The escapist views films as a way of shutting out the world around them, and appreciates films that in some way manages to either dull their senses, pass the hours and let them think of something else. The escapist is not necessarily interested in plot, structure, or craft and primarily appreciates films on a visceral level.
Though essentially all kinds of film viewers want to be entertained, this group stands out as they solely care about visceral entertainment without too much introspection. Separating themselves from the escapist by demanding to be actively involved, the Entertainment Driven movie lover seeks that which keeps them on the edge, makes them laughs, cry, etc. They do however not want to dull their senses, but rather hype up their senses. This type of film buff can be entertained by widely different genres, or have their favorites/niches - they will however be less likely to care about anything outside of their own entertainment level, and not want to ruin it by analyzing their experience.
The Narrative Focused Film Buff believes that the key to great filmmaking are the stories told, and will typically appreciate dialog, plotting and characters. Realism and believably is often important, but not a necessity. They may care about technical aspects, but believe that they are there to serve the story.
The craftmanship focused film buffs take a deep interest in the actual craft going into cinema, feeling it is even more important than the narrative, but usually, that they compliment each other. They tend to still swing in the direction of traditional cinema, loving old Hollywood, or the newer generations of Ridley Scott, David Fincher, Christopher Nolan, etc. Note: This film buff loves traditional craftmanship, the film school way, and will likely not be swayed by experimental or overly artistic cinema.
The Emoter is a kind of film buffs that is not coldly reserved while appreciating technical mastery, structure or form. This kind of film buff believes art is personal, not technical. If they find a film cold, or it does not involve them, it does not matter how beautifully shot or made it is, it has failed. The most important thing for The Emoter is that the film speaks and connects directly to them, this can be through matching their own life experiences or comment on emotions they themselves feel/want to express.
Revelling in fetishism, and so good it's bad, the cultist does not enjoy films from the traditional perspective, but adds in a meta layer where the unintentional quickly becomes a quality they love. They usually want crass films of specific natures and atmospheres. Like the escapists they revel in the experience, which can be fully sarcastic. Tropes and cliches are embraced and revered. Note: The cultist may also be a fetishist of classic Hollywood, idolizing actresses and actors in an iconoclastic way.
The Structuralist is a cold calculator of the collective narrative and craft, looking at how the film is built, how the pieces correspond to each other, how the film flows. To them a film is almost like a mathematical puzzle they are solving and evaluating. How do these plot point fit together, did it make sense to have this music done here, but not repeated later, are questions a structuralist will likely ask themselves while viewing a film.
This type of film viewer views film just as a musical symphony and looks at how it plays it's note. This can concern the flow of the narrative, scene transition, and with a similar care for structural repetition as the structuralist, but from an entirely different perspective, dropping the calculated analysis for the visceral experience.
The Formalist views the cinematic language as the most important aspect of film. They see shots, movement, music, cuts akin to the language and eloquence of a book. The formalist embraces experimental cinema, and does not need the structure of the structuralist, or even the right rythm - though they can appreciate both through the form they create. The formalist does not reject narrative cinema in any way, however traditional ways of doing a shot or telling a story can often be seen as dull. Inventive form beats an inventive story, and characters, dialog, plot, narrative are interesting in the way that it serves the form.
Rejecting all/most forms of the traditional narrative, the Experimentalist thrives on what goes against norms, challenges expectations and creates unique expressions/technical feats.
Proclaiming that all films needs to have a purpose The Analyst loves metaphors and meaning. If a film does not actively have a purpose or meaning or a point of be driven home or experienced, the film is typically dismissed. The Analyst may love narrative cinema, experimental cinema or both - the main key to their passion is the purposes they can derive from the work, and how this affects them.
Perhaps the most well-rounded, the academic approach consists largely of contexts and history, often embracing films for the purposes they were made, understanding why they were made, the impact they had and why this happened - while at the same time reviewing both technical and narrative abilities in their respective disciplines, times and form - and assessing how they affected both various types of audiences and themselves.
Closely related to the academic, - and usually just as intrigued if not more by what the film actually achieved to provoke in others, this group distinguishes itself by placing their experience/entertainment more on the sideline. The influences a film has had on cinema, or can be expected to have on cinema is directly tied to their appreciation/experience of the film. They can explore schlock, silents, experimental and epics alike.