Rant of the Week: Movie Trailers

I didn't really know what to talk about this week, and since yesterday saw the release of the new (and awesome) Iron Man 3 trailer, I decided I would talk about something that has always been a problem to me: movie trailers.

I really started having problems with movie trailers back in 2009 when I saw the Drag Me to Hell trailer. I was familiar with Sam Raimi's past work (namely the Evil Dead trilogy) so I knew that this was going to be a horror comedy. But when I saw the trailers, it was advertised as a straight horror movie. I even know people who went and saw this and came out saying "that sucked, it wasn't scary." Right, because it wasn't supposed to be. This has been happening even more frequently with movies that I actually really liked, like Funny People and The Cabin in the Woods. These movies were falsely advertised, so people were expecting one thing and were disappointed when they got another, even if it was good. 

Another thing that movie trailers have been doing is straight up ruining the movie. I can't remember how many times I've watched a movie and been like "this part was in the trailer" and it's like the big twist scene, or just the end of the movie. Why do you need to tell us how the movie ends in the trailer? Don't you want us to see the movie? There are too many of these examples for me to pick on, but I'm gonna pick the one that really felt like a travesty to me: The Cabin in the Woods. (Disclaimer: if you haven't seen this movie and intend to, don't read on.) In the trailer for The Cabin in the Woods they give away two "twists." Number one, they reveal to us that a character we believed to be dead was not. Number two, they tell us which two characters survive and that they both go "down" in an elevator. I was absolutely in shock when I finished the movie and watched the trailer again, just to make sure I was remembering correctly. Why the hell would you ruin a movie like that? WHAT THE FUCK?! 

I don't know if it's just because I pay attention to trailers a lot now that I'm watching a lot more movies, but this seems like a huge problem now. I've actually stopped watching trailers recently since I don't want to spoil movies for myself. I've actually found that it makes some movie experiences so much better. Not knowing exactly what I'm getting into makes the movie that much better. Some movies that I watched recently that come to mind are: Robot & Frank, Sound of My Voice, and Another Earth. As someone who used to go out of his way to watch trailers to try and be on the "forefront," I'm telling you that you're life will be better if you get basic details about a movie and just jump in. If you are worried about wasting your time, ask something if it is good or not, but don't get too much info. It's really fun trying to figure out where a movie is going when you just don't know.

I will tell you that sometimes I just need to watch a trailer to keep up with the movie news websites and such. Most recently, some of these include: Star Trek Into Darkness, Man of Steel, and Iron Man 3. I think these blockbuster/popcorn movies can't really be ruined as much as other films that I have mentioned. But what do I know? Maybe I ruined them for myself. We'll find out.

So, what do you think? Do you think trailers are ruining some films? Are you a staunch supporter of trailers? Tell me what you think, because I don't really get to hear a lot of people's opinions about trailers in this sense.