10 Movies That Changed Genre As They Went

Have you ever experienced this: you watch a movie, watch it, and suddenly at some point you stop understanding when and how you ended up exactly in such movie? Not because it has become worse or better, but because it has become categorically different.

Changing the genre within the same film while maintaining quality and interest is a very rare trick in cinema, but ten examples will definitely be typed. Watched? Do you agree? And get ready for spoilers!

From Dusk Till Dawn (1995)

Genre transition: crime road movie -> vampire horror.

Starting as a completely Tarantino film of those years in the style of Reservoir Dogs, True Love or Natural Born Killers, the picture of Robert Rodriguez makes a somersault, and the viewer, along with the main characters, suddenly find themselves in a mystical bar filled with vampires.

Like tough cops (2007)

Genre transition: parody British comedy -> detective thriller with powerful action scenes.

The iconic British comedy starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost suddenly turns into a big-budget action movie with cool shootouts and Hollywood explosions. In addition, this film has a rather frightening plot twist for a comedy.

Mother! (2017)

Genre transition: drama -> chaotic horror movie -> mysticism.

Darren Aronofsky’s parable is only disguised as a Hollywood movie with famous actors. The closer the final is, the stronger the audience is visited by the feeling: “We sat down to watch not this film at all.”

Titanic (1997)

Genre transition: melodrama -> disaster movie.

The romantic story of Rose and Jack crashes into the iceberg along with the ship itself, and then we are already following the most famous and detailed disaster in the history of cinema.

Psycho (1960)

Genre transition: crime detective -> horror.

The most classic example of genre scene change is, unsurprisingly, Alfred Hitchcock’s. The girl throws her boss and escapes from the city with a large sum of money. It seems to us that the film will focus on this criminal aspect. But no! Moreover, in the middle of the film, it turns out that the main character is not so main, and her entire storyline gives way to some other one.

Predator (1987)

Genre transition: military action movie -> fantasy.

An elite squad of American mercenaries land in the jungles of Guatemala and easily deal with their opponents. People. But then the action movie turns almost into a slasher in the jungle – with successive mysterious murders of heroes and an unknown maniac in a mask. Only at the end of the film does Arnold Schwarzenegger’s character realize that he has fallen into an unkind version of the movie “Alien”.

Screen test (1999)

Genre transition: melodrama -> creepy horror movie.

We take the already familiar effect “We sat down to watch a completely different movie”, multiply it by 4 times and add 100 disgusting points. Probably the most famous example of a movie taking a wrong turn. However, in the end, this Japanese horror even received a cult status, and not only at home.

Life is Beautiful (1997)

Genre transition: family comedy -> military drama.

The beginning of Roberto Benigni’s drama immerses the viewer in the pleasant atmosphere of some kind of “Roman Holiday”, and then quite suddenly switches to the horrors of the Holocaust.

Inferno (2007)

Genre transition: science fiction -> horror.

This sci-fi adventure movie by Danny Boyle looks like it’s going down the same path as Interstellar, but instead it’s veering off into the Alien path. And much more unexpectedly than the “Alien” itself.

Parasite (2019)

Genre transition: comedy -> drama -> thriller.

The film is a kaleidoscope that has almost everything. As the story progresses, the tone becomes darker, and the plot twists become more and more harsh and irreparable. There are even some horror elements here and there. Although we actually started watching a comedy!

What other transitions do you know?