I’m sure a few of you can probably attest to this, but it’s pretty easy to fall down a YouTube rabbit hole when you’re a few beers deep with no plans for the night (or just bored, sans beers). As a horror lover, this doesn’t necessarily have to be a bad thing though since you can really stumble upon some great movie extras, from cool set footage and classic TV spots to rare interviews and alternate scenes/endings. As of late, I have been on a particularly major kick hunting down recut trailers for well-known films. We have highlighted some notable fan-made trailers in the past, from the ones that recut family films into monster movies to those that have mashed-up newer franchise entries with their originals.
I have especially loved watching modernized trailers for classic genre entries, which are usually characterized by a greater focus on quick cuts, dramatic music, and tighter pacing when compared to the more drawn out, dialogue-heavy movie trailers from the 1980’s and before. I recently went on a bit of a bender watching just about every one I could find on YouTube. Despite that fact that many fan-edited trailers are pretty amateur, there are still a handful of editors out there that have some extremely impressive skills. That being said, I have done my best to highlight some of those for your viewing pleasure.
If you have a favorite that I didn’t include below or that we haven’t covered before, feel free to let me know in the comments! Without further ado…
The Exorcist
Courtesy of YouTuber James Nicholas, this trailer for The Exorcist features some fantastic edits and some very effective pacing. I particularly love the selection of shots used in the final crazed moments of the trailer, and though its used twice here, the flash of Pazuzu still gets me every time.
Alien
YouTuber Ryan Nelli gives Alien the Prometheus treatment in his trailer, complete with the instantly recognizable music from the latter’s trailer. The build in the first half really captures the markedly paced nature of Ridley Scott’s classic before bursting into full on action. Nelli utilizes a few cuts included in the film’s official trailer to great effect and his take gives Alien a proper blockbuster vibe.
Poltergeist
What I love about Mr. Brashad‘s modernized teaser for Poltergeist is how sinister it feels. From the music to the title cards to the wild montage of the film’s scariest moments, it hits all of the right beats that would definitely reel in audiences in our modern day and age.
