Genre
PHOTO: An illustration of vintage filmmaking equipment. © (Licensed Image)
What Are Movie Genres?
Primary genres, dozens of subgenres, mood & tone.
What are movie genres? Excellent question. Movie genres are labels that group films by shared storytelling patterns or stylistic choices. A film’s genre often hints at what you’ll get, from the kinds of characters and settings to the plot beats and overall tone. Action movies, for instance, tend to lean on high-energy set pieces like fights, chases, and dramatic slow-motion shots. Horror, meanwhile, is built to provoke tension, often using jump scares and a faster, more visceral pace than dialogue-heavy scenes.
How We “Code” Genres
If you’re familiar with Netflix’s coding system, we use a similar approach.
Sometimes clickbait-referred to as “Netflix’s online secret coding”, it’s really just a simple way to keep track of physical inventory — a carry-over from their DVD rentals-by-mail days. Think of it like a SKU or barcode.
For example, they categorize ‘action’ films under the inventory code ‘100107.’ So, browsing Netflix online, entering that code in a certain part of their URL, you’ll get a list of movies and TV shows that fall under the ‘action’ genre.
8FLiX follows the same coding. Our ‘action’ screenplays follow the same system: ‘8flix.com/browse/genre/1/100107‘ will bring you to our full inventory falling under that genre. Keep an eye on the 8FLiX URL when you browse our collection. We have about 140 unique codes that represent genres, mood, and tone of a given script.
The Primary 13 Genres
13 of the most cited genres.
| Action | Adventure | Comedy |
| Drama | Fantasy | Horror |
| Musical | Mystery | Romance |
| Sci-Fi | Sports | Thriller |
| Western |
There’s So Much More
How about subgenres? Or mood & tone?
‘Rom-com,’ or ‘romantic comedy,’ is a classic example of a subgenre. ‘Mockumentary’ and ‘parody’ are two other subgenres branching off from the parent genre, ‘comedy.’ Explore our subgenre archives to find individual links to some of the most popular.
8FLiX features over 140 subgenres, complete with each script’s inferred mood & tone. Click or tap the link for a deeper dive.
