Did you know that trailers used to be shown at the end of a movie, not before? That’s why they’re called “trailers.” At some point, they were moved to the beginning of the movie because people would leave the theater without watching them. It’s not hard to see why; oftentimes trailers are for movies you probably don’t want to see, or they show all of the good parts and leave none for the actual movie. These trailers, though, make that extra 20 minutes before the main attraction totally worth it. They’re so frightening, so unnerving, that the buildup they create for the movie is utterly incomprehensible.
#9 Texas Chainsaw Massacre 4K Remaster
There was a time, decades ago, where trailers were at their worst. Just some plain old talking with random scenes strewn together in a 90-second TV spotlight. 1974’s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is no different. The grainy images of a screaming Sally make me feel as sweaty and dirty as she must have felt. Fast forward forty years and I’m singing a whole different tune. Beautifully sharp camera sweeps through a dusty Texas farmhouse force you into a literal house of horrors. We see the same rotten corpses and chicken bones as the ‘74 version, but in incredible detail. The 4K remaster plays on realness, and in the same way I felt sticky from the old version, the new one makes me feel even worse. The screams become as real as they appear.
#8 Oculus
Any time a trailer has a child reciting rhymes, it’s a problem. Not only is the rhyme creepy, but we can hear the girl’s voice slowly cracking from fright. Pair that with invisible hands pulling a sheet away from a mirror and blood trickling down from inside the frame, and we’ve got a spicy meatball of a trailer. When I sit in a theater and the trailers play, I always look to whoever I’m at the movie with and judge the trailer. If I immediately turn and say “I’m gonna see that.” well, it’s obvious. If I don’t say anything, I probably didn’t like it very much. Oculus’ trailer was definitely in the former category. It really doesn’t take a lot to make a scary trailer.
#7 Alien
Slow reveals can be a good thing and a bad thing. Do it right and we’re brought in to the action bit by bit. Do it wrong and we’ll lose interest. Alien does it just right with the title slowly written out over images of… an egg. But not just any egg — when we’re just confused enough, sirens blaring over images of utter space chaos lead us to believe the egg brings danger. And if that didn’t convince us to see the movie, the tagline will.
“In space, no one can hear you scream.”
Alien, 1979
Hook, line, and sinker.
#6 Bodom
Based on a true story, Bodom is a film about a group of teenagers researching Finland’s Lake Bodom murders by reenacting the fateful camping trip. The trailer leads us through a campsite as we hear happy cheers and fun from the night before. As the camera (which is going backwards from water to land) gets closer to the tent, the cheers turn to screams, camping gear becomes weaponry, and an injured and bloodied girl is hyperventilating inside the damaged tent. We feel the fear along with her, and can’t help but breathe uneasily as we see shadowy boots approach the tent. Even though we are not physically in the movie, we are not safe.
#5 American Horror Story
I’m cheating a little here by including TV intros, but I couldn’t resist. American Horror Story’s intros set the scene for the seasons, from Victorian death photos to peephole blood-cleaning, devil worship and even nuclear explosions. The music is deep and haunting, and no matter what’s happening on screen, it always matches. My favorites are Seasons 3 and 4, Coven and Freakshow (respectively). Grainy footage of floating witches and demon imagery perfectly describe Coven, while Freakshow gives us just that, a freakshow of grotesque stop-motion dolls set to the original tune done on a music box. These little vignettes of horror are just as enticing as they are alarming.
#4 The VVitch
I may be a bit biased because I love pretty much anything to do with witchery, especially historical folklore. The Witch is utterly gorgeous, so crisp that you can see gnats circling the family as they ride out into the new England wilderness. Native chants and drum beats inch you closer and closer to a treeline that harbors evil. The family is torn apart by ritualistic practices — those of Puritan godliness as well as ancient Pagan magic. Darkness surrounds their campfire at night, and no one can be trusted. Souls and sanity are at stake. The worst part is, we’re given the impression that it cannot be stopped.
#3 Magic
This may be the first instance of a trailer sending children to therapy, and if you’re interested in that story, check out the Shudder original, Primal Screen. Now, I saw this trailer for the first time about a year ago, well into my 20s. That said, it is extremely obvious why Magic could send a kid to therapy. Ventriloquist dummies are a different breed of doll. Lifelike but still cartoonish, paired with a human voice. The human in this trailer is missing, hinting at the dummy possibly speaking on his own. Or not. We know it’s impossible for a dummy to come alive, but there’s always that shred of possibility that makes us keep our distance. And what is he saying? An innocent poem about magic words is muddled with sleazy lines about sex and finally, death. Not something fit for children. It ultimately begs the question, what is scarier: a human throwing his voice, or a doll with deadly tricks up his sleeve?
#2 The Last Will and Testament of Rosalind Leigh
It wouldn’t be a giant leap for a horror aficionado to start dabbling in the occult. Diving straight into contacting the dead is a tempting option. Most would start with a spirit board, but according to The Last Will and Testament of Rosalind Leigh, contacting the dead is even easier than that. A voice speaks over images of lit candles and dark hallways, explaining the steps to spiritual communication. What the voice is saying is actually pretty soothing and calm, but the voice itself is menacing, as if it were hiding a knife behind its back. The images on screen get more eerie, switching from gently swaying candlelight to videos of an all-too-lifelike angel statue. When the voice tells us to close our eyes, shit hits the fan. While I like the ending of the trailer, it still somehow works to keep your eyes closed at that point; spindly music helps your brain form horrifying images that no other entity could make up. It’s always scarier in the dark, especially with the last line.
“Someone else is here.”
The Last Will and testament of Rosalind Leigh, 2012
#1 The Shining
How do I explain the trailer for The Shining? It’s a stuffy hallway leading to an elevator. Some music reminiscent to Napoleon XIV’s They’re Coming To Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa! is playing. Credits scroll up the screen one by one. The more the music plays, the more dizzying it feels. But you realize that doesn’t make sense because you’re just reading slowly scrolling credits on a still screen. And then the credits stop and the elevator at the end of the hall opens. Blood. Fountains of blood. Gallons upon gallons of dark, muddy red blood. As it washes over the screen, we’re left with the title of the movie: THE SHINING. It doesn’t matter if you’ve read the book or not, you still don’t know what this movie is about. All you know is that it makes you feel uneasy. Not scared, just uneasy. And that may be worse.
Whether you like trailers or not, there’s no doubt that they leave an impact. Thought-provoking, spine chilling, and extremely memorable. A trailer is often your first glance into the horror, so they should be as impressive as possible. Trailers can be shit, but these 10 show how brilliant (and fucking awesome) they have the potential to be.
