Why is 'Don't Breathe' considered a crime, horror, and thriller genre?
What makes a film a crime genre? Or horror and thriller? Looking at the film 'Don't Breathe', I noticed that two of the main three performers, being Jane Levy and Dylan Minnette, are mainly known for their roles in crime, horror and thriller films such as 'Evil Dead', 'Prisinors', and 'Let me in'. All of which include elements of horror, thriller and crime. This gives the audience an idea of what type of film they're going in to.
As well as audiences having certain expectations of a film, they already have experiences with certain films in the past that have been labeled a specific type of genre. This makes the film intertextual, meaning they refer to other texts of their own type. For example in a crime, horror and thriller film we would expect guns, blood, darkness and suspense. In the trailer clip below of 'Don't Breathe' all of those elements are included.
A films genre may also be established through mediums such as newspaper, magazines and websites reviews, for example, this review of 'Don't Breathe' from the New York Times states: 'It will probably please fans of this simple genre with its solid suspense, murky lighting and “gotcha!” scares.' Straight away the audience understands that it has elements of thriller through, 'Solid suspense' and elements of horror through 'Murky lighting and "gotcha!" scares'.
We can also look at Semantic and Syntactic elements to identify genre, such as locations and shots, in 'Don't Breathe' we see many grim areas such as basements and attics, closets, and through the intertextual meaning of what film audiences are accustomed to, this would tell us that it's a horror film, and throughout the film we would be introduced to the crime and thriller aspects of it.
A films genre also comes down to our own ideas and beliefs as viewers, what certain people could classify as a horror, could be as a thriller to others. It all depends on what films the audience has seen before where it was classified as a specific genre, and that's what they've been accustomed to. One reviewers opinion on the genre of a film could influence the majority of the audience.
Source: http://www.horroronscreen.com/wiki-horror/horror-genres/
Here is a graph that shows how certain genres and sub genres are instantly synonymous with films that are what the audience perceives to be that type of genre, which ultimately leads to all future films of a similar scheme or feel to be considered in that same field, which is why 'Don't Breathe' has three genres, because it includes elements of several films that we know to be horror, thriller, and crime.
References
Michael, E. (2017, April 24). Movie Monday: Don’t Breathe. Retrieved June 28, 2017, from http://the-indie-pendent.com/movie-monday-dont-breathe/
Entertainment, S. P. (2016, May 13). DON'T BREATHE - Official Trailer (HD). Retrieved June 28, 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76yBTNDB6vU
Zee, T. B. (2017, January 20). Movie Review: Don’t Breathe. Retrieved June 28, 2017, from https://thebigzeetheory.wordpress.com/2017/01/20/movie-review-dont-breathe/
Tallerico, B. (2016, August 26). DON'T BREATHE. Retrieved June 28, 2017, from http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/dont-breathe-2016
Gates, A. (2016, August 25). Review: ‘Don’t Breathe’: Whose Bright Idea Was It to Rob a Blind Man? Retrieved June 28, 2017, from https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/26/movies/dont-breathe-review.html?referrer=google_kp