Viewership for the Oscars and Emmys are at an all-time low, but for horror fans, the Fangoria Chainsaw Awards just got way more accessible via Shudder!  Hosted by David Dastmalchian (Ant-Man, The Dark Knight), the socially distanced night of terror was an absolute joy for horror fans.

The Not So Invisible Awards
It was a great night for Leigh Whannell and especially for fans of his that have been with him since the original Saw back in 2004.  Between co-launching both the Saw and Insidious franchises with James Wan, and coming into his own as a director with Upgrade and The Invisible Man, Leigh Whannell is on a hot streak that shows no signs of slowing.

So it was both exciting and vindicating to see the film win Best Kill, Best Lead Performance for Elisabeth Moss (who’s amazing and the fact that she didn’t get an Oscar nomination is criminal), Best Screenplay, Best Director, and Best Wide Release Movie.

Not only was it a brilliant reinvention of a classic horror villain, but for many it represented the last time they saw a movie in a theater before the world shut down.  So in a weird way, The Invisible Man was the last vestige of normalcy any of us remember, and thus it remains a beacon of the traumatic year we’ve all collectively experienced.

Very few movies manage to rebrand an old property, deliver on legitimate tension, and also have something to say from a political/social standpoint.  Leigh Whannell’s masterpiece does it all, and thus it was a lot of fun to see it properly rewarded, especially after being snubbed completely by the much snobbier Golden Globes and Academy Awards.

Other Big Winners
While The Invisible Man took home the most chainsaw trophies, it wasn’t the only film or artist that was rightfully rewarded for their honorable work in horror.  Shudder’s Host took home Best Streaming Premiere, which was also very fitting.

While the world was in lockdown, this tale of demonic horror was shot entirely over Zoom while the actors and filmmakers were in quarantine as well.  If The Invisible Man was the last remnant of normal for everyone, Host perfectly captured the spirit of having to stay at home and not go out.

In addition to streaming the event via their Shudder TV platform, the streaming service took home awards for Best Supporting Performance (Clancy Brown – The Mortuary Collection), Best International Film (La Llorona), and Best Nonfiction Horror (The Last Drive In with Joe Bob Briggs).  In fact, everything in that last category is currently streaming on Shudder.

According to host David Dastmalchian, Shudder saw a surge of new subscriptions in 2020, mostly because people were stuck at home with nothing to do but watch movies.  Plus, to their credit, Shudder was extremely interactive with fans over social media and sponsored many watch-alongs over Twitter.

What did you think of the awards?  Did your favorites win?  Let us know in the comments!

The 2021 Fangoria Chainsaw Awards is streaming for free on YouTube

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