People Are Sharing Red Flags In Trailers That Mean The Movie Might Be Bad, And — Lizzo Said It Best — The Truth Hurts
BuzzFeed
8 min read
We recently asked movie lovers in our BuzzFeed Community, "What are some red flags in movie trailers that make you think, Oh no, this isn't going to be good?" and you better believe they came through with some A+ answers!
Comedy Central
So, with that in mind and with varying specificity, here are just a few of the warning signs in trailers that hint that a movie may, in fact, be bad:
1."If they give away the whole plot of the movie over the course of two minutes (looking at you Secret Obsession)."
2."If it feels like a movie trailer. So, if you imagine a movie trailer based on the words 'movie trailer,' you probably imagine something like the 'In a world...' voiceovers — a marketing strategy that's 25+ years outdated. Basically, if so little thought went into hiring the trailer team, you know there was no thought put into the rest of the movie, either."
3."Choosing a cliché song for the trailer is a horribly obvious red flag. I once went to a showing, and the coming attractions had THREE sports romps — all of which used Survivor's 'Eye of the Tiger.' I know the band probably deserves the residuals, but COME ON."
CW
4."When there’s a ton of action, snippets of dialogue, and dramatic imagery — but you finish the preview with no clue what the movie is even about."
5."When the two leads in the trailer — as their car crashes or their plane plummets to Earth — turn to each other and yell, 'Aaaahhhhhhhhhh!'"
6."I’d say when it’s the hottest male and female stars at the moment are in a movie where the trailer heavily hints that they'll have graphic sex scenes. It’s clearly being made because the studio knows that, no matter how bad the movie is, it will make money based on that (lookin’ at you Passengers)."
Sony Pictures Releasing
7."If a trailer emphasizes the cool technology that was used to make the movie, and nothing else, it's a serious red flag. That just means that the movie offers nothing except pretty visuals."
8."When the text used in the trailer doesn’t tell you the plot for more than a sentence or so, and instead the whole trailer is just 'Starring [INSERT LONG LIST OF A-LIST CELEBS]!'"
9."For horror: random imagery set to a creepy song sung by children. It's an immediate eye-roll and a 'no' from me, dawg."
New Line Cinema
10."When it brags about things like: 'From the lighting designer who brought you TITANIC!' and 'From the third assistant director on KNIVES OUT!'"
11."A trailer that ends with one of the characters saying something like, 'This is gonna be great!' Any line like that is almost always written in for the specific purpose of becoming the end kicker for the trailer, not because it advances the plot of the movie itself."
12."If it's a period piece, any shot of a woman getting her corset tightened to high heaven. I immediately feel the film has lost credibility and accuracy. Most people wearing corsets didn't tight-lace them — they were never meant to be so tight that it was hard to breathe. They were meant to be snug to provide support, so anytime I see a trailer with a girl getting cinched within an inch of her life, I roll my eyes."
Paramount Pictures
13."When the reviews mentioned in the trailer are in HUGE letters, but then the publication that wrote them is so small you can’t read it. I always assume this means it's from some obscure site that liked the movie, but no one reputable ones had anything good to say. 'Absolute masterpiece! —Billy from his couch in Cleveland.' No."
14."When it has too many dissolves and fades to black and piano music, and then NOTHING! It's just random images and you're like, 'What?! Is this a horror? Is this a thriller?' (Nope, I am looking at you!)
15."When all of the best jokes are the in trailer. I've found that most genuinely funny movies will out their weaker stuff in the trailer, or go as far as to not give away any real punchlines to jokes. Movies with little funny material often just throw what little they have into the trailer."
Warner Bros. Pictures
16.If the main focus of the trailer is on one attractive cast member (usually a woman) with a lot of bikini shots or slow motion shots. It isn’t going to be good."
17."For horror: I swear, if they show you every good scare in the trailer, then it's just all fluff in between. So, basically, I spent two minutes getting as scared as I'm going to get during this entire movie. I have learned with trailers like that. Now, I wait until it's streaming to see it, then I'm usually right. That way, I've saved $18 and can have wine at home, LOL."
18."For animated: when they use every single kids’ movie cliche in the trailer. Like, a character farts and then another character comments on how gross it was! Or characters are in a super weird situation and one character goes, 'Awk-ward!' or 'I didn’t see THAT coming!' Or an overplayed pop song plays over scenes of the characters badly dancing (bonus points if one character is looking at the others like 'You’ve gotta be kidding me.') And, of course, if the cast list is all celebrities with no experience in voice acting, or even acting in general. Seriously, what is the obsession with casting pop/rap stars in animated roles?"
Sony Pictures Releasing
19."When the trailer is for either a sequel or a remake, and the trailer has allotted time for a sort of pause for audience response...like they think the characters are so beloved that we need to collect ourselves during the trailer?"
20."When there's a comment made like, 'The best British comedy since [INSERT BELOVED BRITISH COMEDY]!' it usually is not that funny."
21."When the trailer reveals that they have like 10 production companies attached to one film. This usually equates to a 'Too many cooks in the kitchen' situation."
Adult Swim
22."'From the studio that brought you...' That tells me absolutely nothing. When the director's or writer's previous projects are listed, it can give you an idea of what to expect, but the studio is just trying to hype up a movie they expect to be bad by referencing a successful movie they also put out. A recent example was 'From the studio that brought you Spider-Man: No Way Home and Venom...Morbius!"
23."When the movie's release date in the trailer is revealed to be more than six months out. If they’re promoting the movie that early, then it’s because they are still likely retooling the movie, and the final product will in no way resemble the trailer you just saw."
24."When it's a trailer for a movie based off of a book and you —having had read the book — can tell that it's already not matching up."
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Summit Entertainment
25."Overly CGI disaster movies. Immediate no."
26."When it’s released just after the Oscars, and the only thing mentioned on the poster is that it stars the 'Oscar-winning' actor. That generally means the distributors are just using the actor's name to drive sales for a film that was probably stuck in post production hell and should have never seen the light of day."
27."When the trailer consists of a generic boy and girl timidly crushing on one another, and NOTHING else. Like, for me, Licorice Pizza had a totally unappealing movie trailer. It’s ONLY selling point was the Haim sister."
United Artists Releasing
28."For action: when they use that annoying 'bam/boom' sound in trailers with lots of very short scenes, normally including a helicopter flying over a field/ocean/mansion, intercut with text on the screen."
29."When it's edited in a way that gives absolutely none of the plot away, but just focuses on catchy one-liners. Trailers giving away the whole plot is one thing, but if you finish it feeling beyond confused and without a single idea what the movie is about, the plot will likely be convoluted and/or just not good."
And finally:
30."When the plot twist is revealed IN the trailer. If you have to rope me in with that, then I know it’s going to be played out poorly."
Well, you've read their opinions, but now it's YOUR turn! Which ones did they miss? What do you believe are some red flags in movie trailers that make you think, Oh no, this isn't going to be good? Share yours in the comments below!
Some responses were edited for length and/or clarity.