Two years ago, following the lack of recognition at the Oscars for horror films, Trace Thurman and I created “The Hereditaries” (named after Toni Collette’s Hereditary omission), a series of horror awards to acknowledge all of the great work being done in the genre.
The response that we received was out of this world and we immediately decided to make the awards an annual event.
Enter the third annual Hereditaries, which celebrates the amazing diversity of horror films released in 2021. Ranging from blockbusters like Candyman and The Night House to avant-garde indies like The Feast and Titane to “under the radar” releases like Shudder’s The Boy Behind The Door and The Medium, we’re shining a light on all of the great horror content that has come out during (yet another!) unorthodox year.
Here’s what you’re voting on:
- Best Wide Release
- Best Indie
- Best Non-English Horror
- Best Under The Radar
- Best Horror TV
- Best First Feature Director
- Best Director
- Best Actor
- Best Actress
- Best Supporting Actor
- Best Supporting Actress
- Best Child/Teen Actor
- Best Ensemble
- Best Creature Design – New for 2021
- Best Villain
- Best Sequence
- Best Ending – New for 2021
- Best Kill
Context: The 18 categories were informed by listener responses and then narrowed down by Trace and I. In order to be eligible, films had to be widely available this year (either wide theatrical, VOD or on streaming services), which sadly means no festival exclusives.
In order to keep the voting competitive, most categories were capped at five nominees and films were only eligible once per category. This inevitably means that some favourites have been left out, but this is best way to ensure a tight race. Kill your darlings, folks!
Finally, we’ve also added spoiler warnings for the last four categories, just in case you haven’t seen films like Violation, Old or Silent Night.
Click here to vote. The deadline to enter is Friday, Dec 17 at 11:59pm EST.
Winners will be announced on Horror Queers social media accounts (Facebook group, Instagram and Twitter), as well as a special Patreon minisode in early January 2022.