This is a list of films that incorporate satire or were described as such. Made-for-television and animated films are also included.
Title | Year | Credits | Country | Subgenre |
---|---|---|---|---|
La signora di tutti [1] | 1934 | Directed by Max Ophüls Written by Salvator Gotta (novel), Curt Alexander, Hans Wilhelm, Max Ophüls | Italy | Drama |
A Face in the Crowd [2] | 1957 | Directed by Elia Kazan Written by Budd Schulberg | United States | Drama |
A Bucket of Blood [3] | 1959 | Directed by Roger Corman written by Charles B. Griffith | United States | Comedy horror |
The Manchurian Candidate [4] | 1962 | Directed by John Frankenheimer Written by George Axelrod and based on The Manchurian Candidate by Richard Condon | United States | Thriller (Political, neo-noir, psychological) |
Le Mépris [5] | 1963 | Directed by Jean-Luc Godard Based on Il disprezzo by Alberto Moravia | International (France, Italy) | Drama (French New Wave) |
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb [6] | 1964 | Directed by Stanley Kubrick Based on Red Alert by Peter George | International (United Kingdom, United States) | Comedy-science fiction |
Night of the Living Dead [7] | 1968 | Directed by George A. Romero Written by Romero, John Russo | United States | Horror (Zombie) |
Sleeper [6] | 1973 | Directed by Woody Allen Written by Allen, Marshall Brickman | United States | Comedy-science fiction |
The Werewolf of Washington [8] | 1973 | Written and directed by Milton Moses Ginsberg | United States | Horror-comedy |
House of Whipcord [5] | 1974 | Directed by Pete Walker Written by David McGillivray, Walker | United Kingdom | Horror |
Network [2] | 1976 | Directed by Sidney Lumet Written by Paddy Chayefsky | United States | Drama |
Dawn of the Dead [9] | 1978 | Directed and written by Romero | United States | Horror (Zombie) |
This Is Spınal Tap: A Rockumentary by Martin Di Bergi [10] | 1984 | Directed by Rob Reiner Written by Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, Harry Shearer, Reiner | United States | Mockumentary |
Max Headroom: 20 Minutes into the Future [5] (TV-film) | 1984 | Directed by Rocky Morton, Annabel Jankel | United Kingdom | Science fiction (Cyberpunk) |
Nineteen Eighty-Four [11] | 1984 | Written and directed by Michael Radford | United Kingdom | Dystopian |
Brazil [12] | 1985 | Directed by Terry Gilliam Written by Gilliam, Tom Stoppard, Charles McKeown | United Kingdom | Science fiction drama |
Desert Bloom [13] | 1986 | Directed by Eugene Corr and written by Corr and Linda Remy | United States | Drama |
RoboCop [6] | 1987 | Directed by Paul Verhoeven Written by Edward Neumeier, Michael Miner | United States | Science fiction-action |
They Live [14] | 1988 | Directed by John Carpenter Written by Frank Armitage and based on "Eight O'Clock in the Morning" by Ray Nelson | United States | Science fiction-action |
The Distinguished Gentleman [10] | 1992 | Directed by Jonathan Lynn Written by Marty Kaplan, Jonathan Reynolds | United States | Comedy |
Bob Roberts [10] | 1992 | Written and directed by Tim Robbins | United States | Mockumentary |
Demolition Man [15] | 1993 | Directed by Marco Brambilla Written (disputed) by Daniel Waters, Robert Reneau, Peter M. Lenkov | United States | Science fiction-action |
Starship Troopers [2] | 1997 | Directed by Paul Verhoeven Based on Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein | United States | Science fiction-action |
The Truman Show [16] | 1998 | Directed by Peter Weir Written by Andrew Niccol | United States | Comedy drama |
But I'm a Cheerleader | 1999 | Directed by Jamie Babbit Written by Brian Wayne Peterson | United States | Comedy [17] |
Fight Club | 1999 | Directed by David Fincher Written by Jim Uhls | United States | Drama |
Battle Royale [5] | 2000 | Directed by Kinji Fukasaku Based on Battle Royale by Koushun Takami | Japan | Thriller-action |
Dumplings [5] | 2004 | Directed by Fruit Chan Written by Lilian Lee | Hong Kong | Horror |
Land of the Dead [18] | 2005 | Written and directed by George A. Romero | International (Canada, France, United States) | Horror (Zombie, Post-apocalyptic) |
Idiocracy [19] | 2006 | Written by Mike Judge and Etan Cohen Directed by Mike Judge | United States | Science fiction-Comedy |
Long Pigs [20] | 2007 | Written and directed by Chris Power and Nathan Hynes | Canada | Horror-Pseudo-documentary |
District 9 [15] | 2009 | Directed by Neill Blomkamp Written by Blomkamp, Terri Tatchell | International (South Africa, United States, New Zealand) | Science fiction-action |
The Cabin in the Woods [21] | 2011 | Directed by Drew Goddard Written by Goddard, Joss Whedon | United States | Comedy-horror |
Nightcrawler [22] | 2014 | Directed and written by Dan Gilroy | United States | Crime thriller |
The Final Girls [23] | 2015 | Directed by Todd Strauss-Schulson Written by M.A. Fortin and Joshua John Miller | United States | Comedy-horror |
Friend of the World [24] | 2020 | Written and directed by Brian Patrick Butler | United States | Body horror |
Tughlaq Durbar | 2021 | Directed by Delhi Prasad Deenadayalan Written by Deenadayalan, Balaji Tharaneetharan | India | Political |
Triangle of Sadness [25] | 2022 | Directed and written by Ruben Östlund | International (Sweden, Germany, France, United Kingdom) | Black comedy |
The Menu [26] | 2022 | Directed by Mark Mylod Written by Seth Reiss and Will Tracy | United States | Horror thriller |
Hemet, or the Landlady Don't Drink Tea [27] | 2023 | Directed by Tony Olmos Written by Brian Patrick Butler | United States | Political dystopian |
Night of the Living Dead is a 1968 American independent horror film directed, photographed, and edited by George A. Romero, written by Romero and John Russo, produced by Russell Streiner and Karl Hardman, and starring Duane Jones and Judith O'Dea. The story follows seven people trapped in a farmhouse in rural Pennsylvania, under assault by reanimated corpses. Although the flesh-eating monsters that appear in the film are referred to as "ghouls", they are credited with popularizing the modern portrayal of zombies in popular culture.
Japanese horror is horror fiction derived from popular culture in Japan, generally noted for its unique thematic and conventional treatment of the horror genre differing from the traditional Western representation of horror. Japanese horror tends to focus on psychological horror, tension building (suspense), and the supernatural, particularly involving ghosts (yūrei) and poltergeists. Other Japanese horror fiction contains themes of folk religion such as possession, exorcism, shamanism, precognition, and yōkai. Media in which the genre of Japanese horror fiction can be found include artwork, theater, literature, film, anime and video games.
A zombie is a mythological undead corporeal revenant created through the reanimation of a corpse. In modern popular culture, zombies are most commonly found in horror and fantasy genre works. The term comes from Haitian folklore, in which a zombie is a dead body reanimated through various methods, most commonly magical practices in religions like Vodou. Modern media depictions of the reanimation of the dead often do not involve magic but rather science fictional methods such as carriers, fungi, radiation, mental diseases, vectors, pathogens, parasites, scientific accidents, etc.
Zombie apocalypse is a subgenre of apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction in which society collapses due to overwhelming swarms of zombies. Typically only a few individuals or small bands of survivors are left living. In some versions, the reason the dead rise and attack humans is unknown, in others, a parasite or infection is the cause, framing events much like a plague. Some stories have every corpse rise, regardless of the cause of death, whereas others require exposure to the infection.
Nazi zombies are a horror trope found in films, video games, and comic books. Nazi zombie narratives usually feature undead Nazi soldiers resurrected to fight for the Third Reich. The book Nazisploitation!: The Nazi Image in Low-Brow Cinema and Culture described the genre as a small theme of horror films.
A zombie film is a film genre. Zombies are fictional creatures usually portrayed as reanimated corpses or virally infected human beings. They are commonly portrayed as cannibalistic in nature. While zombie films generally fall into the horror genre, some cross over into other genres, such as action, comedy, science fiction, thriller, or romance. Distinct subgenres have evolved, such as the "zombie comedy" or the "zombie apocalypse". Zombies are distinct from ghosts, ghouls, mummies, Frankenstein's monsters or vampires, so this article does not include films devoted to these types of undead.
The survival film is a film genre in which one or more characters make an effort at physical survival. The genre focuses on characters' life-or-death struggles, often set against perilous circumstances. Survival films explore the human will to live, individual motivations, and personal desires, prompting audiences to reflect on broader aspects of humanity and personal values. They balance realism and believability with slow-burning suspense to maintain a sense of urgency. While some survival films may have epic scopes and lengthy running times, their effectiveness lies in creating an atmosphere where every moment poses a passive threat to the protagonist's existence.
The vigilante film is a film genre in which the protagonist or protagonists engage in vigilante behavior, taking the law into their own hands. Vigilante films are usually revenge films in which the legal system fails protagonists, leading them to become vigilantes. The vigilante film has in recent years often crossed over with the superhero genre, due to character origin stories frequently involving an injustice having been committed against them.
Satire is a television and film genre in the fictional or pseudo-fictional category that employs satirical techniques.
Psychological drama, or psychodrama, is a sub-genre of drama that places emphasis on psychological elements. It often overlaps with other genres such as crime, fantasy, black comedy, and science fiction, and it is closely related with the psychological horror and psychological thriller genres. Psychological dramas use these genres' tropes to focus on the human condition and psychological effects, usually in a mature and serious tone.