Five underrated movie genres that died out too soon
Cinema will always be made up of its core genres of comedy, drama, thriller, horror, action, superhero, but then there’s the slightly more obscure sub-genres that sit somewhere in between, perhaps tapping into a specific niche that reflects the times.
Such as the drug-infused psychedelic movies of the late 1960s, with their kaleidoscopic visuals and rock and roll soundtracks, the wave of splatter films that filmmakers like Herschell Gordon Lewis pioneered back in the ’60s, and then came the rise of the slasher, marked by a masked figure wielding a sharp object, ready to kill whoever got in their way.
As great as many genres can be, it doesn’t always mean they’ll stand the test of time. I mean, the folk horror genre hasn’t really been as good as it was in the ‘70s, and surely the beach party movies that truly encapsulated the increased visibility of teenagers in the ‘50s and ‘60s weren’t going to last; you can only put Frankie Avalon in so many movies.
Some genres just die out, for better or for worse, so from the iconic Italian giallo to the ever-fascinating nunsploitation genre, here are five genres that pretty much disappeared far before their time was up.
Five underrated genres that died out too soon:
Biker movies
In Kenneth Anger’s controversial exploration of queer biker culture, Scorpio Rising, a character watches Marlon Brando in The Wild One, worshipping this leather-clad idol.
While the Brando film would become a quintessential landmark of the outlaw biker film, Anger’s showed just how important this subculture was to the landscape of ‘60s American counterculture, the decade that gave way to various other essentials, like Dennis Hopper’s Easy Rider and the psychedelic The Girl on the Motorcycle, while various exploitation filmmakers had a crack at the genre, too.
From the all-female She-Devils on Wheels to the British supernatural take on the genre, Psychomania, the biker film can take on many forms, whether that be through highlighting the dirty sensuality of grease and leather, or honing in on the innate freedom of the bike to dissect patriarchy or capitalist repression. Biker movies have been few and far between since the ‘70s, as people would rather watch high-speed car chases, and what we need are more low-budget movies full of screeching motorcycle tyres and a fierce stance against the mainstream.
A solid teen movie
Teen movies have always been underappreciated by those who aren’t teenagers, but it’s important to consider how vital a well-made teen movie can be for an adolescent, and I’m talking about a considered comedy that doesn’t reek of straight-to-streaming laziness. In the ‘80s, while flawed, there were movies like Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, The Breakfast Club, and don’t forget the brilliant satire, Heathers, while the 1990s and 2000s presented us with some stone-cold classics, like Clueless and Mean Girls.
Of course, there have been many cheesy teen movies, yet the best ones really have endured, but now all we have is The Kissing Booth, To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before, Tall Girl and other disappointments. While movies like Bottoms have certainly tried to get back to the heyday of the teen movie, being provocative and not wridden with clichés, it seems like it’s wishful thinking to ever expect a movie like Clueless to come around again.
Giallo
Blending murder mystery, proto-slasher violence, sexploitation, and plenty of style, giallo films really defined Italian cinema in the 1960s and ‘70s.
The country became a breeding ground for horror, and this specific brand of suspense-laden, seductive, and rife with bright red fake blood scary film was led by the likes of Mario Bava and Dario Argento. Often cast in neon hues and paired with an exhilarating jazzy score, movies such as Blood and Black Lace and Deep Red have inspired everything from Halloween to Last Night in Soho, but the actual genre is pretty much dead.
The giallo film came at such a specific time in the horror canon, before slashers were a proper thing and while exploitation cinema was thriving, so it hit a niche that soon wasn’t needed anymore. Slashers and erotically-charged thrillers became popular over the coming years, leaving the giallo somewhat of a time capsule, and by the end of the ‘80s, there were no longer any noteworthy giallos being made. If only we could bring back that specific aesthetic of confused, bell-bottomed English-speaking protagonist and all fighting for their lives…
Erotic thriller
Now you might argue that it’s a good sign that erotic thrillers like Basic Instinct, Fatal Attraction, and Body Double died out, as many were deemed cheesy, but when you look at the reasons as to why the genre has waned in popularity, and what it has morphed into, I bet you’ll change your opinion. In the ‘80s and ‘90s, audiences were seduced by tense sexual encounters where lots was on the line, but the genre died a somewhat tragic death when the accessibility of online pornography rendered erotic thrillers less exciting.
These days, with the rise in conservatism, it’s hard to imagine a proper erotic movie doing well in the mainstream, with people being up in arms over Saltburn of all things. But seriously, a well-acted and properly enticing erotic thriller can be a great watch (nothing like 365 Days, thank you very much), but sadly, the genre just isn’t what it used to be, and now you’re lucky if you stumble upon a genuinely good one.
Nunsploitation
Who doesn’t want to watch sexually repressed nuns going against their faith?
OK, maybe the more pious of cinema lovers might be put off by these blasphemous approaches to religion and sexuality, but the nunsploitation genre really delivered some gems back in the ‘60s and ‘70s. There were films that lent into the horror element of the genre, like Mother Joan of Angels and Alucarda, while others, such as The Nun and the Devil and Behind Convent Walls, were much more explicitly erotic, and while there have been a few nunsploitation-esque films released over the past few years, notably Paul Verhoeven’s Benedetta, but really, it died out in the ‘70s, when raunchy films about repression and sexual perversion were all the rage.
I can’t see anything like The Devils emerging these days, especially because I think it would send the general public into a state of outrage. Again, think about how people freaked out over a little bit of ejaculate in the bathwater in Saltburn, seemingly nothing compared to what Ken Russell subjects us to.
