Well, Oscar season is upon us once more – and, while this one has served the traditional combination of utterly obvious Oscar-bait and a highly controversial musical thrown in for good measure, we can’t help but feel as though there have been a few notable overlooks. As per tradition, let’s get into our alternative Oscar nominations (or at least an alternative take on the categories that we feel we have something sensible to say about) for 2025, and celebrate some of the best movies, performances, and behind-the-camera efforts that have gone under the radar!
Best Director
Denis Villeneuve – Dune: Part Two
Parker Finn – Smile 2
Indiana Bell and Josiah Allen – You’ll Never Find Me
Wei Shujun – Only the River Flows
Jason Yu – Sleep
The problem with having more nominations for best picture than for best director (in the real-world Oscars) is that someone is going to get screwed. This time, it’s Denis Villeneuve for Dune 2: a Best Picture made by a not-best director, apparently. But we’re here to put it right. Dune 2 is already considered a masterpiece with Villeneuve’s talent not only inspiring the next generation of filmmakers but also current ones when it comes to authorship of a blockbuster.
Best Actress
Juliette Gariépy – Les Chambres Rouges
Naomi Scott – Smile 2
Olivia Colman – Wicked Little Letters
Carolyn Bracken – Oddity
Jordan Cowan – You’ll Never Find Me
In a great horror movie (and let’s be real, what else does this blog cover), if you can get inside the shoes of the lead, if you can feel as terrified as they feel, you’re on to a winner. And there’s plenty of that in this year’s actresses – take your pick, from You’ll Never Find Me’s Jordan Cowan to Carolyn Bracken of Oddity. Instead I related to the global popstar being terrorized by a smiling demon, and that is all due to just how hardcore the former Pink Ranger (Power Rangers rocks) Naomi Scott goes in Smile 2. A sequel bigger and better than the excellent first film, Smile 2 boasts, for me, the best performance of last year.
Best Supporting Actress
Laurie Babin – Les Chambres Rouges
Alyla Browne – Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Wai Ching Ho – Lovely, Dark, and Deep
Rebecca Ferguson – Dune: Part Two
Though Alicia Witt almost renders the trudging Longlegs watchable with her amazing guest turn (and though Alyla Browne is the best Furiosa the new Mad Max has to offer), Laurie Babin’s supporting role in Les Chambres Rouges is one of the most complicated and intriguing performances of the year. Straddling the line between obsessive and naïve, she’s a perfect balance to Juliette Gariepy’s lead, and I sincerely hope it’s a jumping-off point for more in her career.
Best Actor
David Dalmastchian – Late Night with The Devil
Zhu Yilong – Only the River Flows
Curry Barker – Milk & Serial
Brendan Rock – You’ll Never Find Me
Nicholas Hoult – Nosferatu
While I have a huge soft spot for Curry Barker in this year’s Little Indie Horror that Could, Milk & Serial, and much as I appreciate David Dalmatchsian’s very different lead in Late Night with the Devil – there was only one person this could go to, as far as I’m concerned. You’ll Never Find Me hinges on Rock’s fantastic, slippery performance, constantly leaving you guessing and shifting between villain and victim. It’s a killer breakthrough for Rock (pun mostly intended).
Best Supporting Actor
Ian Bliss – Late Night with the Devil
Lukas Gage – Companion
David Jonsson – Alien: Romulus
Aaron Taylor-Johnson – Nosferatu
Tadhg Murphy – Oddity
Lukas Gage’s performance in isn’t as scene-stealing as David Jonsson in Alien: Romulus, or as tragic as Tadhg Murphy in Oddity, but it did do one very important thing: it made me change my mind. Before Companion, I didn’t like Lukas Gage, even though I had only seen him in supporting roles like Smile 2 and The White Lotus. His presence in the trailer for Companion made me roll my eyes and think “why does Hollywood want to make this guy happen?” That’s what Mr Gage was up against, and he completely changed my mind. One great and layered, and, yeah, heart-breaking, performance later, and I can’t wait to see what he does next.
Best Movie K
Les Chambres Rouges
Oddity
Only the River Flows
Smile 2
You’ll Never Find Me
I know, I know, but let’s just recognise Smile 2 for what Smile 2 really is. It’s the best directed, best performed, most scary, and inventive blockbuster ($28 million is blockbuster money for horror) since The second Conjuring movie. I love the slow burn indie scarefests as much as the next fan, but I’ve got to stand up and salute a horror film that can go near Poltergeist level while not turning into bland by-the-numbers fare like The Nun. Smile 2 proves that if you give Horror directors the big money, they can give us something as special as it is horrifying.
What movies, performances, and other movie brilliance do you think has been overlooked this year? Who’s getting your best-of awards for 2025? Let us know in the comments below!
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By Kevin Boyle and Lou MacGregor
(header image via IMDB)
No But Listen 