10 Movies That Are Actually Good Besides The Marketing Gimmick

Whenever a movie hinges its marketing on a big surprise, it's always worth being wary, because this can often be marketing short-hand for a studio knowing they've got a dud on their hands and trying to disguise it with an alluring mystery.

Neil Jordan's iconic 1992 thriller The Crying Game was memorably sold on the strength of its big twist, with trailers telling the audience that "nothing is as it seems," while posters quite emphatically called it, "The movie everyone is talking about... But no one is giving away its secrets."

It was a brilliant marketing hook that absolutely worked, making the film a sleeper hit at the box office before it received six Oscar nominations (including Best Picture and Best Director).

But beyond the marketing centered on just one aspect of the story - a twist we won't reveal here in case you haven't seen it - The Crying Game is an exceptionally crafted and frequently surprising piece of work that's by turns exciting and unexpectedly affecting.

In retrospect you can't really blame Miramax for clinging to the most attention-grabbing aspect of the film, but the big reveal has been so widely dissected and parodied in general culture that it's easy to forget there's a superb film unfolding behind it.