Terrible Trailers That Ruined The Movies

There’s nothing worse than that sinking feeling you get when the trailer you just watched has revealed some crucial information and effectively spoiled the plot. How can a movie studio let so much crucial story detail out on the trailers? If you have asked yourself this question, don’t worry because you are not alone. We’ve all been there. Many trailers today unfortunately give far too much away and leave nothing up to the imagination.

Now there is another problem not just they show you a lot of movie in the trailers but it’s the sheer quantity of trailers, movie clips, featurettes, TV Spots, Set Videos and Set Photos. It’s like i have seen 50% of the movie and 80% of every main action sequences they have in the movie and all the key plot details and dialogues they have shown in the videos they released, Now all i have to do is sit in the theater and stitch it all together and come back home thinking… WOW they exactly showed everything in the promotional material.

They are trying too hard to put people in the theaters that sometime they forgot not to show everything and they took the element of surprise in the process.

 

Insidious (2011)

Why It Spoils The Movie: This trailer is actually pretty good for the most part, until the very end when Lin Shaye’s character reveals that “It’s not the house that’s haunted, it’s your son”. It’s one of the key points of the film that viewers now totally expect to happen at some point. One of the things that Insidious does really well as a horror film is have the characters actually move into a new house when they can’t handle the current one being haunted.

They move into the new house and yet somehow their haunting is still going on. It’s later revealed as this trailer spoils that it’s their son Dalton who’s haunted and not the house, which is why they were followed by all of the horrible spirits in the first place. Outside of that, this trailer is pretty great. It’s ultimately too bad because it would have been a fantastic reveal in the middle of watching the film if it weren’t for this trailer.

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (2007)

Why It Spoils The Movie: Outside of the fact that the trailer gives away that all of the enemies of our heroes have banded together, so our heroes have in turned banded together, there’s a brief shot near the end giving away Will’s final fate. It’s rather blink-and-you’ll miss it, but discerning viewers would be able to tell that Will is at wheel of the Flying Dutchman, so it’s to be assumed that he kills Davy Jones at some point. It’s rather brief in the trailer, but one has to wonder why something so important to his character is even briefly showcased.

If the shot were taken out, it wouldn’t change the pacing or the overall edit whatsoever and then that bit of info wouldn’t have to be spoiled before the actual movie. There really is no purpose for that shot to be revealed in the trailer. For some reason, people have decided that showing the ending or clues towards the ending is the best way to market a film, when it’s really not.

The Negotiator (1998)

Why It Spoils The Movie: Was any detail about the film left out of that trailer? No, I think they got everything. It shows the set up for the film, a lot of the action, but worst of all the fact that Kevin Spacey teams up with Samuel L. Jackson. Whoever put this trailer together decided that they wanted there to be no air of mystery or genuine intrigue for audiences watching the film. Why would they, when pretty well the entire film is summed up in such a short amount of time?

It’s honestly mind-boggling how anyone thought that this trailer would do the film any kind of justice. People tend to have short attention spans, and in this case the film has two versions. There’s the feature length one that the people who made the film worked very hard to put together, and then there’s the two and half minute one. Which one are most people going to watch? The latter of course.

Free Willy (1993)

Why It Spoils The Movie: If you were a child of the 80s and saw this in the theatre, then you probably didn’t see the trailer beforehand. Or if you were a child of the 90s like myself and watched this at home on good old VHS, then you probably didn’t watch the trailer either, which is a very good thing. This trailer really sucks because it shows pretty much the entire plot in its run time. Sure, it’s a family movie and in being so, they tend to be rather predictable.

That being said, that’s no excuse for a spoiler-filled marketing campaign. If the film were released today it might actually work for families, because then the parents would know exactly what’s going to happen in the film, so they’d know that it was relatively appropriate for all ages. For the rest of the population that’s curious about watching it however, this trailer would just absolutely wreck it. The worst part hands down is just the fact that the very end shows Willy jumping through the air over the rocks to freedom. So Willy is freed at the end of the movie? Glad they gave that away.

The Sum Of All Fears (2002)

Why It Spoils The Movie: The whole big thing about the movie is whether or not the bomb is going to go off or not. Will Jack Ryan stop it from going off and saving the world? Will Ben Affleck and Morgan Freeman be able to work together before Armageddon strikes the doomsday clock? Will these two guys manage to stop it in time? Well, this trailer just conveniently gives that all away halfway through. All tension and suspense that should be involved while watching a Tom Clancy story on screen is all but evaporated with this trailer.

Then it goes on and on about terrorists and stuff. They really could have done a much better job with this one, that’s for sure. There’s just no part of this trailer that works at all. By comparison, Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit did a far better job of marketing their Clancy hero in a film. It set up the cast of characters and the basic plot, but it didn’t end up giving away any of the really crucial information because it was all saved for the actual film. It’s just too bad the guys who put together that trailer couldn’t have done the same thing twelve years ago.

Carrie (2013)

Why It Spoils The Movie: If you’ve already seen Brian DePalma’s 1976 version of the film or read Stephen King’s original novel, then it’s not necessarily a spoiler, but for those who haven’t seen it or read the book and are just going into the remake blind, don’t watch this trailer. If you do, then you’ll have basically just seen the entire film all rolled up into two and a half minutes.

The classic prom scene and subsequent bloody massacre is showcased in all its violent glory, which is a real shame. Like many trailers, the prom scene that’s the most iconic part of the film is spoiled to “create interest” in watching it. Ironically, that tactic does the exact opposite. Believe it or not, but showing the big climax of the film is doing a disservice to the filmmakers, the studio and the audience. Better idea, don’t show it and just set up for it. That would actually be interesting, believe it or not.

The Last House On The Left (2009)

Why It Spoils The Movie: The trailer sets up the inciting incident where Sarah Paxton is raped and left for dead and the fact that the perpetrators ironically find refuge in the house of her parents. Then halfway through it’s revealed that she’s still alive and makes her way back home, but it doesn’t stop there. The trailer gives away they try to kill her again and her parents strike back. The trailer even shows the very last scene of the movie where Garret Dillahunt is paralyzed and has his head placed in the microwave, ready to explode.

Would you please stop putting in the last scene of the movie in your trailers? Please? Instead of giving all of this very pertinent information away, why not do it in a far more restrained fashion? Set up the inciting incident, have the perps find their way to the titular house and then realize whose house it is. Then with the last twenty seconds or so just show a series of quick flashes of the action scenes to pique interest and end on a good tagline. At least do something that doesn’t just sully the actual experience of watching this movie.

From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)

Why It Spoils The Movie (Briefly NSFW): From Dusk Till Dawn is arguably one of the greatest examples of a film doing a complete one-eighty half way through. Those watching the film without ever having seen the trailer would go into the film being completely surprised to find that it turns from a “heist-road movie” to a vampire action flick with a snap of the fingers. The film is directed by Robert Rodriguez, so naturally there’s a lot of fun over-the-top action to be had, which the second half totally delivers.

It’s just too bad the trailer had to give that away. By comparison, there’s another trailer for the film and it does the exact same thing as this one but without the spoilers. The other trailer sets up the story of the Gecko Brothers, that there’s fighting and Harvey Keitel is in it and that’s it. Sign me up for that movie, because that looks awesome. Then when the vampires actually do show up, it would be all so wonderfully shocking now, wouldn’t it?

Quarantine (2008)

Why It Spoils The Movie: The trailer for Quarantine isn’t actually that bad for the most part. It’s short in length and yet not on mood or atmosphere. The film is a remake of the absolutely terrifying [Rec] has its merits here and there. Of course the original is better than the remake because that’s what tends to be the case more often than not.

The film is simple in its execution, just like the trailer. It’s actually intriguing and makes me want to watch it. It’s just too bad that it ruins the ending by showing the very last shot where Jennifer Carpenter gets dragged away into the darkness. I’m almost ready to just throw my hands in the air and give up completely on these people. When will they learn to stop putting the last shot of the movie in the trailer, thereby giving away the ending? Not anytime soon by the looks at some of these other trailers on the list.

The Island (2005)

Why It Spoils The Movie: Never mind the fact that this schlock was directed by Michael Bay, the trailer for The Island looked great until it spoiled the biggest plot point in the film. The trailer on its own terms is actually pretty interesting with its futuristic setting, general intrigue and Scarlett Johansson. Then we find out that the titular island isn’t real, that they’re all just clones and part of this great conspiracy. I have a crazy idea and if it’s really that bad, stop me right now, but at least hear me out.

Why don’t studios release one trailer (and yes I mean just one) that’s nothing more than a teaser trailer and that be it? Very little of the plot is shown, and if the teaser does manage to attract some initial curiosity and eventual attention, then the trailer did its job just fine. If it doesn’t grab certain people then it just doesn’t grab them. That way the people who would go in would go in intrigued and unspoiled. How much better would this movie have been had we not known this big plot twist before going in? Well, at least slightly better anyway.

Funny People (2009)

Why It Spoils The Movie: At 153 minutes long, Funny People was about thirty minutes too long. For no discernible reason this trailer is three and a half minutes long and should have only been two. Why? Well because it shows basically everything about the lengthy film in its own lengthy runtime. A lot of the best jokes are given away here like all of the back and forth between Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill and Jason Schwartzman. A few jokes are fun, but this one overdoes it, especially at the end.

The chief sin being committed here however is showing that Adam Sandler beats the cancer. In the second half of this trailer and the film, he’s trying to live his life the best way he can now that he’s been given more or less a second chance. Then they introduce Eric Bana as the jerk, and they get into a fight because of course everyone just wants to have the climax of the film ruined for them. Wouldn’t it have been great to have had absolutely no idea whether or not he was going to survive when you watched it for the first time? Yes, it most certainly would have.

Cast Away (2000)

Why It Spoils The Movie: Oh, so Tom Hanks does get off the island? Well I’m glad we all know that now. All the trailer had to do was show us that he crashes on the island and has to survive. If the marketing team felt so inclined, they could also show a handful of aspects detailing the trials and tribulations of Hanks’ solitary ordeal. That’s all that the trailer had to do, and nothing more. The correct way to market this very film is on Hanks’ star wattage alone. He’s one of the most charismatic actors still working today.

Everybody loves the guy and deservedly so. So the way to market this film is to just focus on him being stuck on the island and nothing else. Not only does the trailer tell us he gets saved, but also that he was gone for four years, he reconnects with his wife and also has the last shot of him standing at the crossroads. Seriously people! Stop putting in the last part of the movie in your trailers! Just stop it!

Spider-Man 3 (2007)

Why It Spoils The Movie: Disregarding the fact that the third Spidey flick does a terrible retconning of its filmic universe in regards to the death of Uncle Ben, it didn’t need broadcasting in the trailer. Regardless of what viewers thought of the twist in context of the story, they should have at least kept the surprise for when people actually watched the film. It doesn’t matter what you thought of the twist in Iron Man 3, at least they didn’t spoil it in the trailer.

But let’s not stop there, because why would we? Let’s also show Harry as Green Goblin 2.0, and show him comatose on a stretcher just to up the stakes. Wait, there’s more! Peter will get taken over by the black symbiote as well and become Dark Spider-Man and change his personality. The greatest battle is within? No the greatest battle is trying to stop idiots from making terribly edited trailers that spoil everything. That’s the greatest battle by a landslide.

Terminator Salvation (2009)

Why It Spoils The Movie: Sam Worthington’s character is the catalyst for much of Terminator Salvation, because he’s “the key to all of this” as a cyborg that thinks he’s human. But they wouldn’t be happy just giving out that little detail just once. No, they have to do it twice. Yes, he’s a cyborg, we got it the first time. The fact that this trailer showcases this throughout much of its runtime is frankly disappointing.

Had the trailer kept this detail out of the proceedings, then the reveal of his character would have actually been surprising and fun. The film still would have sucked mind you, but it could have used at least one clever trick up its sleeve. To be honest, this is actually a pretty cool trailer. It sets up the characters and the universe quite well and the song choice totally works. For all intents and purposes, this trailer is actually pretty cool, which is why the spoiler is ultimately so disappointing.

Dream House (2011)

Why It Spoils The Movie: So Daniel Craig is crazy and his family is probably all dead? Well I’m glad we all know that half way through. This trailer is just unfathomably awful the way it shows all of the important plot points throughout the film. Any mystery or intrigue that the premise might have cooked up is all but deflated when every plot twist in the film is just flat out said to the point that it’s hilarious.

The first time I watched this trailer I burst out in laughter at how terribly put together it all was. I honestly couldn’t believe that they intentionally used this trailer to market their film. It’s just so badly done in every way. Then again I suppose this trailer is rather fitting for the movie, considering it’s hilariously awful as well. Poor Jim Sheridan, first he directed Brothers and they spoiled that trailer. Then two years later and he directs Dream House, only to have the exact same thing happen.

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