M

Its hard to pick between two different genres, melodrama or horror, for the film M. I personally was not able to figure out which genre this movie would be categorized in modern time but if I had to pick, I chose melodrama. The reason behind that is throughout the film, its not clear which character to follow but it is clear that certain scenes emotions are exaggerated to emphasize the plot. Although you don't have connection to one particular character, this is can still be considered a melodrama because of the different vocal and facial expressions are noticeable and distinctive. Some may argue that film's genre is horror and not melodrama because the plot follows a serial killer. Even though there is a killer in the movie, the plot isn't portrayed to be scary or shocking like most horror films. The last scene in the movie helps me believe this film is melodrama over horror. The endings in most horror movies are more suspenseful then what happened. Yes justice was served to the killer  but the criminal world has its own set of rules. Instead of taking the killer the police, they take it to a vote to see what everyone wants to do about the killer. All the criminals may do various acts of injustice but seems that they have a code that the killer broke. As a group they charge the killer and kill him but are stopped by the law. In the end the mother will never get her child back due to the murderer.