The word ‘genre’ translates from French to ‘kind’ or ‘type,’ and therefore allows us to describe what kinda of film a movie is. It may be a horror, comedy, thriller, or even a combination of these, but what tells the audience what genre the film belongs to, are the conventions or intent of the film. Films can be categorized into genres in two ways; the subject matter/conventions, or the intended emotional response from audiences.

There are certain patterns which are event among films of the same genre. For example, fast cutting between shots is commonly seen is action films, horror films often feature some sort of ‘monster’ which poses a threat to humanity. Once you begin to watch numerous films which a particular genre, it is easy to identity the conventions of that genre.

While we can say that a film is a horror, or thriller, quite often a film may have characteristics of two or more genres. This is were subgenres come into play. For example, The Sixth Sense has components of both the thriller and horror genre. The supernatural threat on a young and vulnerable character is consistent of a horror film. However, it also has elements of a thriller as it plays with the audiences minds and builds suspense. Additionally, there is an adult authoritative character which must over come his own problems to solve the bigger picture. Thus this blending of genres often appeal to different audiences and play with the conventions of other films to make something new.