Regardless of how movie marketing campaigns evolve to keep up with the changing times, trailers will always be one of the most crucial tools in the selling of a new film. A typical trailer for a major studio’s potential blockbuster and franchise hopeful tends to look the same as another of its type, from the editing beats to the choice of overdramatic music cues (not to mention that annoying and loud horn sound that can be traced back to Inception‘s brilliantly executed previews).
Naturally this opens the door for aspiring filmmakers and people with both a strong sense and access to pretty decent cameras and recording equipment to create their own improvised spoofs of those occasionally overbearing trailers. Putting their friends and relatives in front of the camera and using whatever materials available to them to recreate the multi-million dollar visual effects, the makers of these “sweded” trailers often end up with something far more entertaining than their inspirations.
I have taken it upon myself to scour YouTube for the funniest, most bizarre, and flat-out fun spoof trailers for the biggest blockbusters (and in one special case, a gigantic bomb), and as a special bonus I’ve included a few for some of 2016’s most anticipated movies. Enjoy, and have a happy new year!
Marvel Studios has released the first full theatrical trailer for their latest solo comic book adventure, Ant-Man. You can check it out here below.
The teaser trailer, released in January, leaned heavily on setting up the story basics. The latest delivers on the action and visual effects fronts and then some, with Paul Rudd looking mighty badass as the titular incredible shrinking superhero as he encounters insects of an unusual size and takes on Corey Stoll‘s villainous Darren Cross when the latter suits up as Yellowjacket. We also get a sense of the on-screen relationship between Hope Van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly) and Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) and the stakes involved in their recruiting thief Scott Lang (Rudd) for their battle against Cross.
I love DVD collections of old movie trailers. Since 2005, Synapse Films has been releasing volumes of classic grindhouse and drive-in exploitation trailers on DVD under the 42nd Street Forever and early this year unleashed their first Blu-ray edition in the series. One of those discs can provide an entire evening’s entertainment for the true connoisseur of cinema. Independent home video distributors understand the slim but still lucrative market value of a movie trailer collection. If you ask a bunch of people what their favorite part of the Quentin Tarantino/Robert Rodriguez B-movie double feature homage Grindhouse was, chances are most of them will say they loved the spoof trailers directed by Eli Roth, Rob Zombie, Edgar Wright, and Rodriguez. Movie geek meccas like the Alamo Drafthouse and the New Beverly Cinema often program vintage trailers to go along with that night’s film selection. People still make their old trailer compilations for fun. Roth even talked about making a feature film in the form of a reel of trailers.
Trailers from Hell is a highly-addictive website where film directors, writers, and producers provide introductions and commentaries for the trailers to some of their favorite films. From beloved classics to obscure cult flicks, from Oscar-winning epics to kinetic blasts of pure psychotronic insanity, there is no vintage preview that the TFH crew will not unearth and gab about to the delight of movie geeks everywhere. They’ve even started releasing DVD collections of the finest trailers and commentaries on their site that they could secure the rights to through the amazing Shout! Factory, a true friend to film fans with expansive DVD and Blu-ray libraries (and this is the part where yours truly sheepishly raises his hand). So with that in mind I bring you Trailers from Hell! Volume Two.
The lackluster box office grosses (not a flop, but not a good omen either) for the 2006 sequel Mission: Impossible III had the studio suits at Paramount questioning the future of the once-viable tentpole action franchise, but after more than five years the blockbuster movie series is back with Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol.
The second trailer for the movie has been released and you can watch it here below.
Paramount Pictures has released the first teaser trailer for the highly anticipated third film in the hit “found footage” horror franchise, Paranormal Activity.
The movie, simply called Paranormal Activity 3, continues the scares as home video footage shows unthinkably evil happenings. As far as an official synopsis goes, details have not yet been shared, but as you’ll see, the movie takes place (at least partially) during young Katie’s childhood in 1988, and shows the roots of where her very haunted future begin.
Click on over to the other side now to check out the teaser trailer!
Students of the Unusual™ comic cover used with permission of 3BoysProductions
The Mercuri Bros.™ comic cover used with permission of Prodigal Son Press
