10 Desperate Ways To Market Horror Movies

2. Never Be Afraid To Embrace The Buzz - Snakes On A Plane

Sam Jackson Snakes On A Plane
New Line Cinema

Just because a marketing campaign is desperate, doesn't always means its unsuccessful.

Snakes on a Plane marketed itself on its nuts 'does exactly as it says on the tin' premise and very much leaned into the cheesiness of just such a plot. And when the internet went crazy after the first promo material was released for the movie, David R. Ellis' 2006 picture lapped up that reaction and changed course accordingly.

After a couple of would-be fans recorded their own audio trailer that saw a whole bunch of expletives dropped by the person playing Samuel L. Jackson's character, the Snakes on a Plane higher-ups promptly ordered an additional five days of shooting.

While a move like this would usually be seen as a desperate indicator that panic was at play, this time the additional work was done to make the film a full-on R-rated release - which likewise resulted in Jackson being able to say "motherf**king snakes" and "motherf**king plane", motherf**ker.

Snakes on a Plane had become a meme before we knew what memes were, had gone viral before we knew what gone viral meant, and it took home a very solid $63 million at the global box office - and it did so by clinging onto (and reacting to) its early buzz.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.