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Malignant is now an Oscars Fan Favourite frontunner

James Wan's horror movie Malignant has shot to the front of the pack in the Academy's Fan Favourite Oscar category, alongside Zack Snyder's Army of the Dead

Annabelle Wallis in Malignant

Often, life is unfair. However, sometimes, it’s just and right. Malignant, one of the best horror movies of 2021, is currently in the running to win an Oscar – in the Fan Favourite category.

The Academy tweeted out the current top ten in the sweepstakes for Fan Favourite, and among choices like Spider-Man: No Way Home, Dune, and Zack Snyder’s Army of the Dead, we have Malignant. Directed by The Conjuring architect James Wan, Malignant is an audacious monster movie that’s part B-movie send-up and celebration of slapstick gore.

Annabelle Wallis stars as Madison Lake, a woman who seems to be mysteriously connected to a string of murders in Seattle. It starts as a kind of Seven riff, before going off the rails entirely. It’s very much a modern cult classic, with a fervent following, and so it’s unsurprising to see it appear in the Academy’s social media-driven category. Qualification for Fan Favourite is simple: fans have to tweet about using the hashtag #OscarsFanFavourite. the winner will be whatever gets the most engagement.

The MCU‘s latest Spider-Man and the DCEU‘s The Suicide Squad certainly have their ardent defenders, but Zack Snyder and Malignant appear to be front-runners at a glance. Snyder has a devoted following who believe his Justice League deserved more praise and see this as a round-about way of him getting his due.

Ray Fisher, who played Cyborg Justice League, and Snyder himself have tweeted about the commotion. Meanwhile, nobody from Malignant has stoked the flames (yet), this is all just fans wanting a film they dig to get some awards love.

The Academy has a tendency to downplay horror. Maybe Malignant will inspire awards bodies to pay more attention to scary movies. We won’t hold our breath, but all the same: Malignant FTW!