What makes a good trailer? Most people seem to agree that they don’t want too much of the story revealed, but how much is too much? It really depends on the person watching, and on the movie being previewed.
Personally, I tend to get the most excited by trailers that leave a lot unsaid and unshown. A trailer that properly establishes a movie’s tone without telling us too much about the plot is the best. Maybe there are a few brief glimpses of something important, but they’re they don’t give away anything other than the most basic idea of the movie’s premise. There are arguably a couple of exceptions to that idea in the list below, but I have reasons for those.
Below is a list, in no particular order, of the best (i.e. my favorite) trailers for horror movies so far this year. A few of the movies have been released already, and others haven’t. But this list isn’t about the quality of the movies, it’s about the effectiveness of the trailers. Making a good trailer is an art form, and I appreciate studios that put serious effort into making them amazing. I’m showing my appreciation for these eleven horror-movie trailers that made me want to watch the movie right away.
Companion
The first teaser for Companion is the best preview that particular movie received. The later trailers are fine, but this one leaves so much to the imagination, and it ends on such a haunting image. I wish this had been the only trailer released for the film, because it is by far the most fascinating. The other trailers don’t spoil anything that isn’t revealed early in the movie, but they say more than I wanted to know before I sat down to watch it.
Weapons
Like Companion, the teaser trailer for Weapons is the best preview for the movie. The Weapons teaser is very simple, and that’s why it works so well. Narration tells us that children are missing, and we see kids running through empty yards in the middle of the night. It’s eerie, and that’s more than enough to generate interest. Also, the title “Weapons” seems so incongruent with what we’re watching and hearing, it adds to the mystery of the movie.
HIM
I’m not the biggest fan of football, but I firmly believe that the world could use many more sports-themed horror movies. That’s part of why I like the trailer for Him. More than that though, this trailer is visually intriguing. It’s stylized, dark, and brutal. It establishes its characters well without giving away specifics about the plot.
Best Wishes to All
I enjoy odd and unsettling movies, and the trailer for Best Wishes to All conveys those feelings thoroughly. This does give the viewer many glimpses of moments throughout the entire movie, but their bizarre nature and near-complete lack of context prevents the trailer from giving away too much about the story. This is one of those previews that makes you wonder how in the world some of its images can possibly be connected.
Exit 8
The Exit 8 trailer is awesome, but it’s also a little frustrating. The frustration comes from the knowledge that there isn’t an announced release date for North America yet (it’s coming out in Japan in August). But, the trailer itself is effective. It makes the movie look creepy and tense, but even better, it looks like it emulates the feeling of the video game it’s based on extremely well. I usually get excited for video game movies when they look accurate, and this one definitely does.
Dangerous Animals
The trailer for Dangerous Animals does give away a lot about the movie’s basic plot, but I can’t help but love it. You can tell just from this preview that Jai Courtney is great in this role (which he is), and the setup of the movie’s two main characters is well orchestrated. It establishes a one on one battle between predator and prey, and that’s pretty much exactly what the movie is. With a genre movie like this, giving away a bit of the story is fine, because the meat of the story is in the presentation.
Strange Harvest
The trailer for Strange Harvest does a very good job of setting tone while only hinting at the exact nature of what we’re watching. It’s clear that the movie is a pseudo-documentary about a serial killer, but there also seems to be a supernatural element. There’s also a strange symbol, so maybe there’s a cult element as well? Whatever is happening, it looks unsettling.
Together
Body horror is having a moment, and I couldn’t be happier. This trailer for Neon’s Together gives us the briefest of brief glimpses of the body horror we can hopefully expect to see. Using the drawing of the dogs melding together is a great touch. Even the title collapsing in on itself is wonderfully done. It’s a beautiful trailer.
The Ugly Stepsister
The Ugly Stepsister smartly uses viewers’ expectations to create a trailer that is eminently intriguing. Just mentioning “Cinderella,” “stepsister,” and “body horror” is enough to pique interest. Plus, the clips they chose to use, and how they’re cut together in a stylish way reassures audiences that this isn’t just some no-budget, low-effort fairy tale horror flick. There’s substance here.
The Long Walk
The trailer for The Long Walk does show us a lot about the story, but that’s an effective way of selling the movie to the public. It’s based on a novel of the same title by Stephen King (under his Richard Bachman pseudonym), so many people already know the premise. By showing the increasingly difficult struggles of the people walking, and by having Mark Hamill narrate, the trailer sets a perfect tone for everyone, regardless of whether or not they know about the book.
28 Years Later
With the anticipation surrounding 28 Years Later, they could have put together just about anything for a trailer and people would have responded. But, the use of Taylor Holmes’ reading of Rudyard Kipling’s “Boots” makes this absolutely chilling. Just fantastic.
