Trailer Trauma

Gaaaahhhdd movie trailers are so predictable these days.  I'm always excited to see trailers before the main movie event, it's part and parcel of the whole experience.  But I swear these days every trailer follows a format of two halves.

1st Half: Moody, enigmatic, snippets of dialogue that don't reveal too much, the editing, music, it all poses a lot of questions.  This is fine, if only the trailer ended here, but no, we must go on to the...

2nd Half: The music changes, it becomes more overtly emotional, we see characters hugging, crying, screaming, we feel like we're seeing a lot more of the film than we should in a trailer.  There is a sort of saccharine emotional rush, whatever type of film is being advertised.

Endless amounts of trailers follow this format, whether its a thriller or a family drama or a sci-fi, good and bad.  So, below are three trailers which were more daring, tell the audience a lot less, and are all the better for it.

1. The Blair Witch Project (1999)
Using footage shot specifically for the trailer, the teaser further adds to the reality of the film, creating a bleak and scary mood.  Fave bit is the question put to the dad of one of the missing students, where it cuts before he answers.  Don't know why but that is especially affecting.




















2. Psycho (1960)
Okay, so this trailer isn't exactly quick and to the point, being as it is over 6 minutes long, but Hitchcock plays it so coy.  The audience back in the day must have known he was toying with them, yet at the same time been caught up in the mystery.  And even though the whole thing is rather tongue-in-cheek, the ending is still visceral and horrifying.  'Bathroom....'



3. Dogville (2003)
Similar to the Psycho trailer, Dogville's teaser plays on the notoriety of it's director, telling the viewer a lot more about the production of the film and the hardship the actors underwent, rather than the film itself.  But what it says to us really is: controversy.  We ask ourselves: 'If the reality is so controversial, then the fictional must be horrifying.  I've got to see it!'