Have you ever ever walked out of a film feeling such as you noticed one thing virtually solely completely different from what the trailer promised you? Properly, you’re definitely not alone, and this form of factor occurs on a regular basis in Hollywood, to be frank. See for your self by looking at some beloved movies that may show to be a little bit of a stretch from how they had been portrayed within the advertising, for higher or worse.
Jennifer’s Physique (2009)
From director Karyn Kusama and author Diablo Cody, Jennifer’s Physique, starring Megan Fox as a highschool scholar remodeled right into a succubus after a failed demonic sacrifice, is heralded as one of the crucial misunderstood cult favorites of all time. The trailers delivered on the thriller’s horror content material however had been gentle on its feminist themes and heavy on its risque coming-of-age comedy. To not point out, the poster’s depiction of Fox contradicted the movie’s tongue-in-cheek commentary on teen objectification.
About Time (2013)
Richard Curtis’ About Time begins off very similar to the profitable rom-com the advertising promised and that you’d count on from the author and director of Love Really. Nonetheless, the time journey film starring Domhnall Gleeson and Rachel McAdams finally evolves right into a deeply emotional tearjerker about holding onto one’s familial bonds.
Godzilla (2014)
The advertising for Warner Bros. and Legendary Footage’ reboot of the world’s most well-known kaiju relied closely on the recognition of considered one of its stars, Bryan Cranston. So, it got here as fairly a shock to see Godzilla kill off the Emmy-winning Breaking Unhealthy forged member’s character within the first act.
Quick Instances At Ridgemont Excessive (1982)
The central character of the Cameron Crowe-penned, Amy Heckerling-directed coming-of-age comedy Quick Instances at Ridgemont Excessive is Stacy Hamilton (Jennifer Jason Leigh). Nonetheless, you wouldn’t know that from the advertising, which made Sean Penn’s Jeff Spicoli probably the most distinguished determine.
Passengers (2016)
The trailer for the futuristic sci-fi thriller Passengers means that industrial house vacationers Jim Preston (Chris Pratt) and Aurora Lane (Jennifer Lawrence) are each mistakenly woken up from their cryogenic slumber on the similar time. Within the precise movie, Jim is the one one woken up accidentally and selfishly wakes up Aurora on goal so he would now not be alone, tainting the story’s romantic factor for a lot of critics and audiences.
Sucker Punch (2011)
Zack Snyder’s Sucker Punch was marketed with trailers that comprised principally of the F-rated thriller’s visually gorgeous motion sequences. Nonetheless, they appeared to go away out the truth that these moments solely exist within the head of Emily Browning’s character, Babydoll, and that she and the remainder of the ensemble are confined to a psychological asylum all through.
Magic Mike (2012)
Audiences who anticipated a enjoyable dance flick from director Steven Soderbergh’s Magic Mike, which is loosely primarily based on star Channing Tatum’s life, could be extra fulfilled by its 2015 sequel, Magic Mike XXL. Nonetheless, the unique is basically a story of self-destruction and aspiration for a greater life, complemented by a lot of enjoyable dance sequences all through.
The Cabin In The Woods (2011)
Director Drew Goddard’s characteristic debut, The Cabin within the Woods, was marketed as simply one other formulaic horror flick about silly children getting right into a freaky scenario throughout a woodland trip. In fact, in reality, the movie is a intelligent and subversive deconstruction of the style’s most prevalent tropes and has since been heralded as among the best horror-comedy films of its time.
From Nightfall Until Daybreak (1996)
Director Robert Rodriguez revealed to Yahoo! that Miramax needed to underplay the Quentin Tarantino-penned From Nightfall Until Daybreak‘s horror parts in favor of hyping up its Pulp Fiction-style crime thriller parts within the advertising. Thus, many had been shocked to see the story of two ruthless felony brothers on the run (performed by George Clooney and Tarantino) out of the blue grow to be a relentlessly gory vampire film within the last act.
Drive (2011)
Contemplating its title, it’s straightforward to see why some audiences might have assumed that Nicolas Winding Refn’s Drive, starring Ryan Gosling as a getaway driver who participates in a job gone improper, could be a high-octane motion flick as a substitute of a slow-burn neo-noir drama. In accordance with The Guardian, one lady felt genuinely bamboozled by the thriller’s advertising and filed a lawsuit towards it, citing that she was promised one thing extra alongside the traces of the Quick and Livid films.
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Avenue (2007)
Johnny Depp stars within the title function of the gothic thriller Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Avenue, wherein a nineteenth Century hairstylist seeks to avenge his spouse and kid’s brutal homicide, which he was wrongfully convicted of. Except you had been a fan of the unique 1979 stage manufacturing by Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler, you may not have recognized that the Tim Burton film was a musical from the advertising alone.
It Comes At Night time (2017)
Personally, I consider Trey Edward Schults’ sophomore characteristic, It Comes at Night time, is a masterful train in slow-burn suspense and paranoia. The movie follows a household’s battle to outlive a cataclysmic virus. But, I can even perceive why somebody might need been upset to be taught that the A24 horror film just isn’t a straight-up zombie flick just like the advertising prompt. I will even admit that I’m not certain what the “it” within the title is meant to consult with.
Everlasting Sunshine Of The Spotless Thoughts (2004)
I think about there have been many followers of Jim Carrey films who walked into director Michel Gondry and screenwriter Charlie Kaufman’s Everlasting Sunshine of the Spotless Thoughts not anticipating a cerebral, somber meditation on the lengths one would possibly go to flee their romantic grief. The trailer, set to Electrical Gentle Orchestra’s upbeat hit, “Mr. Blue Sky,” does spotlight among the acclaimed sci-fi movie’s surreal parts but in addition makes an attempt to promote it as extra of a unusual, overt comedy.
The Gray (2012)
Director Joe Carnahan’s The Gray is extensively praised as a shifting story concerning the battle to outlive each the unforgiving pure world and inner despair. Nonetheless, the trailer hypes the thriller up as “Liam Neeson vs. the wolves,” which is a scene we don’t even get to see because the movie cuts to black and the credit roll proper after the Irish actor’s character prepares to struggle his furry foe.
Edge Of Tomorrow (2014)
Maybe director Doug Liman’s retrospectively beloved time loop film Fringe of Tomorrow, starring Tom Cruise as a reluctant soldier who mysteriously finds himself constantly respawning after dying throughout a human-alien conflict, was a field workplace flop not due to its underwhelming title. I feel it had extra to do with the advertising hyping up the alien Invasion film as an earnest conflict movie, utterly underselling simply how enjoyable and intelligent the action-packed sci-fi thriller turned out to be.
Crimson Eye (2005)
The deceptive nature of Crimson Eye, starring Rachel McAdams as a lady coerced into helping the flight passenger subsequent to her (Cillian Murphy) with an assassination plot, will be blamed on a few issues, together with the truth that Wes Craven is the director. The advertising even appeared to attempt promoting it as a slasher within the vein of his Scream franchise, however the PG-13 political thriller is definitely one of many filmmaker’s lighter efforts by way of tone.
Unbreakable (2000)
Unbreakable was marketed as extra of a supernatural thriller within the vein of M. Night time Shyamalan’s breakthrough hit, The Sixth Sense, from the earlier yr. Thus, many audiences had been shocked to be taught they had been seeing a darkish tackle a superhero film that was not primarily based on a comic book guide and was approach forward of its time.
Catfish (2010)
Think about going to see what you assume is a found-footage thriller, comparable to The Blair Witch Challenge, solely to seek out out that the movie in query is only a easy documentary. That was the case with Catfish, wherein Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost doc Nev Schulman’s relationship with a lady he meets on-line and whose true identification is put underneath scrutiny.
Bridge To Terabithia (2007)
I bear in mind seeing the trailer for Bridge to Terabithia, starring Josh Hutcherson and AnnaSophia Robb, and pondering it was a feel-good household movie set in a wondrous fantasy land. Nonetheless, I later found that director Gabor Csupo’s adaptation of Katherine Paterson’s novel is a deeply saddening story about escaping the grief of actuality via creativeness.
Girl In The Water (2006)
Any time a brand new M. Night time Shyamalan film is introduced, audiences are sure to instantly assume it’s a horror film. The trailers for his somber fairy story Girl within the Water, wherein an condominium advanced superintendent (performed by Paul Giamatti) tries to assist a mysterious younger lady (performed by Bryce Dallas Howard) return to her otherworldly residence, didn’t assist dispel such assumptions.
Wonka (2023)
Academy Award nominee Timothée Chalamet portrayed creator Roald Dahl’s eccentric chocolatier as a youthful man in director Paul King’s Wonka. The one trace that the wondrously candy household movie was a musical is likely to be that the unique 1971 movie, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Manufacturing facility, was a musical as a result of there have been definitely no indicators of that within the advertising.
The Many Saints Of Newark (2021)
Fourteen years after the acclaimed HBO sequence, The Sopranos, ended with one of the crucial divisive sequence finales in TV historical past, Warner Bros. launched a divisive characteristic movie digging deeper into the mafia household’s previous. The A lot of Saints of Newark was not an origin story for Tony Soprano (performed by the late James Gandolfini’s son, Michael) just like the advertising promised and centered extra closely on his mentor, Dickie Moltisanti (Alessandro Nivola).
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986)
Do you know that Matthew Broderick’s eponymous slacker from John Hughes’ traditional highschool film had two different siblings, along with Jennifer Gray’s Jeanie? Anybody who noticed the unique trailer for Ferris Bueller’s Day Off might need been capable of choose up on that, solely to seek out that the actors who performed his youthful brother and sister had been minimize from the completed product.
Click on (2006)
Click on, wherein Adam Sandler performs an overworked household man who receives a particular distant that’s common within the true sense of the phrase, would transform one of many comic’s extra mature efforts, particularly after the gadget begins to take management over his character’s life. Nonetheless, the movie’s extra severe and even heartbreaking turns absolutely got here as a shock to audiences anticipating yet one more screwball comedy like the previous Saturday Night time Dwell star is finest recognized for.
Colossal (2016)
You would possibly say that the deceptive advertising for director Nacho Vigalondo’s Colossal labored in its favor, as audiences anticipated this flick starring Anne Hathaway as an American lady who discovers a kaiju in Japan is mimicking her actions could be a unusual sci-fi comedy. The story is definitely a lot deeper than that, as it’s revealed that the monster is a manifestation of the primary character’s battle with habit.
Kangaroo Jack (2003)
Not solely is the eponymous, Australian-based animal from Kangaroo Jack barely within the film, however he doesn’t even speak, save for one dream sequence going down within the head of Jerry O’Connell’s character, Charlie Carbone. Nonetheless, stated dream sequence was an enormous focus within the advertising, which additionally underplayed the PG-rated comedy’s unbelievably inappropriate materials, which I think about many mother and father didn’t recognize.
Yesterday (2019)
Nothing concerning the tone or plot of Yesterday, wherein a struggling musician (performed by Himesh Patel) finds himself in an alternate actuality wherein The Beatles by no means existed, is undersold in its advertising. Nonetheless, many individuals had been shocked and even angered to see Ana de Armas, who was featured within the trailer, utterly minimize from the completed movie, together with two followers of the Oscar nominee who tried to sue Common over it.
Imply Women (2024)
If you happen to didn’t know that 2024’s Imply Women was primarily based on the coming-of-age comedy’s stage musical adaptation, you might need assumed it was only a pointless remake of the 2004 authentic. There have been completely no hints of it being a musical within the advertising, until you depend the sheet music be aware within the emblem.
Observe And Report (2009)
Primarily based on its joke-heavy trailer, audiences anticipated Observe and Report to be simply one other zany romp like what star Seth Rogen was then-primarily recognized for and never a pitch-black psychological thriller inspecting the thoughts of an unstable mall safety guard. I might be extra involved to find if mother and father mistook director Jody Hill’s divisive dramedy for a equally plotted film from the identical yr: the extra family-friendly Paul Blart: Mall Cop.
Bicentennial Man (1999)
Seeing Robin Williams play a robotic appears like a enjoyable time for the entire household, and the advertising for the PG-rated Bicentennial Man largely made it seem to be that was the case. Little did audiences know that this futuristic flick primarily based on an Isaac Asimov story was a slow-paced examination of mortality from the standpoint of a machine.
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot (2016)
Tina Fey stars in Whiskey Tango Foxtrot as real-life journalist Kim Baker in an adaptation of her memoir, The Taliban Shuffle: Unusual Days in Afghanistan and Pakistan, which chronicles her days protecting Center Japanese conflicts within the early 2000s. Whereas finally praised for its stability of comedy and drama, the trailers for the movie emphasised the previous, maybe to higher attraction to followers of the 30 Rock star and creator.
Lamb (2021)
A24’s Lamb, starring Noomi Rapace and Hilmir Snær Guðnason as a pair elevating a wierd half-sheep, half-human hybrid, was marketed as a horror flick. Nonetheless, that factor of the in any other case weird story doesn’t come into play till close to the tip, whereas many of the movie is a slow-paced meditation on grief and the struggles of parenting.