Hollywood: Stop Ruining Your Movies

So here's my theory and why people have stopped going to movies (and I'll say right up front that I'm pretty hopping mad as I type this). People realized they no longer need to attend because Studio add campaigns RUIN ALL THE SURPRISES. In fact, sometimes I wait for DVD because by then I've had some time to forget the twists.
I just watched the trailer for HOSTEL, which is a surprisingly kick-ass horror flick. I saw the movie a couple of months ago, and I'll admit I thought the trailer might ruin the surprise. It's the film's best moment and it's revealed really well by a very fun actor (Rick Hoffman). I hoped Lions Gate would use more of a "don't spoil the surprise" approach, but...

In just over a minute the trailer intercuts images with big words splashed across the screen that REVEAL THE SECRET. That's it. No character, no story, no idea why it's called HOSTEL. Just reveal the twist and now, enjoy SAW II. All but 2 shots are from the last half-hour, including the new FINAL SCENE which reveals a major character getting killed. (I knew this because I saw the original ending where the guy got to live.)

But I don't mind the images as much as the words. First of all, if you're going to spoil, let the really cool actor do it. The images just show random bits of deep, dark horror. The words clearly explain WHAT and WHY! Anyone who sees this trailer and then sees the film will be about 75minutes ahead of where the director wants you to be. There's nothing left for you except some meaningless sex and gore. I'm all for boobs and blood, but until the film revealed its masterplan it was feeding me empty calories.

(Don't ask for the link, cause I'm not going to give it.)

Is it too much to ask to not ruin a movie. Did they even try making a non-spoiler ad, or is this where we've been headed even since the CAST AWAY ads showed Tom Hanks getting off the island? (It's been 5 years and $430 million so don't tell me that's a spoiler. If I spoiled CAST AWAY, you weren't planning on seeing it anyway.)
Some other recent offenders (and don't worry, I know how to do this without spoiling things.)

NORTH COUNTRY: Charlize's relationship with her father is key to this movie. If you've seen the trailer or some of the TV ads, you know how that personal story is resolved.

KISS KISS, BANG BANG: The first image released from the movie (way back in May when it played at Cannes) is taken from the climax, and gives away an odd place the hero ends up. When I saw the movie, I was suddenly ahead of the action.

"THE WEST WING": Television is not immune. A recent crisis involving a leak in the White House is resolved by the president dealing personally with the guilty party. 3 WEEKS before the episode aired, NBC ran an ad showing the President's ultimate decision.

A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE: I mentioned this in my review but it would have been more intriguing if the advertising was in synch with the actual story and told about a peaceful man, wrongly believed to be a vicious killer by mobsters bent on revenge? It would have made the first hour a lot more mysterious.

Now, if you'll excuse me I have to update my Netflix cue.



This is Rick Hoffman. The image is not from HOSTEL, and he looks nothing like this in the movie. But I wanted to put up an image cause he did a really good job. And I did it without spoiling anything.