How to: Avoid Being Deceived by Trailers

By: H. Esteves

Trailers are like the bait of a fisherman; films aren’t always as good as their trailers make them seem like being. That said, how do you prevent yourself from taking the bait?
We need to first understand how the trailer’s director is thinking.
A trailer´s main goal is to show how good the film is without revealing too much. Therefore, trailers will always show the most eye-catching and interesting scenes from the movie.
For that same reason, trailers are, many times, misleading.

​For example, Mission Imposible's trailer depicts a ‘nuclear war’ news report in the background that really changes the way you expect the film to be. Yet, (spoiler alert) the nuclear war does not actually feature in the film. This minor detail in the trailer might greatly change the viewer’s perspective about the film, leading to disappointment when they actually watch it.

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​Additionally, some scenes can be misleading in their audio. A song, in the movie’s trailer, may be playing over a scene it isn´t actually in, which might make the scene seem better than it really is.
We should also keep in mind that the trailer is always showing the best scenes one after the other, while the film may be quite raw in between good scenes.
What about the ending? Some trailers are great, and the film itself is great, with an interesting story, until... the ending. Sometimes they are, to put it simply, underwhelming, disappointing, badly executed or rushed.
 

So, how do you avoid being deceived by trailers?

• Watch all the movie’s trailers, it'll give you more insight of the film. The number of trailers coming out for one film are increasing yearly.
• Watch no spoiler reviews if you would like more insight. There are tons of videos on YouTube, articles on Google, and even some commentaries on The Lion – avoid them for a more intriguing experience!
• Keep in mind that the trailer will most likely be better than the film.
• Believe a scene from the trailer matches the audio playing so you are not tricked into believing it's a better scene than it really is. Also, remember that specific song probably won't be there.
• In horror films, remember the film might be scarier than the trailer because of an added build-up.         

 
 
 
BIBLIOGRAPHY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wb49-oV0F78