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\n We\u2019re in a post\u2013Aunt Gladys world, anything\u2019s possible.
\n Photo: Miya Mizuno\/Sony Pictures\/Everett Collection\n <\/p>\n
In an awards season as (mostly) unpredictable as this one, Amy Madigan picking up a Best Supporting Actress Oscar<\/a> for her brief but indelible performance as Aunt Gladys in Weapons wasn\u2019t exactly a foregone conclusion. By the time the ceremony arrived, the category had become something of a three-way race between Madigan, One Battle After Another\u2019s Teyana Taylor, and Sinners\u2019s Wunmi Mosaku, with those ever-reliable betting markets leaning slightly toward Madigan. But it really could have gone in any direction. Even as she picked up a number of notable precursors, the Academy Awards\u2019 historic dismissal of horror loomed large enough that Madigan\u2019s garishly made-up witch never felt like a sure thing.<\/p>\n Of course, there was precedent. When I suggested giving Madigan gold<\/a> seven months ago \u2014 and yes, you can consider this a victory lap \u2014 I noted that the Oscars have selectively celebrated horror, with Madigan following in the footsteps of Ruth Gordon, a Best Supporting Actress winner for a notably similar role in Rosemary\u2019s Baby. But Madigan wasn\u2019t even the only spell-casting nominee in her category, which also included Mosaku\u2019s Hoodoo practitioner Annie. And if we really want to consider the Academy Awards\u2019 shifting relationship to genre, we can\u2019t overlook the fact that the record breaker for most nominees in the ceremony\u2019s history is, as of 2026, a horror film. Sinners may also be a period drama, a musical, and a gangster movie, but it\u2019s fully steeped in southern Gothic horror. And in picking up the Best Actor trophy, Michael B. Jordan became the first cinematic vampire to triumph in the category.<\/p>\n It would be a mistake to dismiss the representation of horror at the 98th Academy Awards as a fluke \u2014 consider, too, The Substance and Nosferatu\u2019s multiple nominations the year prior. The field appears to be wide open, which means extolling the virtues of the movies and performances we love might have real impact. As with all Oscar winners, Madigan was propelled to victory by a number of factors beyond the strength of her performance, including decades of respect for her work and the cultural impact of her character. But she was also buoyed by critics and industry insiders banging the drum for months: An Oscar for Aunt Gladys sounded crazy until it didn\u2019t. Sinners, with its deeply resonant themes and Ryan Coogler at the helm, may have had more obvious awards potential from the jump, but as an April release, it also benefited greatly from nearly a full year of sustained chatter. There was enough momentum behind it that for a brief moment, it seemed poised to upset the presumptive Best Picture front-runner (and ultimate victor), One Battle After Another.<\/p>\n What that means, as far as this horror fan is concerned, is that it\u2019s never too early to start championing the genre performers that might traditionally be overlooked by Academy voters. Who are the actors delivering standout performances in movies that would never be called \u201cOscar bait\u201d? Even this early into 2026, there\u2019s at least one clear contender: Ralph Fiennes in 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, which Vulture critic Alison Willmore wrote might be \u201cthe best thing he\u2019s ever done<\/a>.\u201d As far as awards go, this may not be an easy sell. Even Academy members who were able to stomach The Substance\u2019s Grand Guignol finale might find themselves queasy at Bone Temple\u2019s skinning sequence. But those willing to give the film a chance will discover truly remarkable work from Fiennes, who imbues Dr. Ian Kelson with a potent humanity that grounds the blood-soaked sequel in real pathos. The character\u2019s relationship with the Alpha he\u2019s named Samson (slightly more clothed<\/a> in this one) provides much-needed humor and tenderness, a m\u00e9lange that Fiennes is particularly adept at. He also delivers a true showstopper of a musical performance, and I am telling you<\/a>, that\u2019s a feat the Oscars love to reward<\/a>. However unlikely it may be for the Academy to remember The Bone Temple a year after its January release, this is a performance worthy of accolades: nuanced, committed, and (that perennial awards-favorite adjective) brave.<\/p>\n Were Fiennes to be nominated, it would be his fourth time up for an Oscar (he has yet to win, in case you want to use that narrative to your campaigning advantage),\u00a0but there\u2019s another repeat nominee I\u2019d make a case for. Why not consider Rachel McAdams, who is so good in Sam Raimi\u2019s Send Help that she almost convinces you she could be called frumpy<\/a>? Realistically, the movie is even less likely to be on the Academy\u2019s radar than The Bone Temple, which was written by Oscar nominee Alex Garland and is the fourth installment in a series originally helmed by Oscar winner Danny Boyle. Send Help, by contrast, is a goofy, gory, CGI-laden \u201990s throwback directed by a man most famous for Evil Dead and Spider-Man movies. Must we limit ourselves to what\u2019s realistic, though? We\u2019re in a post\u2013Aunt Gladys Oscar world, and McAdams\u2019s performance as Linda in Send Help is why the film works as well as it does. Over the course of the movie (spoiler alert<\/a>), she shifts seamlessly from underdog to villain, with McAdams bringing surprising complexity to a character who could easily feel one-note. That we root for her even after she breaks bad is a credit to the actor\u2019s command of the screen and the way McAdams manages to tease out the raw nerve at Linda\u2019s core that pushes her toward unthinkable acts.<\/p>\n \n Rachel McAdams in Send Help. At the risk of sounding greedy, why stop there? You could make a strong case for McAdams\u2019s co-star, the perpetually underrated Dylan O\u2019Brien. And it\u2019s not just Fiennes in The Bone Temple \u2014\u00a0there\u2019s also Chi Lewis-Parry as the aforementioned Samson, and Sinners alum Jack O\u2019Connell as sadistic psychopath Sir Lord Jimmy Crystal. For those interested in full-blown wishcasting, you can even look to the rest of 2026\u2019s genre offerings to imagine what upcoming movies might enter the awards conversation. Mubi, which helped The Substance overperform throughout last awards season, is distributing Jane Schoenbrun\u2019s Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma \u2014 wishful thinking or not, Gillian Anderson as a reclusive former Final Girl sounds Oscar-worthy to me. Nosferatu writer-director Robert Eggers is taking on a new monster with Werwulf, which seems, at the very least, destined for similar recognition in the technical categories. And don\u2019t overlook a movie like Hokum, the first theatrical release from filmmaker Damian McCarthy. Given its rapturous reception out of SXSW and the Oscar power of distributor Neon, mainstream award nominations are at least plausible.<\/p>\n Even as we wait to see the full effects of Weapons and Sinners on the future of the Academy Awards, there\u2019s no denying the vibe shift. That\u2019s why this is not only a victory lap from one of Aunt Gladys\u2019s earliest champions \u2014\u00a0it\u2019s also a call to arms. The door may not be wide open for any horror movie to enter the awards conversation, but it\u2019s certainly more ajar than it ever has been before. Passionate genre fans would be wise to take advantage.<\/p>\n Sign up for the Vulture Daily<\/p>\n An entertainment newsletter for the pop-culture obsessed.<\/p>\n Vox Media, LLC Terms and Privacy Notice<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/e077ff34c567225cf085ed7564b7c94ff0-sendhelp.rhorizontal.w700.jpg\")
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\n Photo: Brook Rushton\/Walt Disney Studios\/Everett Collection\n <\/p>\n