Film Genre

To start getting ready to create my film trailer, I have researched genre in films. I looked at romantic comedy, and other people in my class focused on different genres and then presented their findings to us.

Horror
Horror films are known for their tense music, gore, jump scares and for generally manipulating the audience to feel fear. The roots of horror comes from literature, such as Mary Shelly's Frankenstein which is also a film. The first horror films were silent films, which then became a popular genre and Universal were known for their horrors. In the 1960s psychological horrors became more popular with Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho and The Shining. Nowadays, supernatural films are considered scary, whereas monsters used to be the main feature of horror films. There are also hybrid genres which are very popular, such as horror with comedy, teen, monster and slasher. Popular examples are The Rocky Horror Picture Show which is comedy, horror and musical and Unfriended which is teen and horror. Throughout the years, many film have been considered revolutionary such as The Blair Witch Project, then Paranormal Activity and more recently, Unfriended, which brings modern technology into horror films.

Action and Adventure
The action and adventure genre itself is a hybrid genre, combining action films with adventure films. They can both be combined with many other genres, for example Kill Bill combines action and kung fu and Mr and Mrs Smith which is romance and action. They feature fast moving plots, action, a good vs evil pollen, a male protagonist, exotic settings, special effects and they have high budgets. The first action and adventure film was The Great Train Robbery, but in the 1960s James Bond style films became popular and the action and adventure genre took off. In the 1980s high budget action and adventure films were created and in the 90s sequels to already existing films. Tim Burton's Batman progressed into the comic book sub genre which is very popular today, for example The Avengers films. In 2000 women began starring in films to widen their appeal, such as the Tomb Raider franchise, however the target market still remains with teenage boys and young males, who would use the films for escapism and to identify with the characters.

Crime and Gangster
Gangster is a sub genre of the crime genre, and generally focuses on organised crime such as gangs and the mob. These style of films tend to focus on he empire itself rather than the violence. Crime films on the other hand are much broader, and can follow the criminal, the person tracking down the criminal or both. They can also have an air of mystery where either the audience or the characters don't know who has done what, and they can also be inspired by real life events. They are set in big cities, as this provides the opportunity to show the 'criminal underworld' (seedy bars, florescent lights etc are trademarks of this genre). The Musketeers of Pig Alley is the first crime and gangster film, and has set the path for other films which are deemed classics, such as Guy Ritchies Snatch, Scarface and The Godfather. Crime and Gangster films are often criticised for 'glorifying' violence, but this violence makes them appealing to their target audience of males.