By Genres

Sometimes you do not want a country or a year, you want a feeling. A scare, a laugh, a long cry, a chase. This is the whole site sorted by what a film is trying to do to you. Every genre below links through to the reviews I have written in it.

I take genre seriously, because the so-called low ones have given us some of the greatest films ever made. A good horror film is as carefully built as any prestige drama, and a great comedy is harder to pull off than either. Pick a mood and have a dig.

Where to start

One way in for each of the big genres, the film I would use to show someone what it can do at its best.

The Dark Knight (Action) · The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (Adventure) · Spirited Away (Animation) · Forrest Gump (Comedy) · Goodfellas (Crime) · David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet (Documentary) · 12 Angry Men (Drama) · E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (Family) · Pan's Labyrinth (Fantasy) · Braveheart (History) · The Shining (Horror) · Straight Outta Compton (Music) · Chinatown (Mystery) · Casablanca (Romance) · Interstellar (Science Fiction) · Se7en (Thriller) · The Pianist (War) · The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (Western)

Every genre

Drama (476) · Action (361) · Comedy (339) · Thriller (282) · Adventure (264) · Science Fiction (231) · Crime (215) · Horror (201) · Animation (182) · Fantasy (142) · Family (138) · Documentary (109) · Romance (102) · Mystery (86) · War (43) · History (43) · Western (40) · Music (38) · TV Movie (18)

Last updated: May 2026.