Every filmmaking style and narrative format in cinema has a genesis, and upon close inspection, we can trace the film that started it all. But, how do new subgenres pop up? It all stems from the desire to stand out. In the crowded and competitive Hollywood space, it’s risky to do what everyone else is doing. Such a decision might seem like the safest bet, but critics will always use the best past offerings in that particular category to measure the rest, and, in most cases, the new films fall short.
Many filmmakers, therefore, go to great lengths to make their projects stand out and, while doing so, some accidentally (or intentionally create) fresh subgenres. Some of the new categories remain popular for years, while others, like flames on paper, only last for a short period before everyone moves on to other things. Whatever the durability, fans will forever be glad that these subgenres were birthed, and the teams behind certain movies will always receive credit for creating them.
10Cannibal Holocaust (1980)
Subgenre: Found Footage Horror
Found footage horrorcomprises films where the events are presented as if they are video recordings. It’s often implied that the recording was done by one of the main characters or by a random person who dropped the recording device on the ground. Because the people who filmed the events were in a frantic state, movies of this kind tend to heavily rely on the “shaky camera” technique. Additionally, some of the footage appears raw, just as is the case inCannibal Holocaust.
Implications for the Director
The film’s plot revolves around a professor who heads to an Amazon forest to rescue a documentary crew that went there to document the activities of a cannibalistic tribe. He chances upon videos that they recorded, and what he sees is indeed shocking. So realistic are these recordings that they were presumed to be real footage upon the film’s release, resulting in the prosecution of director Ruggero Deodato. Luckily, he avoided jail term by presenting the so-called “victims” he was accused of murdering. Many didn’t understand the movie at first, but with time, the idea sunk in, prompting other directors to do something similar.Stream on Kanopy
9The Maltese Falcon (1941)
Subgenre: Film Noir
The Maltese Falcon
The film noir subgenre is a branch of the crime drama genre. The use of characters with cynical viewpoints and motivations is mainly what makes it distinctive. For these movies, the cinematography also makes use of low-key, black-and-white lighting, creating a gloomy atmosphere. Today, the genre has morphed into neo-noir, so many of theessential film noir flicksare ‘40s, and ’50s releases, withThe Maltese Falconbeing the firstborn baby.
Everyone Is a Remorseless Sinner
It’s rare to find someone with a great moral compass in a film noir, and inThe Maltese Falcon,even the protagonist, Sam Spade (Humphrey Bogart), is poorly behaved. Even though he is a great private detective, ethical lines are so blurred for him that he sleeps with his colleague’s wife. On top of that, the subgenre is known for having a mandatory femme fatale, whom no man can resist, and is always up to no good. In this case, it is Brigid O’Shaughnessy (Mary Astor). Most importantly, there has to be a compelling crime, and here, it is the theft of a jewel-encrusted falcon statuette.Stream on Tubi
8Metropolis (1927)
Subgenre: Cyberpunk
Metropolis
Technological advancements ought to make societies better, but in cyberpunk movies, the citizens are always shown to be disgruntled. The events occur in dystopian settings where things like cybernetics and artificial intelligence are the norm. Most people are shown to be suffering, while the rich and mega-corporations reap huge rewards from the structures that have been put in place. This kind of narrative can be traced back to Fritz Lang’sMetropolis.
Skyscrapers for the Rich
BeforeMetropolis, the kind of dystopian settings described above didn’t exist. In the film, the poor are literally below the rich. They live on the ground, where they are forced to settle for commodity scarcities and poor sanitation, while the rich live in abundance in tall skyscrapers. Additionally, the poor are required to work hard to power the machines that keep the skyscrapers fully functional. After some time, the city master’s empathetic son teams up with a worker to end the classism.Stream on Roku
7Peeping Tom (1960)
Subgenre: Slasher Horror
Slasher horror normally follows one deranged person as they go on a murdering spree. The person’s face can either be hidden, for their identity to be revealed later on, or they simply rack up their body counts without a care in the world. Whilepopular ‘80s slasher moviesare normally considered the best of the subgenre, credit goes to Michael Powell’sPeeping Tomfor pioneering the field.
Powell Paid the Price for Creating This Scary Flick
BeforePeeping Tom,the movie-going public was used to supernatural horror. When they were presented with a story about a camera operator who kills women and records their dying moments, it hit too close to home. Director Michael Powell was heavily criticized, and his career suffered greatly as a result. It would take years for other directors to embrace the subgenre, and fans will forever be glad that Powell’s work didn’t go to waste.Stream on Roku
Related:The Spaghetti Western Subgenre, Explained
6Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
Subgenre: Children’s Animation
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfsis often wrongfully credited with being the first animated movie. That honor should go toEl Apóstolby Argentinean director, Quirino Cristiani, which premiered in November 1917. The 1937 Disney film, on the other hand, launched the children’s animation subgenre. This category features fun stories with cartoon-like characters that are used for comical or educational purposes.
A Perfect Adaptation
With perfectly drawn cel-animated characters and a plot emphasizing the importance of friendship, it laid a perfect foundation for the subgenre. Based on the similarly titled 1812 German tale by the Brothers Grimm, the film revolves around a princess who bonds with a group of dwarfs after being exiled by her malicious stepmother. Its massive success would help establish Disney as a powerhouse in Hollywood.Stream on Disney+
5Frankenstein (1931)
Subgenre: Monster
There is along list ofFrankensteinmovies, but the first adaptation of Mary Shelby’s novel, 1931’sFrankenstein, is often considered superior. This film is also thought of as the first in the monster subgenre. This space is known for featuring villainous monsters keen on attacking ordinary humans for their pleasure. Though it is primarily a horror offshoot, movies in the category might also include fantasy, science fiction, and comedy elements.
The Template Is Still Popular
Frankensteinrevolves around a scientist who digs up corpses to get body parts that he can use to assemble a new creature. His anatomy engineering procedure goes surprisingly well, but the consequences are terrible. Because of the movie’s success, many other monster projects also attempt to use science to explain how monsters came into existence. Some do it well, but not as well as the film that started it all.Rent on AppleTV
4Sweet Sweetback’s Badasssss Song (1971)
Subgenre: Blaxploitation
The term “Blaxploitation” was coined by Junius Griffin — the President of the Beverly Hills–Hollywood NAACP branch — back in 1972. It is used to describe action films that feature Black protagonists and dive deep into Black stereotypes while providing insight into Black culture. The subgenre was birthed shortly after the Civil Rights era, when Hollywood began using Black actors in lead roles as opposed to supporting roles that had been unfairly reserved for them in the past.Sweet Sweetback’s Badassss Songis often credited as the pioneer in this space, and there is always a debate about which, between it andShaft, is thegreatest Blaxploitation film of all time.
Every Blaxploitation Protagonist Is Modeled After Sweetback
The movie’s protagonist, Sweetback (Marion Van Peebles), impressed audiences immediately after he appeared on the screen. He was a symbol of oppression, having suffered a lot while growing up in a brothel, only to be falsely accused of murder by white officers. Additionally, he was sexually liberated, a trait many heroes in the subgenre share. Most importantly, he could defeat just about anyone in a fight. Everyone loved the story, so plenty more similar action movies were made.Rent on Prime Video
Related:The 10 Best Movies That Blend Martial Arts with Other Genres
3Spies (1928)
Subgenre: Spy Fiction
Spy fiction as a subgenre was born as early as the 19th Century, with novels like James Cooper’sThe SpyandThe Bravobeing the first to feature secret agents. However, it wasn’t until the late-1920s that the subgenre made its debut in cinema. Today, movies in this particular space rely on espionage as a major plot device and rely on spies who are a lot more flamboyant and daring than real-world spies.
A Bond-Like Masterpiece
The German silent film,Spies (Spione),has all the ingredients that often make the subgenre tasty. There is a femme fatale, who happens to be in bed with the villain, and a clever agent, who is assigned a specific number (Agent 326). In addition to that, the characters are plucked from all corners of the globe, hence enabling the mandatory globetrotting. This is the kind of template Ian Fleming would adopt for his James Bond novels, eventually leading to the birth of the 007 films, and since then, the subgenre has flourished.Stream on YouTube
Subgenre: Modern Zombie Horror
Night of the Living Dead
Modern zombie horror strictly avoids swimming in supernatural waters. Instead, the undead’s reanimation is triggered by scientific factors (virus, nuclear attack, etc), and anyone they bite turns into one of them. Early films like Victor Halperin’sWhite Zombieand Jacques Tourner’sI Walked with a Zombie(1943) are, therefore, normally excluded from this category because the zombies come to life because of voodoo practices. George Romero’sNight of the Living Deadis thus considered the pioneer in the area, and arguably thefinest zombie movie ever made.
The Barricade Strategy
One thing about the movie that can be found in every other zombie flick is the barricade strategy. The zombies are coming, so the humans quickly come up with barricading measures. Here, a group hides in a house after dead bodies become reanimated and begin searching for humans to munch on. Slowly, the zombies begin to find ways to break in. But what caused it all? Radiation from an uncrewed spacecraft that has just left Venus.Stream on Max
1Enter the Dragon (1973)
Subgenre: Brucesploitation
Enter the Dragon
Bruce Lee plays a martial-arts expert determined to help capture the narcotics dealer whose gang was responsible for the death of his sister. Lee enters a kung fu competition in an attempt to fight his way to the dealer’s headquarters with the help of some friends.
After Bruce Lee’s death,Enter the Dragonbecame so successful internationally renowned that Hong Kong directors felt the need to capitalize on the new martial arts hype. Several new martial arts films featuring actors that looked just like Lee (“Lee-alikes”) were made. Some of the actors even changed their names to variations of the star’s name, notably Bruce Le and Bruce Li. There is obviously an ethical question surrounding this move, but the subgenre is dead now, so all that can be put to rest.
A Total Fight-Fest
Enter the Dragon’s plot is very thin, and the focus remains on showcasing the star’s abs and fighting skills. The protagonist (lazily named Bruce Lee, too) needs to get his hands on the drug lord who killed his sister, and to do so, he has to participate in a fighting tournament first. The competition isn’t at all necessary. It simply exists to make the hero beat up as many people as possible, and that’s the route many other Brucesploitation films follow.Stream on Tubi
