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Just when you think you know where these films are going... From chilling psychological thrillers to unexpected sci-fi twists, join us as we explore cinema's most dramatic mid-movie transformations! These daring films pull the rug out from under audiences, morphing from romance to horror, comedy to thriller, or drama to full-blown apocalypse with masterful precision.
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00:00Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the best movies that pulled
00:11major genre switcheroos partway through. We'll be discussing specific details about these movies,
00:17so a spoiler warning is now in effect.
00:20Number 20. Hot Fuzz
00:30The Three Flavors Cornetto trilogy was never meant to stick to one genre. The second installment,
00:46Hot Fuzz, is a worthy testament to that, as its loving spoof of action tropes ends up taking
00:52on multiple forms. Following a pair of mismatched cops investigating a series of murders in a
00:58peaceful community, the movie takes hysterical pleasure in sending up a variety of movies.
01:03He loves him so much, and he's firing his gun up in the air, and he's like,
01:06Oh!
01:07That's it.
01:08Have you ever fired your gun up in the air and gone, Ah!
01:10No, I have not ever fired my gun up in the air and gone, Ah!
01:13Between its lead's undeniable bromance to its over-the-top violence, it's a clever exercise
01:19in director Edgar Wright's trademark gift for visual humor. But Hot Fuzz exceeds its own
01:24expectations with an epic finale that embraces everything great about the genre. By the end,
01:30it proves itself just as action-packed as any of the movies it makes fun of.
01:38Nice one, Doris.
01:39Nothing like a bit of girl on girl.
01:43Number 19, Triangle of Sadness.
01:46No.
01:47No?
01:48No.
01:49What?
01:51You say no to me?
01:52No, no.
01:53Oh, so it's yes?
01:53Yeah, no.
01:54Yes or no?
01:56I'm saying, ah.
01:57This Palme d'Or winning satire begins as exactly that. Triangle of Sadness follows a supermodel
02:04couple who encounter a variety of larger-than-life guests aboard a luxury yacht, all while acting on
02:10their own superficial tendencies. It's an outrageous black comedy on the high seas, showcasing people
02:16at their most unbearable, which makes it oddly fulfilling as the movie takes a hard pivot toward
02:21a deserted island after the ship is attacked by pirates.
02:25It's here that Triangle of Sadness takes on elements of the survival genre, as the wealthiest
02:35survivors are left with few resources and little knowledge on how to fend for themselves. But by
02:41flipping the social pyramid completely on its head, the movie always maintains its insightful
02:46commentary on class and greed.
02:48I go fishing every day and make fire.
02:50I know, I know.
02:51I'm responsible for everybody here.
02:52I know, I know, I'm sorry, I know.
02:53Shouldn't that give me some kind of advantage?
02:55Yeah, yeah, of course.
02:57Number 18, In the Bedroom.
03:00He said, Frank, I don't think Jason really understands girls.
03:04Oh, he did it.
03:06He did it.
03:07Although its title may suggest something a bit spicier, In the Bedroom is actually an
03:14intimate, character-driven drama.
03:16The Oscar-nominated movie centers on Ruth and Matt Fowler, as they learned of a romance
03:21between their son Frank and the recently divorced Natalie.
03:24It's an effective look at emotional repression and the difficulties of communication, but one
03:29that gives us reason to believe the Fowlers will work things out.
03:33That is, until Frank is shockingly killed by Natalie's ex-husband Richard.
03:38No!
03:41After the latter is let off easy, the grief-laden movie veers into revenge territory, as Matt's
03:47inability to cope leads him to take drastic actions of his own.
03:51The tonal shift is swift and surprising, but nevertheless enhances the movie's complicated
03:56portrayal of relatable issues.
03:58Turn it off, leave the lights on.
04:01Is this your cabin, Dr. Fowler?
04:07No, it isn't.
04:08Let's get the bags.
04:10Number 17.
04:11Miracle Mile.
04:12No, you go back to your hotel and clean your spit valve and take a nap, because you're
04:17going to need all your energy tonight.
04:20I think I'm going to head back and take a nap.
04:23Okay.
04:24Some of the best movies convince us we've seen their stories before, only to reveal that
04:29we're seeing something entirely new.
04:31That's precisely what happens as Miracle Mile sets us up for a charming, if somewhat by
04:36the numbers, rom-com.
04:37But just as the meet cute between Harry and Julie blossoms into the promise of a date,
04:42Harry is informed that the world is about to end.
04:45What happened to Chip?
04:46He was just joking, right?
04:48Forget everything you just heard, and go back to sleep.
04:52Hey!
04:53The revelation is nothing less than expected, and the movie quickly turns into an apocalyptic
05:01thriller that sees the two lovebirds trying to keep safe, as things fall apart around them.
05:06While plenty of movies have treated the apocalypse with irreverence, Miracle Mile is the rare case
05:11of a movie that balances a serious situation with both cheeriness and dead-eyed severity.
05:17You and me, Harry?
05:24Who and me?
05:26Number 16, Sorry to Bother You.
05:29So wait, are you telling me you sell slave labor to companies over the phone?
05:34Hot damn it!
05:35You are a sharp one.
05:37Easily one of the most original movies on this list, Sorry to Bother You puts the absurd in absurdist comedy.
05:44Starring Lakeith Stanfield as a telemarketer who discovers the secret to excelling in the corporate world,
05:50it's an abrasive, yet prescient deconstruction of capitalism.
05:54But its true brilliance is how it delicately employs multiple genres to accomplish its goals.
06:00When Stanfield's Cassius Green discovers his company's plan to turn employees into human-horse hybrids,
06:06the movie's bizarreness level shoots through the roof.
06:13The satire of the first half looks downright straightforward compared to the film's transition into surreal sci-fi.
06:22But in taking the notion of workhorses literally,
06:25the movie's skewering of labor exploitation demonstrates a hard-earned level of wisdom that most movies wish they could reach.
06:41Number 15, The Sound of Music.
06:43The Sound of Music is one of the most well-rounded musicals out there,
06:55managing a diverse range of emotional beats across its three-hour runtime.
07:00As Maria teaches the von Trapp children about the joys of music and romances their widower father George,
07:07the movie leaves us confident that the family is bound for a happy ending.
07:11And they are, but not before the movie's feel-good vibe is hit with a heavy dose of reality.
07:16With George commissioned to join the Nazi party during the annexation of Austria,
07:21lightheartedness is replaced with suspense as the dramedy takes on the form of an escape thriller.
07:27You were sent a telegram which you did not answer.
07:30A telegram from Admiral von Schreiber of the Navy of the Third Reich.
07:33I was under the impression, Zeller, that the contents of telegrams in Austria are private.
07:39Incredibly, the movie remains thematically sound,
07:42refashioning its embrace of love and faith into a heroic stance for one's beliefs and country.
07:48They're gone!
07:58Number 14. Gone Girl
08:01The primal questions of any marriage.
08:04What are you thinking?
08:07How are you feeling?
08:09What have we done to each other?
08:11David Fincher knows a thing or two about jaw-dropping plot twists.
08:15But Gone Girl goes above and beyond in Flipping the Script.
08:18When Amy Dunn mysteriously disappears on her anniversary,
08:22her husband Nick's strange behavior immediately paints him as a suspect.
08:26But the movie throws us a major curveball just when we,
08:30along with Detective Boney, think we have all the evidence we need.
08:34Technically missing. Soon to be presumed dead.
08:39Amy is actually alive and well,
08:41having planted evidence to frame Nick on account of his infidelity.
08:45Not only that, but the diary entries used to narrate the investigation are fake too.
08:50In mere minutes, a straightforward murder mystery gives way to a psychological thriller of the highest order,
08:56with the roles of victim and culprit completely switched around.
09:00We're gonna be parents.
09:02Oh, my goodness.
09:06Oh, how exciting. Oh, cute.
09:08Number 13. Life is Beautiful.
09:14Buongiorno, Vicipeza.
09:16As with The Sound of Music, Life is Beautiful is another historical dramedy
09:20whose uplifting tone can't overpower the inevitability of real-world events.
09:25The movie captures two very different chapters in the life of Guido Orefiche,
09:30a Jewish man living in fascist Italy.
09:32The first, following his relationship and marriage to his wife Dora,
09:36is a delightful romantic comedy.
09:38The second, however, is a harrowing drama that sees Guido attempting to protect his young son from the horrors of the Holocaust.
09:46His valiant effort to convince the boy that their persecution is part of an elaborate game ensures that the movie retains some of its initial optimism.
10:04But the weight of the movie's events, not to mention its genre alteration, is still deeply felt nonetheless.
10:10If you don't find yourself tonight, we make 60 points.
10:14How many points do we have?
10:16We have 940 points.
10:1860?
10:191,000.
10:201,000.
10:211,000.
10:221,000.
10:231,000.
10:241,000.
10:252,000.
10:261,000.
10:271,000.
10:281,000.
10:292,000.
10:30Number 12, The Prestige.
10:31Be very careful giving someone that power over you.
10:32This outing from director Christopher Nolan encompasses some of his most notable storytelling qualities,
10:36particularly his use of non-linear narratives.
10:39Starring Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman as rival magicians,
10:43the mystery that fuels their game of one-upmanship could have propelled the prestige to powerful
10:48results on its own. But Nolan pulls off his own sleight of hand with the introduction of
10:53David Bowie's Nikola Tesla. With the real-life scientist building a mysterious device to aid
10:58Jackman's Robert Angier, the period thriller almost instantly morphs into a sci-fi piece.
11:09This switch pays dividends for the movie, broadening the scope of Nolan's vision while
11:15also illuminating new threads to the increasingly absorbing story. Not to mention,
11:20it brings loads of clarity to the movie's bombshell final twist.
11:25Then you got to save something. Very special.
11:30Number 11. 10 Cloverfield Lane. 10 Cloverfield Lane is arguably even more frightening than its
11:36predecessor due to the human element. The first half of the movie serves as a mystery thriller,
11:41as Michelle is abducted by a seemingly crazy man who is telling her stories of a possible alien
11:46invasion and poisoned air.
11:48An attack. A big one. I'm not sure yet if it's chemical or nuclear, but down here we're safe.
11:56Michelle naturally doesn't believe it, and the flick follows her attempts to escape the bunker.
12:00The final act of the movie, however, completely does away with the thriller aspect and goes straight
12:05into science fiction, with Michelle escaping the bunker and battling an alien.
12:17The enormous shift understandably put off some viewers who were enjoying the ambiguous abduction story,
12:22but others welcomed it having an actual Cloverfield connection.
12:36Number 10. Sinners.
12:47Much like another movie on this list,
12:49this newfound classic doesn't exactly set us up for the wild turn of its second half,
12:54which sees a group of lively vampires descend upon a 1930s juke joint. Rather,
12:59Sinners opens as a stirring crime drama about proprietors smoke and stack more. The two return
13:05home to the Mississippi Delta, where ghosts of their past and new horrors await in equal measure.
13:11Incorporating elements of the Western and musical genres,
13:15its authentic portrayal of racial politics transcends time and space,
13:19to offer thought-provoking lessons for modern audiences.
13:34Even its transition to vampire action enhances this commentary, with the bloodsuckers serving as
13:39symptoms of larger problems while also offering their victims a tempting offer to escape their troubles.
13:46This world already left you for dead. Won't let you build. Won't let you fellowship.
13:53We will do just that. Together.
13:56Number 9. Parasite.
13:58If there's one thing this Best Picture winner can't be accused of, it's being predictable. In fact,
14:12the various genre shifts are part of the reason Parasite is able to raise serious concerns about
14:17wealth and inequality. Starting off as a dark comedy, the movie follows the exploits of the impoverished
14:23Kim family, as they cleverly con their way into working for the well-to-do parks. But as their
14:29ruse becomes more difficult to uphold, so does the movie's adherence to one tone.
14:40Throwing several unsettling developments into the family's scheme, Parasite ingeniously maintains
14:46its edge under the lens of entirely different genres. Combining elements of drama and thriller,
14:51the movie completely reinvents itself by its final scene, and the results continue to speak for
14:57themselves.
15:05Number 8. Full Metal Jacket.
15:07You will not laugh. You will not cry. You will learn by the numbers. I will teach you. Now get up! Get on your feet!
15:14This Stanley Kubrick classic is an uncompromising meditation on war and the loss of innocence. But it
15:20doesn't simply drop us into Vietnam as other movies have. Instead, it spends nearly half its run time
15:26in basic training, where warfare of a different kind plays out. Full Metal Jacket begins as a haunting
15:32psychological drama in which a group of marine recruits become soldiers, with their drill instructor
15:38driving one of them to the brink of madness. The tragic crescendo of this first act is so startling,
15:44that it's easy to forget there's still another hour to go.
15:58The second half may seem more conventional by comparison, but Kubrick's unrivaled direction and
16:04the movie's equally grim finale still make it a necessary component of appreciating it.
16:10I wanted to meet interesting and stimulating people of an ancient culture and kill them.
16:16I wanted to be the first kid on my block to get a confirmed kill.
16:21Number 7. Jaws.
16:25Kicking off with a horrific opening for the ages, Jaws immediately establishes itself as one of the most
16:31chilling creature features of its time. Armed with a voracious appetite and an epic musical cue,
16:37Steven Spielberg's Great White Shark is an unstoppable force that renders Amity Island a
16:42helpless feeding ground. Jaws continues this thrill-seeking well into its second half,
16:47but rather than scare the audience, it instead gives them heroes to root for. The final hour of the
16:53movie is a rollicking, old-fashioned adventure in the vein of Moby Dick.
16:58So, 1,100 men went into the war, 360 men come out, the sharks took the rest, June the 29th, 1945.
17:07Though not without its suspenseful moments, the nuanced writing and fantastic performances all culminate in
17:13one of the most cheer-worthy climaxes in movie history, a far cry from the terrifying note it began on.
17:28Number 6. The World's End.
17:29Tonight, we will be partaking of a liquid repast as we wend our way up the Golden Mile,
17:35commencing with an inaugural tankard in the first post, then onto the old familiar, the famous cock,
17:40the crosshands, the good companions, the trusty servant, the two-headed dog, the mermaid, the
17:43beehive, the king's head, and the hole in the wall for a measure of the same.
17:46As we've said, the Cornetto trilogy has made genre switching an art form unto itself,
17:52but The World's End may feature the most abrupt and shocking transition of all.
17:56The first 30 minutes of this movie chronicles the alcoholic and depressed Gary King as he reunites
18:02with his childhood friends for a night of drinking. It starts off as a cute comedy drama
18:06about neglected friendships and trying to recapture teenage innocence. And then Gary
18:11accidentally knocks the head off an android and the movie quickly switches into sci-fi mode.
18:25The rest of the story then follows the group as they try to blend in and eventually escape from
18:29the alien invaded town. If you weren't prepared for sci-fi, you'd be in for one hell of a surprise.
18:35We want to be free to do what we want to do!
18:37Yeah!
18:38We want to get loaded!
18:40Yeah!
18:40And we want to have a good time! And that's what we're gonna do!
18:46It's pointless arguing with you.
18:48Number 5. Titanic
18:50Okay, we obviously saw it coming, but Titanic's massive genre shift is still
18:54very shocking and painfully tragic. The first half of Titanic serves as a grandiose and
19:00high-budgeted period piece about class systems and romance.
19:03We follow starstruck lovers Jack and Rose as they fall in love aboard the doomed ship
19:13and fight the disapproval of Rose's upper-class family. And then the ship hits the iceberg,
19:18and the Titanic becomes a disaster movie, filled with scenes of people drowning, freezing to death,
19:23taking their own lives and slamming into propellers.
19:31It forgoes the relationship drama to focus on the disaster,
19:35and though the end result is a spectacular cinematic experience, it's also a jarring one.
19:40I'll never let go. I promise.
19:52Number 4. Psycho
19:54Alfred Hitchcock certainly knows how to get into the minds of his audience.
19:57Exhibit A. His 1960 masterpiece, Psycho, which begins with Marion Crane stealing $40,000
20:04from her boss in fleeing town. What follows is a typical on-the-lam crime drama, complete with scenes
20:09of Marion evading police officers and swapping vehicles. Hitchcock was known for his thrillers
20:14like Rear Window and North by Northwest, so it's understandable if viewers were expecting another
20:20crime thriller. However, things take a massive turn when Marion is murdered at the Bates Motel,
20:36and the movie quickly swaps to a psychological horror-slash-detective tale about alternate
20:41personalities and matricide. And viewers thought they knew where Hitchcock was going.
20:51So he began to think and speak for her. Give her half his life, so to speak.
20:56Number 3. Sunshine
20:58The year is 2057, and the sun is dying.
21:0116 months ago, I, Robert Kappa, and a crew of seven left Earth frozen in a solar winter.
21:08To save humanity, the crew of the Icarus 2 go on a mission to reignite the sun.
21:12It was set to be a mature and thoughtful disaster movie. Think Armageddon,
21:16but with more brains. And then Pinbacker showed up.
21:19My god, Pinbacker. Not your god. Mine?
21:27In the final third of the film, the crew discovers the mutilated and deranged captain of the Icarus 1,
21:33and he proceeds to go all Jason Voorhees, picking off the crew one by one and
21:38turning the once thoughtful sci-fi disaster flick into a slasher movie.
21:42It caught a lot of people off guard, and many consider it to be a huge misstep in an otherwise
21:46solid film.
21:48For seven years, I spoke with God.
21:59He told me to take us all to heaven.
22:03Number 2. Audition
22:05Who knew that such a horrifying movie could begin so sweetly? Audition follows widower Shigaharu Aoyama,
22:11as he's encouraged to begin dating again. To find the perfect match,
22:15he holds mock auditions wherein women interview for the role of his wife.
22:28The movie seemingly begins as a light-hearted, offbeat romantic comedy, with Shigaharu soon
22:33finding himself infatuated with a girl named Asami. However, Asami isn't quite the cute,
22:38innocent love interest she's made out to be.
22:53She's a girl who keeps a disfigured man in a sack whom she feeds her own vomit,
22:57and then proceeds to torment Shigaharu with needles and piano wire.
23:01It's a hugely influential horror film, but one that likely shocked many an unsuspecting viewer.
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23:281. From Dusk Till Dawn
23:31From Dusk Till Dawn is probably the quintessential genre-shift movie.
23:35I want him out of here, in his car, and down the road, or you can change the name of this place
23:40to Benny's World of Blood.
23:42The story begins as your typical crime thriller road movie a la Thelma and Louise,
23:46with brothers Seth and Richie Gecko robbing liquor stores, killing hostages,
23:50and forcing a family to smuggle them into Mexico. However, once the duo take refuge in a remote strip club,
23:57the movie won 80s as the patrons are revealed to be vampires. Richie is quickly killed off,
24:03the blood starts flowing, and the film enters ridiculous B-movie territory.
24:12While the movie's genre switch is well known today, there's no describing how big of a twist this was
24:17for unassuming moviegoers back in 1996.
24:20I just rammed a wooden stake into my brother's chest because he turned into a vampire, even though
24:26I don't believe in vampires. Aside from that unfortunate business, everything is hunky-dory.
24:34Is there a movie whose genre switch caught you off guard? Let us know in the comments.
24:38You're gonna need a bigger boat.
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