12 Films Ruined By Their Marketing

One would think that a psychological thriller directed by Scorsese and starring Jack, of Jack and Rose fame, himself would be a film that kind of writes its own marketing campaign. Put heavy emphasis on the star, heavy emphasis on the director, showcase some of the wonderful visuals and aesthetics Scorsese is sure to bring with him, bada boom bada bing, you've got yourself a successful motion picture.

That's not how Paramount saw it. Instead, the actual marketing for the film decided to put the story front and center, in the sense that it wanted to give away as much of the story as possible. The core concept of Leo being a detective looking for a missing patient is firmly established at the front of each and every trailer. The remainder of said trailers was spent making sure the audience just might have gotten the *hint* that maybe Leo's character is a little crazy himself.

This included going so far as to show Leo holding his wife as she disappears from his arms and the room around him disintegrates, practically broadcasting to the entire movie-going public that Leo was the missing patient. Thus, when that exact story beat turned out to be the big third-act whammy of a twist, the film lost all narrative momentum.