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We humans categorize everything. It’s a core part of our being and begins as a survival strategy. Edible or not edible? Friend or Foe? We have big brains, so we’ve gone beyond the basics. Country or Western? Is the color of that dress salmon or coral?
More to the point, many movies can be slotted into different genres and it’s often simply true that a movie can fit into two (or more) genres. There are many obvious examples, like The Princess Bride is both a fantasy movie and a romcom. Heck, romcoms are a genre of their own and they are already both romance and comedy. What about a romcom in space? We’re gonna list some movies that are genre mashups, starting with some obvious ones, but there are some thinkers for you near the end!
Alien (1979)
Alien is obviously a horror film first and a scifi movie second, as everyone knows. There isn’t much outer space involved at all, really. It’s just your stock monster movie where our protagonists are trapped in a confined space with a monster killing off everyone, one by one by one. The Nostromo is simply the setting, much the same as a cabin in the woods or a haunted house would be the setting with the exact same plot. Alien even uses the late reveal of the monster and the Final Girl trope.
Blade Runner (1982)
Blade Runner is obviously a noir detective flick first and scifi/pre-steam punk movie second, as everyone knows. The added-in-post voice over makes it even more so, whether you like the narration or not. You could take all of the futuristic (it’s set in 2019) elements out of it and have Deckard (Harrison Ford) hunting down a gang in 1940s Los Angeles with a femme fatale who might be a member of the gang and it’d be the same movie.
Star Wars: Rogue One (2016)
Rogue One is a heist movie. They get the gang together and have an elaborate plan to infiltrate the casino – ahem! – I mean the Imperial base to, against all odds, steal the plans for the Death Star. Highly recommended: Set enough time aside to watch Rogue One followed immediately by Star Wars (1977). It’s really just one movie.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
This is a superhero movie. It was the first wuxia wire movie to break into mainstream American audiences because of its budget and marketing. I still remember chatting with friends back then who complained “That’s just not realistic! People can’t fly around!” In a superhero movie they can! Interestingly, the Taiwanese director of CTHD Ang Lee also directed the American superhero movie Hulk (2003) – which I liked.
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
The plot of this movie is revenge by Khan against Kirk for actions Kirk took 15 years ago. The final battle, however, makes it a submarine movie. It’s a battle between two submarines that can’t see each other, quietly, all unnecessary systems switched off… listening, listening as the tension builds. There she is! “Fire!” Bonus: ST:TOS Balance of Terror (1966, s1e14) is a true submarine movie between the visible Enterprise and an invisible, cloaked Romulan ship. In fact, the plot is the same as The Enemy Below (1957, starring Robert Mitchum), where a surface destroyer is hunted by a submarine that can’t be detected. In a single sitting, watch The Enemy Below first and then Balance of Terror immediately after and tell me it’s not a submarine episode.
The Magnificent Seven (1960) and Seven Samurai (1954)
This gets a little complex. Is The Magnificent Seven really a samurai movie? Or is Seven Samurai a western movie? The answer is: Yes. Both are what I like to call the “get the team together” genre. The Magnificent Seven is clearly a direct translation of the Akira Kurosawa film, but it’s also clear Seven Samurai is inspired by American westerns. The plot is that there’s some innocent villagers who have no money but need to be saved from a rampaging gang of bandits. The first act involves recruiting the reluctant heroes to the cause. There’s no money in it for them. Each hero has their own motivations for joining up, and each has strengths and flaws.
Let us know in the comments what are your favorite genre-bending movies.
- "In space, no one can hear you scream." A close encounter of the third kind becomes a Jaws-style nightmare when an alien invades a spacecraft in Ridley Scott's sci-fi horror classic. On the way home from a mission for the Company, the Nostromo's crew is woken up from hibernation by the ship's Mother computer to answer a distress signal from a nearby planet. Capt. Dallas's (Tom Skerritt) rescue tea
- Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, Veronica Cartwright (Actors)
- Ridley Scott (Director) - Walter Hill (Producer)
- Blu-ray
- Multiple Formats, AC-3, Blu-ray
- English (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled)
![Rogue One: A Star Wars Story [Blu-ray+DVD+Digital HD]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/517aCRbunUL._SL160_.jpg)
- Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Alan Tudyk (Actors)
- Gareth Edwards (Director) - Screenplay by Chris Weitz and Tony Gilroy (Writer)
- French, Spanish, English (Subtitles)
- An epic set against the breathtaking landscapes of ancient China, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon combines the exhilarating martial arts choreography by Yuen Wo-Ping (The Matrix) with the sensitivity and classical storytelling of an Ang Lee film. The result is something truly unexpected: romantic, emotionally powerful entertainment.
- Chow Yun Fat, Michelle Yeoh, Zhang Ziyi (Actors)
- Ang Lee (Director) - Ang Lee (Producer)
![Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (Restored) [Blu-ray]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51z2CnHJSyL._SL160_.jpg)
- Factory sealed DVD
- James Doohan, Walter Koenig, Leonard Nimoy (Actors)
- Portuguese, French, English, Spanish (Subtitles)
![Seven Samurai (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray] by Criterion by Akira Kurosawa](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41e-a+dOzGL._SL160_.jpg)
![The Magnificent Seven (1960) - Collector's Edition 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray [4K UHD]- English](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51jz5UXLH5L._SL160_.jpg)
- Various (Actor)
- Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)