Special Series · The Art of the Tease(rs)
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. Let’s revisit 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.
Teaser trailer · Universal Pictures · 1990
1982 · Universal Pictures
“The night no one comes home.”
1983 · Paramount Pictures
“Something happens when she hears the music…it’s her freedom. It’s her fire. It’s her life.”
1983 · Universal Pictures
“The third dimension is terror”
1986 · Paramount Pictures
“Eddie Murphy is The Chosen One.”
1989 · Warner Bros.
“Justice is always darkest before the dawn”
1990 · Universal Pictures
“Sorry Jack, Chucky’s Back”
1990 · Columbia Pictures
“This Christmas there will be… Misery”
1990 · Tri-Star Pictures
“They stole his mind, now he wants it back.”
1991 · Paramount Pictures
“Weird is relative.”
1992 · Columbia Pictures
“Love Never Dies.”
1993 · Paramount Pictures
“Alien abduction. November 5, 1975, 5:49pm. White Mountains, Northeastern Arizona.”
1993 · Columbia Pictures
“An assassin on the loose. A president in danger. Only one man stands between them…”
1993 · Universal Pictures
“An Adventure 65 Million Years In The Making.”
1995 · New Line Cinema
“Nothing in this world has prepared you for this.”
1995 · MGM
“Leave your inhibitions at the door.”
1995 · 20th Century Fox
“You know you want it.”
1997 · Columbia Pictures
“There is no future without it.”
1997 · PolyGram Filmed Entertainment
“Players wanted.”
1998 · Universal Pictures
“Check in. Relax. Take a shower.”