There are few things more satisfying for film lovers than a perfect marriage between trailer and movie. That is, a trailer so appetizing that that it creates a Pavlovian response for the film it’s promoting, and then having said film satiate that hunger. Originally slated at the end of the main attraction, trailers were once crudely made epilogues that were supposed to entice the audience to come back the very next week. This worked especially well for the serialized films of the silent era that ended unresolved, like 1913’sThe Adventures of Kathlyn.In essence, trailers were the original “Next Time On [insert your favorite show title here]”. They were self-contained and designed to help the audience prepare for the next chapter of the serial.
But not for long. Movies got longer, profits got larger and trailers were tacked on to the front of the main attraction as a corporate commercial. Trailers suddenly had the cultural authority to make or break a movie, so studios carefully tailored them to appeal to the most general of audiences. The avant-garde filmmakers tried to disrupt that format, much to the chagrin of the money people.Orson Welles’Citizen Kane, Alfred Hitchcock’sPsychoandStanley Kubrick’sDr. Strangeloveteased audiences with surreal, fantastical trailers that aimed to intrigue moviegoers by mystifying them, not pandering to them. Curtains up in 1996, when theIndependence Daytrailer became the first to premier during a Super Bowl. Nothing was the same: Trailers were about the biggest spectacle being seen by the biggest audience possible.
Now a multi-billion dollar industry themselves, trailers and teasers have become just as hotly anticipated as the movie they’re promoting. And when they’re cut right — with enough spectacle, with enough mystery— a trailer can create a reservoir of hype that may have not existed without it. A perfect recent example of this isMad Max: Fury Road. I remember the lukewarm response to the announcement that a 30-year-old franchise was being rebooted. Then the trailer hit the Internet: Two minutes of pure muscular spectacle — raw, white-knuckle, and visually arresting. It became one of the most awe-inspiring and talked about trailers of the year. Luckily for moviegoers, the full movie did not disappoint;George Millersustained that unrelenting, twisted-metal élan for the entirety ofFury Road’s duration. And nowFury Roadsits at 97% on Rotten Tomatoes and is in the Oscar conversation. A perfect marriage.
On the flipside, a trailer also has the potential to torpedo a movie. The self-sabotage can manifest in various ways. If the movie is a tough slog for the marketing department, the trailer might paint a completely misleading picture of what the movie actually is (i.e.Observe and Report: a brilliant, pitch-black comedy fromJody Hillwhich Warner Bros. unwisely decided to repackage asPaul Blartfor adults). Or even worse, a negligent editor might cut a trailer rife with major spoilers. We all lose when that happens.
Here are six movies that fell victim to poorly executed trailers:
The “TMI” Trailer: ‘Wild Things’
A camp masterpiece of the 90s,Wild Thingssubverted all expectations by taking what could’ve been a Lifetime movie and turning it into a taught psychosexual soap opera packed with smart twists, dark humor and great ensemble work. ThinkDouble Indemnityset in the glossy yet trashy Florida everglades.
However, the trailer almost derails the entire central mystery of whether or not a beautiful teenaged socialite (Denise Richards) was in fact sexually assaulted by her handsome guidance counselor (Matt Dillon) by showing us the courtroom scene where another alleged victim (Neve Campbell) admits the rape accusations were a hoax. Smash cut to Dillon, Richards, and Campbell preparing to ménage å trois while VO tells us it was all a financial scam.
While there was plenty more satisfying twists to play out in the final act ofWild Things,any semblance of tension was removed while watching the puzzle pieces of the sexual assault case come together. TMI trailers are a cardinal sin.
The “Deflate the Climax” Trailer: Arlington Road
Speaking of TMI trailers, how anyone from the studio down approvedArlington Road‘s is beyond me. A truly slept on gem, this pre-9/11 tale ratchets up the paranoia of domestic terrorism when a college professor who specializes in examining the history of radical extremist groups (Jeff Bridges) begins to suspect his charming new neighbor (Tim Robbins) might not really be who he says he is.
Well, thanks to the trailer, Robbins isn’t who he says he is and there’s definitely a plot to attack the FBI in play. The duplicitous name change is revealed, the kidnapping of Bridges’ son is shown, and the white van/red car red herring is as clear as day. Those details unfortunately linger with you as you watchArlington Road, cushioning the blow of its explosive climax.
The “Needs More Info” Trailer: ‘Killing Them Softly’
Andrew Dominik’sKilling Them Softlyis the rare movie on this list that could’ve benefited from a more informative trailer. On its muscular surface,Killing Them Softlylooks like your typical mobster flick. A clean up guy (Brad Pitt) is called down to New Orleans to find the two amateur thugs responsible for knocking off a mob-controlled poker circuit overseen by a crooked bookie (Ray Liotta). But this isn’t a predictable genre thriller. Dominik delivered us a half ultra-violent neo-noir, half black-comedy with a social conscious.
Killing Them Softlytakes place in 2008 with the American financial collapse serving as both setting and character. Hitmen are settling for “recession prices”. There is zero confidence in the criminal economy, and order must be restored. And with pitch perfect ensemble work from Pitt, Liotta,James Gandolfini,Richard Jenkins,Ben MendelsohnandSam Sheppard,Killing Them Softlyis a blunt and bloody blast to the chest aiming to highlight the inherent violence of capitalism.
Killing Them Softly’s smarts, humor and brutality was undersold by a generic, unimpressive trailer. There’s a murky morality in all of Dominik’s work, and with a sharper, more creative trailer, more moviegoers could’ve stomped their muddy bootprints on the fraudulent American Dream alongside him.
Think this trailer did Killing Them Softly justice? Don’t make me laugh.
The “Let’s Pander To The Wrong Crowd” Trailer: ‘Warrior’
Another criminally underrated flick,Warrioris a gut-punch of a family drama gift-wrapped as triumphant sports movie.Nick Nolte(who snagged his third Oscar nomination) plays a recovering alcoholic trying to make amends with his estranged sons (Joel EdgertonandTom Hardy). Edgerton, a struggling physics teacher, finds himself forced to return to his MMA past for quick cash to pay for his daughter’s heart surgery. Hardy, a pugnacious war veteran with his own skeletons, gets pulled into the fighting world as well but for less noble reasons.
A physically and emotionally wrenching tale of fighting to keep your family together,Warriorloses some of its steam due to the over-explaining from the trailer. We are blatantly told the brothers will have to square off against each other in the final act, instead of Edgerton assuming the trainer role for his younger brother Hardy, which would’ve been a clever sleight of hand. Also, the heightened machismo made it seem like this was just a generic MMA fighting movie stripped of any emotional core. Guys who showed up in Affliction t-shirts might’ve been confused when the majority of the movie focuses on emotionally broken men, alcoholism and family crisis.
The “We Forgot That Less Is More” Trailer: ‘The Cabin in the Woods’
A meta masterwork from the minds ofDrew GoddardandJoss Whedon,Cabin in the Woodsgoes out of its way to tell us in the trailer that it’s not like all those other cabin-based horror movies. But it goes way too far in revealing just exactly how it separates itself from the cliché-ridden subgenre. The shot of the high-voltage grid that electrocutes the bird and a few glimpses of some next-level monsters would’ve established a unique spin was at play. But nope, the trailer goes a step further to show the much larger mechanisms at work, including surveillance cameras linked to an ominous all-seeing facility.
Cabin in the Woodsremains my favorite horror movie of the last ten years, with a denouement so bat-shit crazy and full of epic kills that it compensates for any premature narrative reveals. A plot twistthisbig is supposed to feel like the rug was pulled from under you. This trailer was the rug politely saying “heads up!” before making you fall.
The “WTF?” Trailer: ‘Southpaw’
The most egregious trailer fail in recent memory came from this year’sAntoine Fuqua-director boxing epicSouthpaw(I would’ve said the trailer forTerminator Genysisrevealing John Connor was a cyborg villain was the worst offense, but this is a list ofgoodmovies). StarringJake Gyllenhaalas Billy Hope,Southpawfollows the fall and Phoenix-like rise of the pugilist in the aftermath of family trauma.
That family trauma was just painfully too on the nose in the trailer, which actually shows A-list actress and second-billed star of the movieRachel McAdamsbeing shot and dying one minute into the trailer. I have a patch of hair missing from the sustained head scratching. The trailer could just have easily conveyed the family drama as Billy’s fight for custody of his daughter without displaying the death of McAdams. For the 45 minutes she’s on screen, you’re hyper-aware that you’re watching a ghost. And it almost takes you out of the movie.
[This is a repost of an older feature for your reading pleasure over this holiday weekend.]
