Movie Genres

There are many different types of movies and these are called Genres. Movie Genres categorises the types of movies available for you to watch. Movie genres include Action Movies, Romance Movies and Comedy Movies. Often, Movies can overlap in Genres such as Romantic Comedy, Action Adventure or Action Crime Thriller movies. A more comprehensive list of Movie Genres is available to view below.

Some popular movie genres include:

Action movies: Action films usually involve the good guy bad guy storyline with violence or and physical force being used by both 'guys'. These types of films are usually crime films with martial arts fighting and other fighting skills or lots of explosions and gunfire like Rambo and the Die Hard movies.

Adventure movies: Adventure films are usually set in the past with an element of romance. Adventure genres usually blend with many other genres of film, such as action and science fiction which often playing a major part in most films.  These movies often aim for a family audience, making them one of the more profitable genres in the movie industry. The Indiana Jones film series is a prime example of this with a hero and heroine.

Biography movies: Biography movies are films that are the dramatised version of a real person’s life, or a representative of their life, which often capture either a historical moment in time or perhaps document their entire life. Sometimes referred to as “biopics”, these films are meant to be a representation of the central character’s life, and not necessarily a historical account. Generally, biography movies are used to reflect both the extraordinary events of an individual’s life and also the world that surrounds them.

Classic movies: Classic movies refer to films that were mainly produced in the mid twentieth century, sometimes referred to as the “golden years of Hollywood”. Movies produced during this period range in their styles, but this was an era known for its epic films. Also falling into this category are the many historical films that were highly popular during the 1940’s, 1950’s and 1960’s.

Comedy movies: Comedy films are made to make us laugh with many different types of comedy films being made today covering all genres of comedy. As with most movies today, Comedy movies combine with other film types like Romance and Action to provide a better product. Films such as When Harry Met Sally and Pretty Woman are examples of Romantic comedies.

Crime movies: Crime movies are perhaps one of the most diverse genres that is constantly developing and changing over the decades up to now. Its origins started with films that followed the adventures of criminals or gangsters of that era such as bank or train robberies. Evolving to the creations of darker and more sinister characters, such as films like The Big Sleep (1946). Followed by prison films to a combination in elements of a hard, cynical detective and violence. Moving into serial killer films, that explore the dark world of serial killers with the audience following detectives on the case.

Documentary movies: Documentary films are the non-fiction branch of the movies industry and are usually narrative-based that present aspects of life that mainstream audiences may or may not be familiar with. These films are oftened used to highlight an aspect of society or perhaps an individual’s story for the purpose of bringing an issue to the forefront.

Drama movies: Drama films revolve around the main character in a movie, which usually has an in-depth theme. Some examples of Drama movies are war dramas such as Schindler's List while films such as The Shawshank Redemption show strong themes.

Family movies: Family movies and Family films are one of the most popular genres which aims at a wide range of audiences and demographic compared to most other film genres. Often films in this genre have several layers to appease the different age range of the audiences, with aspects that suit children as young as five years old to adult ages of parents. These movies are generally have a G or PG rating.

Fantasy movies: Fantasy films usually involve some form of magic, make-believe creatures and exotic fantasy worlds. The real attraction of this genre is the unlimited directions a film can take, meaning that audiences can experience many different genres within the one film. Fantasy movies are aimed for adults and children alike with many fantasy films watched by both sets of audiences, examples of these would be the Star Wars series of movies and the Harry Potter Films.

Horror movies: Horror films usually have evil forces, characters or supernatural beings responsible for some form of violence designed to strike fear into the viewer. Horror films usually show characters such as vampires and monsters or human killers trying to kill the main characters in the movie. Horror movies really took off in the 1980s with A Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th, which featured Freddy, the slasher.

Mature movies: Mature movies or adult films first appeared in the early 1900’s and are mainly erotic in nature. Despite it's long history, the adult films industry remains a controversial topic for the majority of countries, particularly those with strict religious legal systems.

Mystery movies: Mystery films revolve around a main character or characters trying to solve a crime. These whodunit movies leave you in suspense usually giving up the perpetrator at the conclusion of the movie.

Romance movies: Romance films revolve around the romantic involvement of the two main characters. Romance movies generally have a happy ending as seen in recently released popular romance films such as Sleepless in Seattle and While You Were Sleeping.

Sci-Fi movies: Sci-Fi movies generally explore the potentials of technological and scientific advancement, and its impact on humanity and the world we live in. Many popular sci-fi movies can cover anything from time travel, space journeys to raising the dead, all presenting a universe or challenge that is not part of the audience’s regular world.

Thriller movies: Thriller movies are often designed and produced as a multi-layer film that offers mystery and suspense to the audience. Most thrillers are actually hybrid films that use characteristics of another type of genre to maintain audience interest and anticipation. These films are also known for their surprised plot twists and endings, often with many red herrings thrown in leading to the surprise reveal in the conclusion.

Teen movies: Teen movies are films that are aimed at teenage audiences. Generally these films have teen-aged central characters, dealing with the common issues and dramas of adolescent life. The most obvious and prevalent plotlines usually involve high school students and the various situations that can occur from the school year, parties, relationships, alcohol and drugs and the social cliques.

War movies: War films have a quite specific genre, and yet differs from the approach of the director and the plotline can be used to distinguish between these various movies. Majority of war movies have a strong political undercurrent, whether it is supporting the government or being more of an anti-war stance. Within war movies, the majority of the plot or setting is in the battlefields and fighting which provides the action for the film.