates for 1990’s Misery, both Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster for 1991’s Silence of the Lambs, and Natalie Portman for 2010’s Black Swan.

Other performances have been nominated, including iconic turns like Janet Leigh’s in Psycho, Sissy Spacek’s in Carrie, and Linda Blair’s in The Exorcist, but far too often these great turns are ignored completely.

Horror films are particularly rich with great performances by women. In addition to the classic trio listed above, consider Ellen Burstyn (The Exorcist), Shelly Duvall (The Shining), Isabelle Adjani (Possession), and Marilyn Burns (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre).

In recent years, great horror performances by women have become commonplace. Lupita Nyong’o (Us), Toni Collette (Hereditary), Florence Pugh (Midsommar), and Mia Goth (Pearl) all received Oscar buzz before being snubbed by the Academy.

This year, my own Best Actress lineup might come entirely from this group: Willa Fitzgerald (Strange Darling), Brigette Lundy-Paine (I Saw the TV Glow), Demi Moore (The Substance), Lupita Nyong’o (A Quiet Place: Day One), Hunter Schafer (Cuckoo), Naomi Scott (Smile 2), Sydney Sweeney (Immaculate), and Nell Tiger Free (The First Omen).

Of these performances, Moore’s is the only one I’ve heard discussed as having even an outside chance at Oscar recognition. And it’s the one I’d rank last.

It makes sense that horror movies feature great performances. Actors are asked to project complex and visceral states such as fear, grief, trauma, despair, catharsis, and euphoria. They go place people don’t usually experience in ordinary life, or in ordinary movies.

That wraps up my annual horror movie appreciation week. I hope I inspired somebody out there to give at least one of these films a try.