12 Film Satirizations That Mirror Their Subjects

      These 12 films are satires that also embody the very genres they critique.

      They mock a genre while effectively highlighting its subtleties.

      Thus, they function on an immediate level as well as a subversive critique.

      Here are 12 cinematic satires that excel in both aspects.

      Kentucky Fried Movie

      United Film Distribution Company

      Kentucky Fried Movie marked the beginning for Jerry Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and David Zucker, the creators of Airplane and The Naked Gun series. The film features a series of hilariously accurate parodies, ridiculing every popular genre from the 1970s.

      The most extravagant is a parody of sexploitation films that, at the time we first viewed it, was likely the most risqué material we’d encountered. It showcases a range of shocking perversions and gets quite explicit. While it's undeniably funny, it's also rather salacious.

      It continues to leave us puzzled.

      Robocop (1987)

      Orion Pictures – Credit: C/O

      Paul Verhoeven adeptly masters movie satires that strike a balance. The Dutch director arrived in the U.S. in the '80s and quickly began to critique the excessive sex and violence portrayed on American screens.

      Robocop stands as a peak example of satire — it appeals to audiences' fantasies of being tough on crime while simultaneously suggesting that corporate, mechanized law enforcement might pose greater dangers than the crimes themselves.

      It effectively predicted the possible issues of AI-driven policing — who truly wants to be stopped by a drone? — and arguably foresaw the emergence of the profit-driven prison system.

      Yet, it is also a delightfully absurd film about a half-human, half-robot endeavoring to eradicate crime from the streets of New Detroit. It remains one of our favorite films.

      Scream (1996)

      Drew Barrymore in Scream. Dimension Films – Credit: C/O

      Written by Kevin Williamson and directed by horror maestro Wes Craven, Scream deconstructs slasher films while delivering exceptional scares and thrills.

      It has undeniably transformed the horror genre forever, and for the better: It became nearly impossible to produce an unironic slasher film after Scream established the necessity of including at least one character in every group of slasher movie friends who pointed out tropes to avoid.

      Even films that remain serious now implicitly acknowledge these tropes: We all know them. Now let’s see how this movie will subvert them.

      Slumber Party Massacre (1982)

      New World Pictures – Credit: C/O New World Pictures

      While Scream mastered the duality of slasher film satire, Slumber Party Massacre was the pioneer. The first film in a franchise of four (including two sequels and a reboot) was penned by lesbian feminist author Rita Mae Brown, who aimed to satirize rather than celebrate slasher films.

      However, under the insightful direction of Amy Holden Jones, Slumber Party Massacre emerged as one of the finest slasher films while simultaneously serving as a reflective parody of other popular films of its time, like Friday the 13th.

      It accurately depicts early '80s Southern California, where we grew up indulging in films we weren’t supposed to see.

      The subsequent installment, Slumber Party II, takes the satire even further with a villain (Atanas Ilitch) who performs a dance reminiscent of a blend between Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson while wielding a drill-shaped red electric guitar to kill.

      American Psycho (2000)

      Christian Bale as Patrick Bateman in American Psycho. Lionsgate – Credit: Christian Bale as Patrick Bateman in American Psycho, Lionsgate

      One of our all-time favorites, American Psycho offers a sharp satire of '80s yuppie culture while simultaneously making it appear… quite glamorous, actually. Except for the chainsaw murders, of course.

      Christian Bale portrayed Wall Street serial killer Patrick Bateman in a way that seemed anything but cool — "We viewed him as an alien who arrived in the unabashedly capitalist New York of the '80s, surveyed the scene, and thought, ‘How do I fit in as a successful man?’” Bale once shared with MovieMaker.

      Although his actions are despicable, he boasts impressive abs and a keen eye for business cards. While we don’t cheer for him, his character is captivatingly entertaining to observe.

      Tropic Thunder (2008)

      Ben Stiller in Tropic Thunder. DreamWorks – Credit: Paramount

      Tropic Thunder isn’t merely a satire of war films; it critically examines actors who take on ridiculous roles for recognition. One of the film's highlights is its ability to showcase various outlandish roles while simultaneously featuring actors portraying those very roles.

      The epitome of this is Robert Downey Jr. as Kirk Lazarus, an Australian Oscar winner who undergoes "pigmentation alteration" surgery to portray a Black character, Staff Sergeant Lincoln Osiris.

      On top of that, Ben Stiller shines as