The trailer was better than the film itself!

The title is pretty self-explanatory. Movie trailers and television spots are a marketing campaign to grab a hold of the audiences' attention and have them pay to see the latest film to hit theaters. Horror film trailers are tightly constructed and they have to make the film look scary, thrilling, and entertaining. However, in some cases (especially with today's films), the trailers to some horror films are for more appealing than the film itself. The trailer seemed to be an overview of a lackluster film's highlights. Here are some instances where I found the trailer to be captivating but the film to be a turkey.

Friday the 13th (2009) - This film was probably the biggest disappointment of all time as far as hype goes for an upcoming horror release. The Friday the 13th series is an extremely popular franchise. I myself am an extremely huge fan of the films. I was super stoked when I first viewed this trailer, believing it would be the ultimate Friday the 13th film, concentrating on the good elements of the series to make an amazing throwback to the golden age of horror films. Was I wrong or what?! This film was a dull, unimaginative slasher flick, no better than the most lackluster entry in the franchise. I seriously got bored after the first 20 minutes of the film. It brought nothing new to the table and really just recycled elements from the first four films of the franchise thus turning the whole film into a big cliched mess.


Friday the 13th, Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989) - Since we're on Friday the 13th films, here's another disappointing marketing campaign that promised but didn't deliver. What Friday the 13th fan would not be drawn to the concept of Jason terrorizing the Big Apple? However, 3/4 of the film took place on a cruise ship headed towards NYC. Then the rest of the film deals with Jason chasing two teens in the sewers of Manhattan. There is only one good scene in the film where Jason is walking around Time Square... and everyone is ignoring him! Otherwise, this film sucks.


When A Stranger Calls (2006) - I, myself, was not that impressed with the original 1979 film with the exception of that extremely tense first act. The remake promised to be an extension on the first act and be just as tense. If it failed to do that, it looked like it could have just been a creepy slasher flick. It was neither. It was drawn out sequences of obscene phone calls and shots of the empty house that attempted to generate suspense but couldn't manage to do that.


Hatchet (2006) - I'm sorry Adam Green. You seem to be a huge fan of the horror genre and you are extremely nice. But your film was a turkey. It's not like it was necessarily bad. In fact, it was extremely well made. But this film was a prime example of failing to deliver. The word-of-mouth on this film was that it was probably the greatest horror film of the last twenty years and it was extremely scary and entertaining. Like a new age Friday the 13th Jason-esque slasher film. In some cases, it almost seemed like it was going to be a loose remake of Friday the 13th, Part II. It had cameo appearances from horror legends such as Robert "Freddy Krueger" Englund, Tony "Candyman" Todd, and the killer was played by Kane "Jason Voorhess" Hodder. This should have been a great horror film. It wasn't. Painfully mediocre at best.


The Fog (2005) - What was I thinking? I got so hyped up for this film after seeing this trailer. The 1980 original is one of my favorite films and this trailer promised a film that would capture the spirit of it's predecessor, expanding on the backstory and, overall, giving us a moody and atmospheric ghost story. This film is probably one of the worst horror films ever made.


He Knows You're Alone (1980) - I actually enjoyed this film, especially the excellent beginning. But it could have been better. And that neat little scene where the hand comes crashing through the mirror is not even in the movie! It turns out it was just a marketing gimmick.


Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989) - Riding on the box-office sucess of Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers the prior year, the filmmakers of this fifth installment in the franchise rushed this film into production, hoping to capturelightning in a bottle yet again. While Michael's return was quite thrilling, this film seemed to be the epic battle between good and evil where the victims will strike back and end Michael's reign of terror once and for all. Well, they didn't do so hot. They resorted to the usual stalk-and-slash accompanied by scenes of annoying characters who were just knife fodder and a confusing supernatural sub-plot, and Michael ended up returning in three other sequels.