Top 5 Movie Trailers of All Time

Trailers are supposed to sell a movie to an audience.  A good trailer gives you information as well as making you ask questions that can only be answered by seeing the movie.  In some instances, the trailer just makes you ask questions....and that's okay too.  However, the trailer should ALWAYS be an accurate representation of the movie you are about to watch.  If you are selling the movie as creepy it better be damn creepy.

The trailers below are perfect examples of how to sell great (and not-so-great) movies to a wide audience.  Take note, Hollywood, this is how you do it right.

5) THE SHINING - The trailer for THE SHINING doesn't have any meaningful footage from the movie, and doesn't let you know anything about the plot.   It is just a shot of elevator doors opening and blood filling a hallway.  If I were in a theater watching that trailer I would be positive that Kubrick had just made a movie comprised of menstrual symbolism and nothing else.  Of course, I would also want to know more.  Kubrick wins.

4) THE HILLS HAVE EYES II - And then there's THE HILLS HAVE EYES II trailer.  This trailer got me so excited for this movie.  Everything works: the music, the camera work....it even manages to have a "surprise ending."  I loved the remake and was so convinced after seeing the trailer that this was going to be a worthy follow up.  Boy was I wrong.  This trailer is so good that it makes the failure of the movie even more annoying.

3) GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO - The music makes this trailer.  I also have to give them massive credit for making the tagline "The feel bad movie of Christmas."  Unfortunately, I think this backfired and turned off a lot of moviegoers.  I thought it was genius.

2) KILL BILL - This trailer copies the old 1970's era trailers perfectly.  It is way too long and gives away waaaay too much of the plot.  However, it is so perfect in its execution that I had to put it on the list.  Plus, you have to love that font at the end.

1) THANKSGIVING - Sometimes a trailer makes you wish a movie existed.  THANKSGIVING is a fake trailer for a fake movie that will probably never get made.  Thankfully everything that would have kicked ass in the movie is probably already in this trailer.  As a huge fan of 1980's horror I was especially impressed with the 80's sounding voiceover provided by Roth himself.