10 Misleading Movie Trailers That Totally Fooled You
From The Cable Guy to Sweeny Todd: these movies have committed the ultimate clickbait felony.
A trailer is the perfect opportunity for studios and filmmakers to show off their beloved movies to the general public; acting like proud parents parading around toddlers in tiaras. Nowadays, trailers are as crucial to the selling of the film as, well, the film itself.
Big blockbusters, and the rise of the internet, have helped solidify movie trailers as the official go-to for all the information you need before deciding whether a film is going to be for you or not. As an audience we place our trust in these trailers and take them as gospel. We wait anxiously in anticipation for a new Marvel one to drop, or wait in line for a Comic-Con panel just for the hope of being one of the first fans to see the trailer.
So with that in mind, it's understandable that many of us have been tricked into seeing a film that we definitely weren't fully prepared for. Whether it's because the trailer presented the movie as having a completely different genre through editing tricks, or if they intentionally left out important details that affected our ability to choose if we want to see the film or not.
Sometimes these details are so minute that it barely changes your perception - other times, the trailer can be so far from the reality of the movie that it's baffling the clips were actually pulled from the film.
10. Red Eye - If It Comes From Wes Craven It Must Be A Horror Movie
The trailer for Red Eye is an unusual case. You see, unlike the other movies on this list, Red Eye attempts to pull the wool over its audience's eyes twice during its trailer's short run time.
When the trailer begins, we are treated to the site of rom-com favourite, Rachel McAdams. Upbeat, rocky music scores the beginning of the trailer as McAdams makes flirty conversation with a seemingly charming Cillian Murphy in line at the airport. As the two find out that they're set to sit next to each other for the flight, pop up text tells us it's fate. Adorable, right? Wrong.
As the flight takes off, the music turns sinister and as the cutesy scene fades, Murphy's character shows off what seems to be an unnervingly red eye. The movie then goes on to tell us that what we are actually seeing is not a rom-com... but a horror movie. Wes Craven's name engulfs the screen in crimson lettering as we are reminded of his past horror flicks Scream and Nightmare on Elm Street. Creepy imagery flashes away at us as we are left with the impression that this movie is a class A horror movie.
Again, we would be wrong. As the movie was, in fact, just your run-of-the-mill thriller/mystery. There are no red-eyed demons, just domestic terrorists and political action. The movie studio clearly capitalised off of Wes Craven's cinematic history... and unfortunately it worked!