Editorials
[BEST & WORST ’13] The Best Trailers Of The Year!
Trailers are a tricky art. Show too much and you spoil the movie. Show too little and no one shows up. In a perfect world, we wouldn’t need them. We’d magically show up at the movie theater, be seated in front of a screen and watch an amazing movie that we, up until that point, had never seen a frame of.
But the world we actually live in is occasionally not-so-great, so trailers exist. Silver lining? At lot of trailers are badass! Some of them are sometimes (unfortunately) better than the film they’re selling! An effective teaser can often be an inspiring piece of work that you watch again and again.
With that in mind I set out to take a look at trailers released this year that actually got me excited. Funnily enough, a few of these films had teasers that made the best of 2012 list, only to have completely new trailers come out this year that blew the original ones away.
Head inside for the best trailers of the year (in no particular order)!
Lonmonster (Best/Worst) | Lauren Taylor (Best/Worst) | Ryan Daley (Best Novels)
Best Posters | Best Performances | Best Trailers | Best Albums
The one trailer this year you could show to just about anybody and get an extreme reaction. Shock. Disgust. Excitement. Even the horror folks who wound up not digging the movie (I liked it for the record) dug this trailer. Masterful marketing that plays right to the gorehounds.
More than any of the full length trailers, this 60 second spot scored by DJ Shadow captures the freaky essence of Stoker. The sexuality, humor, horror and rhythm are all here. If I was trying to sell someone on this movie – which I frequently am – I’d show them this.
This is the perfect teaser. It doesn’t show us the entire world of the film, instead choosing to focus on Lili Taylor’s character. The one thing this trailer tells us? The movie will be scary. That’s it. And it works.
This is a such a fun, gross horror movie. I’m wrestling with putting it on my Top 10 of the year list, the only thing holding it up would be the fact that it’s not due for release until next year! Still, this trailer expertly sells us on the film’s low budget charms. Fans of Fire In the Sky should feel the hairs on their neck stand up as they watch this.
This con footage bests the first Pacific Rim trailers (which hit early last year) by showing us the bitch-slap heard around the world. That tanker ship being used as a baseball bat. That shot alone probably bought the film a million extra admissions.
I’m not just putting this here because I’m quoted in it. And I’d almost urge you to watch it after you’ve seen the film, Cheap Thrills is the kind of greatness you want to experience as a total surprise. But damn if this teaser doesn’t make me want to stop everything and watch this fantastic movie again. I can’t put this movie on my “best of” list because it didn’t get a release yet, but rest assured it’ll be on there next year.
I didn’t like this movie very much, but I have to tip my hat to the trailer which really sells the unique concept behind the film. It’s not the trailer’s fault the movie didn’t capitalize on its more unique aspects! Hopefully The Purge 2 fixes this.
Editorials
‘The Vampire Lestat’ Concert Event Launches New Season With The Ultimate Expression Of Fandom
There are thousands of passionate fans decked out in gothic chic and champing at the bit like feral creatures. They’re screaming for Lestat, a legendary vampire-turned-rock star, as if the entire crowd has been glamored into submission.
The entire experience is magic, but not because some supernatural thrall has been activated. What’s going on is even more special. It’s the power of the effusive fandom that’s been authentically assembled by AMC’s sublime Immortal Universe, namely Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire, now, The Vampire Lestat.
The Vampire Lestat is far from the first Anne Rice adaptation, and it’s not as if there’s been a lack of erotic vampire material for audiences to sink their teeth into. On June 2nd, during a one-night-only spectacle, New York City’s prestigious Beacon Theatre shook from Sam Reid’s bravado performance and an audience full of adoring fans who had already memorized Lestat’s songs.
It’s clear that The Vampire Lestat just hits differently than its predecessors. It’s become more than just a TV series at this point, and this opulent display of ego, swagger, and pure sex is the perfect way to premiere the new season and give back to the fans who helped make Interview with the Vampire/The Vampire Lestat such a breakout success. It’s exactly the sort of hyperbolized hedonism that would make Lestat cackle.
For all intents and purposes, AMC has successfully created the illusion that this concert/premiere is just one of the many destinations on Lestat and his band’s 54-stop tour that is simultaneously playing out on this season of television. It’s such a sophisticated and thorough level of interactive fan engagement that the audience doesn’t just understand, but also manages to accentuate through its involvement.
It’s a level of seamless synergy that’s not unlike the give-and-take relationship of vampire and victim.
Before the concert started, “LeStans” were sitting in the Beacon and flipping through a fake Rolling Stone issue with Lestat emblazoned on the cover, complete with interviews with the undead frontman inside. Other fans were admiring the vinyl pressing of Lestat’s EP as they walked past a section of undead band merch. Fandom and fantasy blur together, and it all becomes this elaborate, immersive experience. Fan celebration, erotic gothic fantasy, and a lavish rock concert transform into one beautiful thing.
To this point, AMC Global Media’s Chief Content Officer and President of AMC Studios, Dan McDermott, introduced the event by reiterating to fans, “You are the heartbeat of the series.” That’s abundantly clear on nights like this as that heartbeat collectively pulses to this performance. In terms of how AMC engages with The Vampire Lestat’s fans, it’s as bold a reinvention as the season itself.
This intuitive gamble speaks to AMC’s creativity in this department and a fandom that is eager to seize such opportunities. It’s the same innovation that led to zombie walks for The Walking Dead and real-life Los Pollos Hermanos restaurant pop-ups from Breaking Bad. It’s a great way to pump up the audience for The Vampire Lestat and then maintain that enthusiasm for the whole season.
For most series, a rock ‘n’ roll concert just doesn’t make any sense as a promotional tool. The Vampire Lestat finds itself in a very unique position where it can deliver an excellent concert at an iconic theater, but also use it to showcase The Vampire Lestat’s music by Daniel Hart (who was shredding on stage alongside Reid and the rest of their band) and, more than anything, Sam Reid’s endless charisma.
The way in which Reid feeds off of the crowd’s energy, modulating his performance and giving different sections of the Beacon life, is a perfect distillation of the series’ thoughtful relationship with its audience and how it’s become such a breakout success for AMC. AMC Studios President Dan McDermott emphasized that the fans are the reason that the show is still here and why an event like this is even possible. It’s rare to see a series in which every single cog in the machine is so perfectly attuned to its fans. Reid’s fans already cheer whenever they see him, so why not translate that to a concert setting?
It’s clear in this season of television that Reid was born to be a rock star, but it’s surreal to see him effortlessly command the stage — and the audience — at every step of the concert. He recites Shakespeare monologues and bitches out Armand between songs, all while the audience screams in support. For the duration of this concert, Reid is Lestat, and he’s given thousands of fans a memory that’s as immortal as any vampire.
Now bring on the encore and get this show on the road!
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