I have a serious problem with movie trailers lately.  It seems like nearly every preview that’s released is about 2:30 minutes long and gives away almost every aspect of the movie, acting more like a Cliff Notes version of the movie being advertised rather than something to entice an audience into coming back and seeing the full product.

In this day and age where all aspects of a movie are fairly well known before an inch of footage is seen the subtlety of a well crafted “teaser” trailer is totally gone…and I miss it…I miss it a lot. So I decided to go back to some of the teaser trailers I fondly remember and, in a way, reintroduce them. Whether the actual movie was good or bad is neither here nor there…but pay attention to how each of these teasers work in their own special way to grab the attention of movie-goers.

Let’s start?  Shall we?

I’m going big right away…my numero uno favorite.

Alien (1979)

Besides being one of the best movies ever made, Alien from director Ridley Scott (Prometheus) boasted a truly kick-ass  trailer that only hinted at the terror to come.  While it’s a bit longer than a traditional teaser, the absence of any narration or dialogue and quick edits of scenes/characters that would soon become part of movie history help to make this one for the record books.  I especially like how the edits get faster and more intense until all hell breaks loose.  How could any sci-fi/horror fan see this trailer in the theater and not get a little tingle of excitement?  It’s not only one of the best teasers ever…it’s one of the best trailers ever.

Bonus fun – check out the teaser poster above.  Though Alien would eventually run with the famous tagline “In space no one can hear you scream” there’s something equally ominious about “A word of warning” that’s used on the early promotional poster.