Common film genres classification with examples (updated)

A film genre is a category of films that are made with a similar style or the emotional response to the films is similar (i.e. serious, comedic, horrific, etc.).

Classifying films by genre assumes that the films have some sort of a common element by which they can be identified. Usually, several factors can be employed for the purpose of classification, such as:

The setting where the story and action take place (e.g., a war film, a Western film or a space, opera film).

The theme or topic that the film explores (e.g. science fiction film, sports film or crime film)

The mood in which the film is set (e.g. comedy film, horror film or tearjerker film).

The format in which the film was shot (e.g. anamorphic widescreen) or the manner of presentation (e.g.: 35 mm, 16 mm or 8 mm).

The target audience (e.g., children’s film, teen film or women’s film).

The type of production (e.g. B movie, big-budget blockbuster).

For this reason, a movie may have several different elements. However, for reference purposes, it is classified under a single genre.

Below are summaries of common film genres. The explanations are taken principally from Wikipedia.com and filmsite.org entries, with a few definitions sourced elsewhere as well.

1. Action Films

This film genre refers to films wherein physical action takes precedence in the storytelling. It usually revolves around a hero who in order to achieve a goal must overcome tremendous challenges along the way. The film will often have continuous motion and action including physical stunts, chases, fights, battles, and races. There are several subgenres such as action comedy, action adventure, action horror, buddy cop, disaster film, martial arts, sci-fi action, spy film, action thriller and superhero films. Examples include Beverly Hills Cop, Lethal Weapon, King of Boys, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Transformers, among several others.

 

 

2. Adventure films

Unlike action films, adventure movies usually display and explore exotic locations in an energetic way. It includes subgenres such as swashbuckler films, survival films, Western films, pirate films, disaster films, road films and historical dramas.

Main plot elements often include quests for lost continents or some natural or historical feature such as a jungle, mountain or characters embarking on a quest. Adventure films are commonly set in a period background and may include adapted stories of historical or fictional adventure heroes within the historical context. Adventure films may also be combined with other movie genres such as science fiction, fantasy, horror, or war. Examples of adventure films include “Pirates of the Caribbean”, “Star Wars” and “Robin Hood”.

 3. Comedy films

Films which elicits laughter or humour by celebrating or showing the eternal ironies of human existence. Types include screwball, dark/black, farce, slapstick, deadpan, parody, romantic comedy, etc. E.g. Wedding Party, Johnny English, Airplane and Scary movie.

3.1 Romantic comedy

Films with light-hearted, humorous plotlines, centred on romantic ideals such as that true love is able to surmount most obstacles. Examples include He’s Just Not That Into You,  “Wedding Crashers and Bridget Jones Diary series.

 

4. Drama films

Usually qualified with additional terms to denote the subgenre, e.g. costume drama, courtroom drama or comedy-drama. These terms tend to indicate a particular setting or subject-matter, or else they qualify the otherwise serious tone of a drama with elements that encourage a broader range of moods. Examples A Star is Born, Life of Pie and Dinner.

4.1 Melodrama

A sub-type of drama films that use plots that appeal to the heightened emotions of the audience. Melodramatic plots often deal with “crises of human emotion, failed romance or friendship, strained familial situations, tragedy, illness, neuroses, or emotional and physical hardship.” Also, called women’s movies, chick flicks (e.g. Fifty Shades of Grey, When Harry Met Sally, Pretty Woman). If they are targeted to a male audience, then they are called guy cry films (e.g. Saving Private Ryan, Furious 7 and Rocky series).

5. Epic films

Epic films often portray spectacles with the historic, ancient world, or biblical significance, e.g. Saving Private Ryan, Passion of Christ and The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

6. Horror films

A horror film is a film genre that seeks to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on their fears, revulsions and terror of the unknown. Horror may also overlap with the fantasy, supernatural fiction and thriller genres. Plots within the horror genre often involve the intrusion of an evil force, event, or personage into the everyday world. Prevalent elements include ghosts, extraterrestrials, vampires, werewolves, demons, satanism, gore, torture, vicious animals, evil witches, monsters, zombies, cannibals, psychopaths, natural or man-made disasters, and serial killers. Examples include Brain Dead, A Nightmare on Elm Street and Child’s Play.

6. Science fiction film

Also known as sci-fi, this genre uses speculative, fictional science-based depictions of phenomena that are not fully accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial life forms, alien worlds, extrasensory perception and time travel, along with futuristic elements such as spacecraft, robots, cyborgs, interstellar travel or other technologies. Examples include The Terminator, Avatar, Black Panther and The Martian.

7. Thrillers

Also known as suspense thrillers are characterised by excitement and suspense. The suspense element, found in most films’ plots, is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre. Tension is created by delaying what the audience sees as inevitable. Examples include The Dead Zone, Phone Booth and Fatal Attraction.

8. Other subgenres include

8.1 Coming-of-age (film) 

A film associated with difficult teen rites of passage (from adolescence to adulthood), the onset of puberty, the loss of naive innocence and childhood dreams, the experience of growing up, achieving sexual identity, etc.; aka teen films. Examples are Boyhood and American Pie.

8.2 Prison films

A very popular sub-genre with the film’s plot usually set within the walls of an institutional prison; themes involve imprisonment and/or escape, the effects on the characters involved and interactions between officers and inmates, and issues of justice/injustice; the prison flick sub-genre can be found in any major genre (animated, drama, comedy, musical, science fiction, exploitation, etc.). Examples include The Shawshank Redemption, Kiss of the Spider Woman and Lock Up.

8.3 Sex comedy

A humorous, light-hearted film with an improbable plot about sexual relationships and extra-marital affairs. It usually has various pairings between numerous characters, often characterised by slamming doors; aka sex farce or bedroom farce. Example include American Pie, What’s Good for the Goose and Some Like It Hot.