The term 'genre movie'?

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  • The term 'genre movie'?

    I've always been perplexed by this term.

    All films surely run under the banner of a particular genre(s). For instance westerns, horrors, comedies, thrillers, romantic-comedies, etc.

    All films fall under a certain genre.

    So what does it mean when someone says a particular film is a 'genre movie'?
    Last edited by Done Deal Pro; 10-09-2020, 04:39 PM. Reason: Added tags

  • #2
    Re: The term 'genre movie'?

    This is from an earlier discussion on it: http://messageboard.donedealpro.com/...ad.php?t=60957

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    I think the OP is talking about the phrase as in 'This distributor handles genre films' rather than 'Which genre is this film ?'.

    In that context a 'genre film' seems to be basically a euphemism for 'low budget horror'.

    It used to be more general - kinda like a 'B movie' .. but more and more I'm just seeing it as a euphemism for cheaply made horror. I suspect that it's probably a bit wider than that (maybe cheaply made martial arts as well) but not too much wider.

    Clearly the phrase logically makes no sense (since everything belongs to some genre) ... but if I started complaining about bits of the English language that are nonsensical I'd never finish this post !

    Mac
    --------------------
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    • #3
      Re: The term 'genre movie'?

      "Genre" has nothing to do cheaply made.
      It's stuff that has an established audience. Mainly Sci-Fi & Horror.
      Martial arts I guess but less so than the others.

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      • #4
        Re: The term 'genre movie'?

        Originally posted by Matt the Cat View Post
        "Genre" has nothing to do cheaply made.
        It's stuff that has an established audience. Mainly Sci-Fi & Horror.
        Yes. All films fall within a particular genre and the term varies a bit depending on the context in which it is used, but in this case it usually refers to marketing - it means a specific genre for which there is a known audience where sales figures can be predicted with a degree of reliability.
        "Friends make the worst enemies." Frank Underwood

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        • #5
          Re: The term 'genre movie'?

          It seems that when people talk of a "genre movie" or "genre tv" they often refer to fantasy-horror-scifi. For instance, Jeff Goldsmith has a couple of podcasts with a Genre TV Writing Panel at ComiC-Con, I think, and those are writers of shows like Eureka, TTSCC, Haven, Sanctuary...

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          • #6
            Re: The term 'genre movie'?

            Good answers here, I'll just add a bit to them.

            Genre movies are usually archetypes of their genres, movies that reside solidly within their particular genre. Genre-crossing is a widespread practice now, so if a studio makes genre films they're also usually focused on the single genre like the straight sci-fi or horror, not a sci-fi rom-com or a horror drama.
            Vancouver Screenwriters Meetup Group

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            • #7
              Re: The term 'genre movie'?

              Sorry, I'm still not fully understanding the term 'genre movie'. People seem to have different ideas and understandings of what the term actually means and refers to.

              If I am to understand you ReneC, you're saying that a 'genre movie' is simply a movie that fits into one, and only one, genre (whatever that genre happens to be)?

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              • #8
                Re: The term 'genre movie'?

                Originally posted by fanatic_about_film View Post
                Sorry, I'm still not fully understanding the term 'genre movie'. People seem to have different ideas and understandings of what the term actually means and refers to.

                If I am to understand you ReneC, you're saying that a 'genre movie' is simply a movie that fits into one, and only one, genre (whatever that genre happens to be)?
                In addition to what others said here already, genre movies are not contemporary dramas or anything that could take place in real life, they're always sci-fi or fantasy or historical or supernatural or torture porn or whatever else besides. I don't think comedies are ever considered genre movies regardless of whatever genre they cross with.

                Dune is pure sci-fi. The LOTR Trilogy is pure fantasy. But Inception is contemporary and crosses genres, not residing within the established boundaries of a genre, so I wouldn't consider it to be a genre film. I would consider the Matrix Trilogy to be genre films despite crossing into other genres, including drama, because they respect the rules of all their genres.
                Last edited by ReneC; 02-14-2012, 01:29 PM.
                Vancouver Screenwriters Meetup Group

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                • #9
                  Re: The term 'genre movie'?

                  I've always understood the term to mean formulaic and cheap. A commodity. B-movies. Basically, they're "if I make this movie for X dollars and have Y naked women and Z explosions, I can sell it."

                  And I would think that you could absolutely have genre comedies - after Porky's came out, there were a million ripoffs that were the same movie - tits and guys getting laid.

                  They're the film equivalent of Clive Cussler novels.

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                  • #10
                    Re: The term 'genre movie'?

                    Many people in this town refer to sci-fi, horror and fantasy films, along with action, crime and maybe even westerns too on occasion, as genre films. Yes, every film falls into some genre, thus it's kind of an odd way to group certain "specialty" or daresay niche films together, but that's how it goes many times when talking with people about projects.

                    Maybe another way of looking at is a script or film which falls into a clearly defined milieu. Drama and comedy are broad and don't have any real specific elements to them that would set them apart from other films as the previously mentioned genres would, relatively speaking. An audience expects certain key elements, formulas and "rules" to exist in a specific genre project and in most cases can quickly name what they are.

                    It's a short hand that's not perfect and probably gets thrown around a bit more than it should be.
                    Will
                    Done Deal Pro
                    www.donedealpro.com

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                    • #11
                      Re: The term 'genre movie'?

                      I've seen that definition of genre films before, Jeff, and it's certainly a widely accepted use of the term. I agree it's about the winning formula, X + Y = Z profits, but it's not just about making the cheapest B-movies to make money. The formula extends to the genre elements, that all sci-fi genre films will share the same key elements and never break the rules established by the genre because that's the formula that drives the profit prediction. You don't mess with it because then you're messing with audience expectations, conscious or not. You make a genre film like every other successful genre film in that genre and you can expect to make Z profit on your X + Y investments.

                      ETA: I've repeated some of what Will posted above. It's not deliberate, I was writing this when he posted.
                      Vancouver Screenwriters Meetup Group

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                      • #12
                        Re: The term 'genre movie'?

                        Originally posted by ReneC View Post
                        it's not just about making the cheapest B-movies to make money.
                        I think by definition, since they're formulaic products that can count on a certain return, they try to keep costs as low as possible. No straight to DVD movie is going to break through a certain ceiling, no matter how much a studio puts into them.

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                        • #13
                          Re: The term 'genre movie'?

                          I believe the term "genre movie" probably derives from the fiction world, which is commonly divided into "genre fiction" and "literary fiction."

                          Genre fiction is everything that has its own separate section in the bookstore, e.g., horror, sci-fi, romance, mystery, etc.

                          Literary fiction refers to supposedly more high-minded and sophisticated novels, which basically equates to dramas in the movie world. There aren't many comedic novelists, but their novels are generally included under the literary fiction rubric, so perhaps movie comedies also belong in the non-genre category.

                          Genre fiction has the reputation of being crappy low-quality schlock, but there are genre writers whose prose rivals that of the most critically celebrated "serious" writers, and conversely there is an enormous amount of deathly dull and poorly written literary fiction produced each year. Same thing applies in the movie world. All B-movies, I'm guessing, were genre movies (a crappy low-budget film that's not a genre film is called a "Sundance project"). Some companies -- Dimension, Summit, et al -- are considered genre companies because they mostly do horror, thriller, teen comedy, etc., and aren't at all interested in bankrolling high-minded dramas.

                          .

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                          • #14
                            Re: The term 'genre movie'?

                            Is it just me, or is "genre film" also often a euphemism for "we're not interested?"

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                            • #15
                              Re: The term 'genre movie'?

                              Originally posted by BurOak View Post
                              Is it just me, or is "genre film" also often a euphemism for "we're not interested?"
                              Guess it depends on who you are talking to, for me the opposite has been true.
                              I stick to Genre. By that I mean Horror and Sci-Fi.

                              Distributers seem to use the term a little differently to most, they want to file everything in a box. I often hear "Quirky Americana" A category spawned by the likes of Napolean Dynamite, Little miss Sunshine etc.....

                              Anyhow sticking to genre has worked for me so far. (bare in mind this is from a Writer/Director POV).

                              Imho, You sell a movie on Star Power, or Genre. Or... (when the budget gets up to a certain level) both.

                              That's because most Horror/Sci fi fans couldn't give a **** if George Clooney is in the movie, in fact they prefer that he isn't, because it detracts from the reality of the experience. Horror fans just want a scary experience, no-name actors are fine, as long as their performances stand up.

                              Not many mainstream dramas get good numbers at the box office without an A-list cast.

                              However, there are plenty of Horror/Sci Fi movies that have done pretty well without any stars. District 9, Paranormal Douchebags, Monsters, Moon, Chronicle is getting some traction I think.

                              In fact, I can't think of any new Writer/Directors that have "broken out"
                              with a short or feature that falls into "straight drama".

                              I guess people differ on their definitions here, but I still consider cross overs to be genre. The Alien, Predator and Terminator movies all tick Horror and Sci Fi boxes, yet I would still stick them in the "genre" category.
                              Last edited by Done Deal Pro; 02-15-2012, 06:51 AM. Reason: Added quote code.

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