Aaaaaand they’re out!
The genres for the 2015 48 Hour Film Project were revealed to the world last week. We thought we would look at examples of good and bad films for each genre (according to our tastes) to help guide our inspiration for whichever lucky genre we pull from the hat or get from the Random Generator.
The list below includes the core genres and the wild cards, and the ones we disagreed on. On competition day, if we get a core genre that really sucks for our team, we have the option to put back said sucky genre and select a new random genre from the wild cards. But! We can only do this once. Once you pull a wild card, you’re stuck with it.
Let us know in the comments what you think of our good and bad picks, or if there’s one that NEEDS to be in this list.
Core Genres
Buddy Film –
Good examples: Thelma & Louise; Rush Hour
Bad examples: Stop! or My Mom Will Shoot; Bulletproof Monk
Comedy
Good examples: Airplane; Office Space; Blazing Saddles; Friday; Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby
Bad examples: Evan Almighty; Bowfinger
Dark Comedy
Good examples: Fight Club; Shaun of the Dead; Mars Attacks!
Bad examples: Bad Santa
Detective/Cop
Good examples: Lethal Weapon; Bad Boys
Bad examples: Turner and Hooch
Drama
Good examples: Gone with the Wind; Titanic; Atonement
Bad examples: Twilight Series
Fantasy
Good examples: The Wizard of Oz; King Kong; Harry Potter 5; LOTR: The Fellowship
Bad examples: Howard the Duck; In the Name of the King
Film de Femme
Good examples: Original Sin; The Crush; Basic Instinct
Bad examples: Black Dahlia
Fish out of Water
Good examples: Splash (too literal?); Private Benjamin; Mr. Mom; Army of Darkness; Back to the Future; What About Bob?
Bad examples: Encino Man; Coneheads; BioDome
Holiday Film
Good examples: Scrooged; Home Alone; Christmas Vacation
Bad examples: A Christmas Story
Horror
Good examples: The Exorcist; Carrie; Aliens; Jaws
Bad examples: Blair Witch Project
Musical or Western
Good examples: The Sound of Music; Grease; Stagecoach; High Noon; Pitch Perfect; Maverick; Tombstone; Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
Bad examples: Rent; Lightning Jack
Romance
Good examples: Casablanca; Ghost; Love Actually; While You Were Sleeping; Sleepless in Seattle; An Affair to Remember
Bad examples: Bed of Roses; The Ugly Truth
Sci Fi
Good examples: Star Wars; Blade Runner; Tron; Big
Bad examples: Battlefield Earth; Dreamcatcher
Thriller/Suspense
Good examples: The Silence of the Lambs; Seven
Bad examples: Hannah
Wild Cards
Action/Adventure
Good examples: Raiders of the Lost Ark; Aliens; Terminator
Bad examples: Avengers: Age of Ultron
Coming of Age
Good examples: Juno; The Garden State; Finding Forrester, Easy A
Bad examples: Finding Forrester; EuroTrip; Cruel Intentions
Espionage
Good examples: Dr. No; Mission: Impossible
Bad examples: The Bourne Legacy
Family Film
Good examples: Cheaper by the Dozen; Rugrats; Black Beauty; Little Miss Sunshine; Lost in Space
Bad examples: Planet Terror
Inspirational Film
Good examples: Field of Dreams; The Natural; The Blind Side; Seabiscuit
Bad examples: Eat, Pray, Love
Mockumentary
Good examples: Borat; Best in Show
Bad examples: District 9
Period Piece
Good examples: Pride and Prejudice, Dangerous Liaisons, Amadeus, Selma
Bad examples:Gangs of New York (accent issues)
Superhero
Good examples: Batman Begins, Kick-Ass, Mystery Men, Avengers
Bad examples: Spiderman 3, Superman: Man of Steel; DareDevil; Elektra