Movies that aren't the genre they advertise

[Chainsawmidget]

Have you ever sat down to watch a movie that's supposed to be some martial arts extravaganza only to find out it's just a normal cop flick or saw a horror movie that's really just a character drama?

Or a movie that's obviously horror but nobody wants to call it that.

Basically this here is a topic for the movies that aren't what they claim to be.

I'd like to start with Nothing but Trouble.

It calls itself a comedy.  It's got John Candy, Dan Akroyd, and Chevy Chase starring in it (and yes, they actually are the main characters.  it's not one of those "Starring" means "plays a minor supporting character but gets top billing" things.)  You'd expect it to be somewhat funny, and it does have it's moments. 

But Nightmare on Elm Street also had it's moments of humor. 

This movie is DARK.  Dark Dark.  Not funny dark like Ghostbusters or Beetlejuice.  It's far closer in tone to something like the Texas Chainsaw Massacre or Deliverance.  This is a straight up horror movie that pretends to be a comedy. 

[dean]

Psychological thriller advertised as traditional straight up horror is probably the most common one I come across. Something that has a lot of scares in say the trailer but in reality only a handful of 'scares' and is more about character building/degenerating. I love psychological thrillers but there's a particular time and emotional investment you have to be prepared for when choosing how your mood is and sometimes you just want a mindless slaughter  .

Movies advertised as horror but are more a comedy [eg Cabin in the woods] tend to be surprises I enjoy rather than get frustrated by since they have a similar emotional investment.

[Jim H]

I can't tell if Nothing But Trouble was supposed to be a comedy and missed or if it was deliberate. Bizarre film

[Nathan45]

The Happening

"Lets Scare Jessica to Death" is one of the oddest titles for what the movie is actually about that I can think of.

[Archivist]

Up In The Air (2009) looks like a quirky romcom.  

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Starring George Clooney as a perennial bachelor who lives and loves with no strings attached, it tells the story of how he falls for a fellow traveler.  The movie is a lot more quirky than it appears in the trailer, and an ending that, while not the usual 'happily ever after' of romcoms, is oddly satisfying.

I've read that Drive (2011) with Ryan Gosling is billed as an action packed thriller, it is far more slow burning and atmospheric.  Is this true?

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[akiratubo]

There was a movie called Quills, about the Marquis de Sade.  It advertised as a love movie between him and the laundry girl at the asylum where he was incarcerated.  It ... wasn't.  It was actually a very, very effective horror movie, with Michael Caine in particular delivering a truly chilling performance.

[lester1/2jr]

I think a lot of people who saw Closer thought it was going to be a romcom of some kind and it certainly was not. probably because Julia Roberts was in it and the title is ambiguous. I loved it but I am from the other side of the universe as those people

[zombie no.one]

Lenzi's EATEN ALIVE advertises itself as a cannibal flick, however the censored version (which afaik was much more widely distributed than the uncut version) has no scenes of cannibalism in it.

likewise ZOMBIE HOLOCAUST only has its 'zombies' (if they can even be called that) onscreen for about a minute, if I remember right.

[Rev. Powell]

I've read that Drive (2011) with Ryan Gosling is billed as an action packed thriller, it is far more slow burning and atmospheric.  Is this true?

Basically, yes. It's an arthouse drama with a few tense moments, not an "action packed thriller" by any stretch.

[LilCerberus]

Falling Down (1993)
Prior to it's release, it was being depicted as a comedy about a nerdy guy turned klutzy vigilante.
After it's release, it was repackaged as a full blown action thriller.

When I finally got around to seeing it at a second run cinema, it came across as a movie that couldn't decide what it wanted to be.
Realizing out of the box that Michael Douglas was supposed to be John List on a grander scale gave me no sympathy for the Bill Foster character.

[Jim H]

Falling Down (1993)
Prior to it's release, it was being depicted as a comedy about a nerdy guy turned klutzy vigilante.
After it's release, it was repackaged as a full blown action thriller.

When I finally got around to seeing it at a second run cinema, it came across as a movie that couldn't decide what it wanted to be.
Realizing out of the box that Michael Douglas was supposed to be John List on a grander scale gave me no sympathy for the Bill Foster character.

Good example.  I think it would have been a lot more interesting if Bill Foster had actually been a normal guy at war with the ordinary world, as the tagline says, instead of a person with rage problems finally unleashed.

[Trevor]

People will probably want to chuck shoes at me for mentioning this one but Fred Zinnemann's High Noon was supposedly a Western when it was actually a political thriller.

Richard Donner's Lethal Weapon 2 was promoted as a buddy cop action comedy but it was actually one long anti-South African screed.

Neil Blomkamp's District 9 was an anti South African film disguised (not well) as a sci-fi action film.

[akiratubo]

Falling Down (1993)
Prior to it's release, it was being depicted as a comedy about a nerdy guy turned klutzy vigilante.
After it's release, it was repackaged as a full blown action thriller.

When I finally got around to seeing it at a second run cinema, it came across as a movie that couldn't decide what it wanted to be.
Realizing out of the box that Michael Douglas was supposed to be John List on a grander scale gave me no sympathy for the Bill Foster character.

Good example.  I think it would have been a lot more interesting if Bill Foster had actually been a normal guy at war with the ordinary world, as the tagline says, instead of a person with rage problems finally unleashed.

Indeed.  He was just a jerk.  For example, pulling a gun on fast food workers because he was a few minutes too late to get the breakfast menu.

[Skull]

Phat Girlz (2006) was supposed to be a comedy but not! This is the most depressing movie I'd ever watched. I've put the story on my top 10 worst moves ever list because the story was advertise as a comedy.

[voltron]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7EPMHgSjms

Screamers (1979)

"They're men turned inside out!"
Quite misleading. More appropriate title aka Island Of The Fishmen.