ScriptLinks CA Film Subgenres
These are identifiable sub-classes of the major film genres, with their own distinctive subject matter, style, formulas and iconography.
Biography
Depict the life of a historical or popular figure (or group) from the past or present. Biopics cross many genre types. Often add fictionalized aspects to "Hollywoodize" the story. Marketability is often contingent upon the poetic license employed by the screenwriters.
Examples: Ghandi (1982); Malcolm X (1992); Ray (2004)
Black Comedy
The humor is derived from subjects which are typically considered "serious", or for which humor is usually seen as unsuitable: death, war, misery, violence.
Examples: Dr. Strangelove (1964), Fargo (1996) The Whole Nine Yards (2000)
Buddy
Emphasize the friendship between two characters, generally males. Thelma and Louise was a breakthrough female bonding film.
Examples: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), Lethal Weapon series, Twins (1988)
Cautionary
Concerned with delivering a message. If we continue on a certain path and don't change our destructive, greedy or careless ways, our fate is sealed.
Examples: Children of Men (2006), Fahrenheit 451 (1966), A Clockwork Orange (1971)
Chase
A group of people or a single individual is preyed upon or pursued. Often the person being pursued is the protagonist and the chaser is the antogonist.
Examples: The Fugitive (1993), Enemy of the State (1998), Catch Me If You Can (2002)
Chick Flick
Include gal-pal films, female bonding situations involving families, mothers, daughters, children, women, and women's issues. These films are often told from the female POV, and star a female protagonist or heroine.
Examples: Sex In The City (2008), When Harry Met Sally (1989), Thelma and Louise (1991)
Coming-of-Age
The main character searches for his/her place in the world. Can include rite of passage themes involving young and adolescent characters.
Examples: Stand By Me (1986), American Graffiti (1973), The Breakfast Club (1985)
Confined Space
Interaction between characters takes place in a confined area. Settings include: hotels, rooms, ships, planes, trains and submarines.
Examples: Panic Room (2002), Das Boot (1982), Rear Window (1954)
Conspiracy
Covert operations against society, the individual or a corporation. People become expendable as is so often demonstrated though the rationalization process of the modern world. Assassinations and government agents can also be a part of this genre.
Examples: J.F.K. (1991) The Manchurian Candidate (1962), Mercury Rising (1998)
Creature
Monster of the non-human, or not-quite human variety wreaks havoc. Can be an alien life-form, lab experiment gone wrong, or legendary/mythological beast. A small group of people, usually at odds with each other are confined in a space with something inhuman that means them harm.
Examples: Alien (1979), Jaws (1975), Tremors (1990)
Cyberpunk
A sci-fi subgenre that has elements which include a futuristic tone, massive urban areas in decay and poverty, partial environmental collapse, extremely powerful business corporations and street gang violence, with the overall presence of an extremely powerful computer, robotic and information technology. Blade Runner is considered the definitive cyberpunk movie.
Examples: The Matrix series, AI (2001), Minority Report (2002)
Disaster
All-star casts and interlocking, Grand Hotel-type stories, with suspenseful action and impending crises (man-made or natural) in locales such as aboard imperiled airliners, trains, sinking or wrecked ocean-liners, or in towering burning skyscrapers, crowded stadiums or earthquake zones. Often noted for their visual and special effects, but not their acting performances.
Examples: The Poseidon Adventure (1972), The Day After Tomorrow (2004), Deep Impact (1998)
Erotic
Suggestive, erotic or sensual scenes or subjects, sometimes with depictions of human nudity and lovemaking, but not always of an extremely explicit, gratuitous or pornographic nature. May include films often directed at teen audiences, with gross-out sexual subjects.
Examples: Basic Instinct (1992), Pretty Baby (1978), Lolita (1962, 1997)
Fantasy
Incorporates science-fiction, horror, adventure, fairy tales - often animated. Take the audience to netherworld places (or another dimension) where events transcend the bounds of human possibility and physical laws. They often have an element of magic, myth, and the extraordinary.
Examples: The Princess Bride (1987), Lord of the Rings trilogy, Wizard Of Oz (1939)
Film Noir
A French term that literally means "black film." Usually black and white films with primary moods of alienation, bleakness, disillusionment, pessimism, ambiguity, moral corruption, evil, guilt and paranoia. They often feature a cynical, loner hero (anti-hero) and femme fatale, in a seedy big city. Gothic in texture, film noir was probably influenced by the work of the German expressionist, Robert Wiene.
Examples: Double Indemnity (1944), The Maltese Falcon (1941), Sin City (2005)
Gothic
Include old mansions or castles as settings, events clouded in mystery, ghoulish protagonists and/or antagonists and a female lead in dire straights. The term gothic is often used to grant horror pictures greater prestige.
Examples: Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992), Night of the Living Dead (1968), Interview With The Vampire (1994)
Guy
Macho films that are often packed with sophomoric humor, action, cartoon violence, competition, mean-spirited putdowns and gratuitous nudity and sex. Tend to be about soldiers, athletes, cops, and loners.
Examples: Dirty Harry (1972), The Dirty Dozen (1967), The Road Warrior (1981)
Heist
An intricately planned theft by a group of people. Typically there are many plot twists, and film focuses on the characters' attempts to formulate a plan, carry it out, and escape with the goods. There is often a nemesis that must be thwarted, who is either a figure of authority, or a former partner who turned on the group or one of its members.
Examples: Ocean's Eleven (2001), The Thomas Crown Affair (1999), Reservoir Dogs (1992)
High Seas
Generally historical, taking place mostly on large wooden ships filled with men doing battle with storms at sea, other ships and each other, discovering tropical islands and natives along the way.
Examples: The Bounty (1984), Master and Commander (2003), The Caine Mutiny (1954)
Martial Arts
Action films usually focused on good versus evil. The protagonist is a master of one form of martial art, or is learning these skills. S/he is often pitted against an evil adversary who is a match in the fighting arts. These films occasionally focus on the "art and lifestyle" rather than hand-to-hand fighting.
Examples: Enter The Dragon (1973), Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), Seven Samurai (1954)
Midnight Movie
Films that are off-beat, a bit bizarre and only appeal to a small demographic of film audiences. They are dubbed Midnight Movies because most theatres will only exhibit these films on or after midnight. Generally, these are not movies for children.
Examples: Night of the Living Dead (1968), The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975), Brazil (1985)
Mumblecore
Unpolished, ultra-low budget films often made with digital video cameras and improvised scripts, focus on personal relationships between twenty-somethings, using non-professional actors.
Examples: Dance Party USA (2006), Quiet City (2007), Humpday (2009)
Parody
Imitates an original film or genre (like Horror) by deliberately exaggerating the clichéd conventions to the point of ridiculousness. Includes over-the-top stereotyping and much sarcasm.
Examples: Airplane! (1980), Scary Movie series, Spaceballs (1987), Austin Powers series
Post Apocolypse
Sci-fi set in a world after a general disaster, often caused by humans. The time frame may be immediately after the catastrophe, focusing on the travails or psychology of survivors, or considerably later, often including the theme that the existence of pre-catastrophe civilization has been forgotten (or mythologized). Post-apocalyptic stories often take place in an agrarian, non-technological future world, or a world where only scattered elements of technology remain.
Examples: The Day After Tomorrow (2004), Mad Max series, Escape From New York (1981)
Prison
Concerns civil imprisonment and is mainly set within the walls of a prison or uses prison as a central theme. Often feature sadistic wardens and wronged or innocent main characters.
Examples: The Shawshank Redemption (1994), Papillon (1973), The Green Mile (1999)
Psychodrama
Gives a direct voice to the psyche of a director and/or filmmaker. Allows the audience to get inside the mind of the main character. On the screen it appears as a synthesis of spontaneity and improvisation because it does not follow a conventional narrative. Often depicts dreamlike nuances and sexual conflicts.
Examples: One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest (1975), The Shining (1980), Blue Velvet (1986)
Road
Most of the action takes place on a journey, and is episodic. A search for escape or to engage in a quest for some kind of goal -- either a distinct destination, or the attainment of love, freedom, mobility, redemption, the finding or rediscovering of oneself, or coming-of-age (psychologically or spiritually).
Examples: Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987), Kalifornia (1993), Midnight Run (1988)
Romantic Comedy
A lighthearted comedy in which the main story revolves around a romance. Often features a 'true love conquers all' plotline.
Examples: When Harry Met Sally (1989), My Best Friend's Wedding (1997), Moonstruck (1987)
Slapstick
The humor is derived from physical interactions, often involving exaggerated but ultimately harmless violence directed towards individuals.
Examples: Dumb and Dumber (1994), The Nutty Professor (1996), There's Something About Mary (1998)
Sports
A sports setting (football or baseball stadium, hockey arena, the Olympics, etc.), event (the 'big game,' 'fight,' 'race,' or 'competition'), and/or athlete (boxer, racer, surfer, etc.) are central and predominant in the story.
Examples: Rocky (1976), Bull Durham (1988), Million Dollar Baby (2004)
Spy
Espionage by foreign agents is the tell-tale thematic device. Plots include the discovery and eradication of such agents or threats to national or world security.
Examples: James Bond series, Jason Bourne series, Mission Impossible series
Supernatural
Contain ideas and depictions of extraordinary phenomena. Themes can include gods, ghosts, and thoughts. Until recently, supernatural films were usually presented in a comical, whimsical, or a romantic way. There are many hybrids that combine fear, fantasy, horror, romance, and comedy.
Examples: Ghost (1990), The Sixth Sense (1999), Field of Dreams (1989)
Superhero
Action/sci-fi most often based on comic book or graphic novel source material. Main character or group have superhuman abilities, are faced with dire, large-scale perils and battle superhuman villains.
Examples: X-Men series, Spiderman series, Batman series
Suspense/Thriller
Intense excitement, ultra-heightened expectation, anxiety, and nerve-wracking tension. The protagonist is generally in danger at every turn, with the most danger coming in the final confrontation with the antagonist. The acclaimed Master of Suspense is Alfred Hitchcock.
Examples: North By Northwest (1959), The Silence of the Lambs (1991), Se7en (1995)
Sword and Sorcery
Usually set in ancient times with miraculous or fantasy elements as well as sword fighting. Focus heavily on action sequences, often pitting a physically powerful but unsophisticated warrior against an evil wizard or other supernaturally-endowed enemy. Sometimes describe an epic battle between good and evil, or the hero may have more immediate motivations, such as the need to protect a vulnerable maiden or village, or being driven by vengeance.
Examples: Excalibur (1981), Willow (1988), Conan The Barbarian (1982)
Teen Horror
Combines the Coming-of-Age and Horror genres. Often involves a group of teens isolated with a murderous entity who gradually kills them off, leaving the main character to escape or be rescued. Has a basic morality tale, and main character is a usually a misfit. Short in length, big on thrills.
Examples: Carrie (1996), Scream series, I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997)
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