these scares are starting to get stale
hey everyone I'm Rebecca and welcome to
watchmojo.com V trailer cliches what are
we gonna do we don't have a car the
phones are dead and they're here ready
to do anything that means we're looking
at the most overused tropes and scenes
in horror movie previews and because we
will be discussing some plot details a
spooky spoiler alert is now in effect
all right let's get to the list number
10 pretending to be a different genre
horror movie trailers love to Loras in
with a false sense of security these
previews often initially present their
movies as rom-coms coming-of-age tales
or family-friendly pictures before
introducing a sinister twist but for
audiences this one's compelling gimmick
has grown stale you want cereal most of
the time the title gives it away when we
click a trailer called Friday the 13th
or Resident Evil we know their horror
flicks
and even when trailers for red I almost
convinced us the movie's a rom-com we're
more likely to feel frustrated than
charmed when they do reveal the actual
nature of the film
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at home yeah just be honest with us and
we'll buy a ticket you tell the flight
attendant and your dad dies how can I do
for you she's just had a really rough
day
number nine invisible forces dragging
victims
if dragging people were an Olympic sport
supernatural beings would take the gold
every year whenever horror films want to
tell audiences the ghosts or demons are
tormenting people a character is pulled
away by an invisible force victims are
usually dragged in a straight line while
conveniently looking at the camera while
the innocents always try to grab on to
something they rarely succeed in doing
anything but scratching the floor the
Paranormal Activity franchise loves this
trope so much it's become something of a
trailer staple but seeing people getting
dragged away isn't as scary as it once
was
these overdone scenes just proved that
the studio had enough money to put
actors on wires
number eight including a shower and or
bathtub scene psycho shower sequence is
one of the most iconic horror scenes of
all time so it makes sense that other
films would want an unsettling bathroom
scene in their trailers but instead of
trying to innovate many horror movies
just plonk a female character in the
shower or bathtub and call it a day
while we're sure these scenes are
critical to the plot their lack of
originality makes them feel like excuses
to get actors to strip down films like a
Nightmare on Elm Street in The Grudge
provide memorable and creative examples
on how to utilize the vulnerability of
the bathroom setting but they're the
exceptions if you're gonna make your
character stripped down at least try to
break new ground number seven drenching
the trailer in darkness darkness is an
essential element of most horror
trailers shouldn't be in here but it
should still be used in moderation when
a scene is too dark it just becomes hard
to see the scares found footage films
are often the worst offenders of this
cliche between the low lighting shaky
cam and green tint it can become nearly
impossible for us to see anything if
horror directors are worried that making
their scenes brighter will ruin the film
they should look at the mid samar
trailer
we only do this every 90 years although
most of the scenes take place in the Sun
the preview is still terrifying while we
don't need every horror trailer to step
fully into the light we'd appreciate it
if they didn't rely entirely on darkness
either number six overusing a sound
effect for suspense it feels like every
second horror trailer has a creepy
narrator people who need help with
matters that can't be explained come to
me these hauntings can be terrifying
things although listening to those
voiceovers is getting old it's not the
worst thing we're hearing in order to
build suspense Studios will repeat the
same sound effect over and over again is
a toy will be subjected to anything from
loud horns blaring to drums being banged
repeatedly during the course of a two
minute trailer while the sound effect
may be jarring when it's first
introduced it loses its effect the more
times we hear it I'm concerned about
your girl if you have a really creepy
sound use it sparingly the less is more
approach will actually do a better job
of building the tension for your movie
plus our ears will thank you how long
have you two been together just over
three and a half years four years really
number five
making a creepy version of a popular
song there are plenty of dark and
macabre out there
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but instead of relying on tracks that
are already dark movie studios love
finding popular songs slowing them down
and putting them into trailers although
a lighter or poppy song becoming grim is
supposed to be creepy it often sounds
ridiculous over the years
slower versions of smells like teen
spirit and every breath you take have
both failed to put fear into our hearts
[Music]
but the use of ariana grande 7 rings for
the already ridiculous fantasy island
reboot has pushed this trend a step too
far
if we can hear a song at a club it
probably shouldn't be in our horror
trailer number for showing us the final
girl in horror films the final girl is
the female protagonist that survives to
fight the killer one-on-one during the
film's climax
part of the excitement and tension of
watching a scary movie comes from seeing
which of the cast members will live to
fill this role
unfortunately trailers often spoil the
surprise
if one woman keeps appearing solo
throughout the trailer it's a big hint
that she's the final girl especially
true if she's played by a more
recognizable actress they know where we
are
to move and keep moving and if that same
woman is seen covered in blood while
holding a weapon she's definitely the
final girl while revealing the final
girl isn't a death sentence
showing us the survivor does diminish
the tension of the film's bloody
conclusion number three fast and flashy
smash cuts a smash cut is an editing
technique that can catch our eye with
its speed and flashy nature
unfortunately poor movie trailers tend
to overuse this technique instead of
cutting to a few select moments there
will be more than a dozen second long
smash cuts in a row
[Applause]
we've complained about seeing too much
of the movie if the images weren't
flashing by the speed of light the
scenes are thrown at us so fast that we
can't tell what's happening to who at
any given moment horror studios need to
remember that less is more while adding
a few smash cuts is fun using too many
will leave us confused and a bit
nauseous dangerous you're a dangerous
girl
number two spoiling the entire plot
no one likes spoilers so why do we get
so many in horror trailers it's bad
enough that Studios often spoil which
characters bite the dust
but many horror trailers have gone
further and revealed major story beats
and plot twists this trend has gotten so
bad that a few movies have literally
given away their endings during their
previews quarantine Paranormal Activity
and the original Kari are just a few
movies that completely spoiled their
plots in the trailers we understand that
it's tempting to use the biggest scares
to sell audiences on the movie but
they're usually tied to major story
reveals we'd much prefer an atmospheric
trailer that's light on big scares
rather than be disappointed in theaters
this list is reminding me of so many
horror trailers it hurts and our number
one is the most obvious please stop
doing it movie studios unless you come
up with some likey new unique way to do
it anyway what am I talking about let's
get through some dishonorable mentions
and then we'll see our number one most
overused horror movie trailer cliche
[Applause]
you're you calling my name
hi Daddy this an abandoned temple it is
said that the daughter of the devil he's
the key to the world of the demon you
will be able to speak to your son but no
matter what you do you must not open the
door
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notifications number one oh look a
jump-scare can you remember a time when
every horror movie trailer didn't have
at least one cheap jump scare us either
and as a result this scary trope has
become extremely predictable
any time we see a character look under
the bed look into a mirror or step into
a dark room we're just counting down the
seconds until something pops out to
scare us sure it's the quickest way to
get a viewers heart racing but the
effect is short-lived
if we're really unlucky will get
multiple jump scares in the same trailer
there are better ways to frighten
audiences we wish horror studios would
stop relying on this heart-attack
inducing technique and give us
well-thought-out and unique scares
instead I just wanted to reiterate that
these are trailer tropes so we're not
necessarily calling out the use of jump
scares for example in the movie in
general so are you tired of seeing jump
scares in horror movie trailers if not
what are you tired of seeing come tell
me in the comments or talk to me on my
youtube channel or on twitter or
instagram at rebecca Bradon also please
watch this other video
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