Holding steady at 99% on Rotten Tomatoes and with $250 million in its back pocket, it was only a matter of time until awards consideration came for Jordan Peele’s directorial debut, Get Out. Nominations from the Golden Globes and the Critics’ Choice were promising starts, but a nomination from the Academy for Best Picture wasn’t a guarantee. Then the Oscar nominations were announced and Get Out managed not only to snag a Best Picture nod, but three more for Original Screenplay, Best Director and Best Actor (Daniel Kaluuya). This is not just an exciting development for Get Out, but an opportunity for a horror film to make a splash at the Academy Awards. Even rarer, Get Out has a legitimate chance at the big prize.

Unabashed horror film wins for make-up (The Fly), score (The Omen) and other technical categories aren’t uncommon, but the big nominations for acting, directing, etc. are more difficult for genre pictures to win. As of late, it appears that the key to winning an Academy Award for horror films is to not be considered a horror film. The last time a horror film went home with several Oscars was when The Silence of the Lambs became a member of the prestigious Big Five Club. Jonathan Demme’s film thoroughly took over the evening, winning the five major categories: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Adapted Screenplay.

Of course, it bears mentioning whether or not Academy voters considered The Silence of the Lambs a horror film when they voted for it. Hannibal Lecter is one of the most frightening characters in film history, but is that enough to qualify the film as horror? It should be. The Silence of the Lambs’ biggest selling point — besides the performances by Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins — is the body horror that takes place. Dr. Lecter eats people. Buffalo Bill makes suits out of his victims’ skin. These are not the hallmarks of a slow-burn thriller, but of a genre that routinely depicts the monstrous acts that humans are capable of. That The Silence of the Lambs is a great film doesn’t mean it should have to apologize for also being a horror film.

And if one doesn’t consider The Silence of the Lambs a horror film, then you have to go all the way back to Rebecca‘s win for Best Picture in 1941. Alfred Hitchcock’s film was another member of the Big Five Club, getting a nod in all five major categories, but even that film could be classified as suspense-thriller. More recent titles like Black Swan and The Sixth Sense were in the race for Best Picture, but Natalie Portman’s win for Best Actress was Black Swan‘s only victory, and The Sixth Sense went home with nothing despite garnering six nominations. Even those pictures distanced themselves from genre labels, and Darren Aronofsky suggested that his film was a hallucinogenic metaphor for obsession and artistry more than a scare fest. Why this sudden change when a horror film suddenly finds itself up for awards?

While critics evaluated Get Out multiple times over 2017, the film went from being a Blumhouse-approved horror picture to the more prestigious title of a “social thriller” as it gathered more acclaim and critics’ awards. But skittish Academy voters are unlikely to deal with the violence that makes up most horror films, especially considering the limited number of Best Picture slots, even with 2009’s expansion.

A recent New York Times piece touched on the shame that comes with being associated with the horror genre. “William Friedkin has also rejected that label for The Exorcist.” And so did Brian De Palma after his film Carrie started making waves. So, Get Out’s new designation as “social thriller” at Peele’s behest isn’t necessarily a surprise. It appears that the horror label is still used as an indicator of poor quality, despite the renaissance of indie-styled horror films that have come out (The Babadook, The Witch, It Comes at Night, etc.). What’s more frustrating is that said critique also implies that horror films don’t deal with social issues, which is not the case. Night of the Living Dead is famous for its stark ending, which doubled as an indictment of racial inequalities in the United States. The Purge series addresses how the judicial system favors rich, white men. They Live is staunchly anti-consumerism. Simply put, there’s never been a shortage of the allegorical in the horror genre. By constantly running from a label, great horror films make it that much harder to be accepted come awards season.