For some film buffs, the movie trailers preceding the main attraction are an essential part of the moviegoing experience. Promising cinematic thrills and sparking debates over whether or not the upcoming attractions will live up to the hype, these previews have become much more than simple marketing tools, often serving as a source of entertainment in and of themselves.
A little while back, we published a list of six of the best horror movie trailers in an attempt to celebrate our infatuation with these lovable teasers. However, in an industry that pumps out hundreds of films every year, with every one of them attempting to stand out from the crowd, it’s clear that those original six entries are merely the tip of the iceberg. That’s why we’re back with another six memorable horror trailers, this time featuring a few suggestions from readers like yourself!
Like last time, we’ll be selecting these trailers according to how well they stand on their own merits, regardless of the finished film’s overall quality. After all, the whole point of advertising is to make a product look good, so don’t be surprised if we feature a couple of cinematic duds that happened to benefit from clever marketing. And if you think we missed anything, don’t forget to comment below with your own favorite trailers.
Now, onto the list…
6. The Strangers (2008 Theatrical Trailer)
A personal favorite, the original trailer for Bryan Bertino’s The Strangers doesn’t necessarily reinvent the wheel, but it definitely deserves props for managing to condense most of the film’s qualities into a mere 2 minutes. Not only does the preview do a great job of introducing audiences to Bertino’s habit of silently hiding the masked killers in plain sight, but it’s all made even creepier through the use of a highly edited snippet of Gillian Welch’s My First Lover.
The trailer even concludes with the film’s most iconic bit of dialogue, as Liv Tyler questions “Why are you doing this to us?” and is answered with a chilling “Because you were home”. It may spoil a bit too much of the movie for my taste, but there’s no denying that this is one hell of a scary trailer.
5. Grindhouse (2007 Theatrical Trailer)
Grindhouse trailers have become something of a meme at this point, with everything from Star Wars to Super Mario Bros getting the faux-70s schlock treatment, but not everyone remembers that it was Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino that originally revived this nostalgic trend with their 2007 double-feature appropriately titled Grindhouse.
Featuring an over-the-top narrator describing equally over-the-top movies, I particularly enjoy this preview because it feels exactly like the faux-grindhouse trailers contained within the film’s intermission. Even if Death Proof and Planet Terror didn’t exist, this trailer would still work on its own as a parody of real world exploitation flicks, making it a fun little homage to sleazy 70s pictures.
4. Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989 Theatrical Teaser)
Sporting a jazzy soundtrack as the camera pans down from the romantic Manhattan skyline to a lonely man across the river, you’d be forgiven for thinking that this is a trailer for a moody drama set in 1980s New York City. Of course, Jason Voorhees soon reveals himself and shatters the illusion, but the playful sense of humor here is precisely why I think this 1989 teaser is so damned memorable.
While I personally enjoy Jason Takes Manhattan as an entertaining slasher sequel, it’s easy to see why most moviegoers would be ticked off after this fun little trailer promised a bloody New York romp that the finished film just couldn’t deliver. Either way, this trailer really makes me wish that modern horror franchises could take themselves a little less seriously.
3. Alien (1979 Original Theatrical Trailer)
A minimalist patchwork of nightmarish textures and sounds, this eerie little teaser beautifully sets up Ridley Scott’s cosmic horror masterpiece without spoiling a single plot point. Not only is the trailer completely devoid of dialogue, but it also manages to avoid revealing the titular Alien’s design, instead focusing on establishing mood and atmosphere through quick cuts and clever use of Jerry Goldsmith’s chilling soundtrack.
The featured Xenomorph egg might not resemble the one in the finished film, and it would probably be difficult to describe the plot if you’re not already familiar with the story, but there’s no denying that this clever little advertisement did the trick when it came to convincing audiences to check out this sci-fi creature feature. Ending things with the iconic “in space, no one can hear you scream” tagline is just icing on the cake.
2. The Hills Have Eyes 2 (2007 Teaser)
Taking one of my favorite approaches to trailers by presenting audiences with a standalone scene that doesn’t spoil any specific plot points, this simple teaser for The Hills Have Eyes 2 is particularly infamous for completely outshining the film it’s supposed to be advertising. In a mere minute, this trailer somehow manages to set up more scares and atmosphere than the completed film did in an hour and a half, which is both impressive and kind of disappointing.
Juxtaposing Devendra Banhart’s Insect Eyes with the arid New Mexico desert and ending on a simple yet spooky visual twist, I can only imagine that Wes Craven himself would have been proud of this ingenious little preview. If only the filmmakers had put the same effort into the rest of this tragically forgettable sequel to a pretty solid remake.
1. The Exorcist (Banned 1973 Theatrical Trailer) – Warning: Contains Potentially Harmful Flashing Images
William Friedkin’s 1973 opus may be a beautiful exploration of love, faith and terror, but you probably wouldn’t expect that level of nuance after watching this seizure-inducing nightmare of near-subliminal scares and horrific imagery. Edited by Bud Smith (though I wouldn’t be surprised if it had actually been put together by Pazuzu himself), this disturbing little teaser looks like it came straight out of the deep web, and I dig it.
It’s a bit more direct than the feature film, but Friedkin has gone on record claiming that this is his favorite trailer for The Exorcist. The bonkers editing is undoubtedly memorable, but this infamous teaser was actually pulled from theaters after audiences reacted a bit too harshly to its experimental sounds and visuals. The backlash even led to the director firing composer Lalo Schifrin and replacing him with Mike Oldfield, resulting in the now-iconic use of Tubular Bells as the film’s main theme.