Oh the Horror!!

[The Moose Wrangler]

Ok so I'm studying film. and part of our course is to create a marketing plan for some kind of fantasy project. and me being me has decided to market the horror movie that I'm writing.

so getting to the point. i need to do some research and i thought what better way than asking you fine people.

what i need from you lovely individuals is simply this. What horror movie marketing really stuck with you.

you know like what trailer really inspired you to watch a movie, what internet buzz made you interested or what public stunts found its way into the cold shell that are our hearts.

so yeah please let me know any awesome marketing ploys for horror movies that you know

Much lovin'

 

[A Weary Exile]

No horror movies come to mind, but some video games have had really creative marketing tactics like Dante's Inferno and Bioshock 2. I recommend taking a look at the way they marketed their games then you could adapt their methods to fit your film.

 

[Hallow'sEve]

If the plot is deep/thoughtful (ex: Hannibal or something) then try focusing on that
If it's a hack n slash (Jason films) focus on that
Advertise your movie's strengths. Having a kickass trailer doesn't hurt either.

 

[Lullabye]

Hmmmm. well, for me, all horror movie t.v commercials suck. Real world marketing usually gets the message across more, and people appreciate that you took the time to not make a horrible commercial. Like having some zombies come up from a sewer and just start handing out T-shirts with the movies poster on them or something. To cut back on expenses, use friends.

 

[fix-the-spade]

Okie dokie:

Alien (technicaly sci-fi but still)
Dog Soldiers
Jaws
Nosferatu (not scary these days but hey)
Let the right one in
28 Days Later

These have all left pretty permanent scars on my psyche, Alien in particular had me jumping out of bed in a sweat for months. As for their trailers, check out the sound on the Alien trailer, it's the total opposite of current trends and it's freaking unnerving.

<youtube=ojhGdRSkiUw>

Immense sound design and no pay off, if you want to people to be intruiged, show them something that tells them nothing at all. So many movies absolutely fuck up this very basic rule.
I mean for goodness sakes, this trailer is 30 years old now and it's still one of the best ever.

 

[MrSnugglesworth]

Don't put the name of the film above the trailer.



So unprofessional.

 

[Hallow'sEve]

Like having some zombies come up from a sewer and just start handing out T-shirts with the movies poster on them or something. To cut back on expenses, use friends.

As awesome as that'd be, I'm sure it breaks some law.

 

[Disaster Button]

You could always try taking a page from Bioshock's 2 Marketing Scheme. That is one kickass fucking thing to do and will deffinitely pay off.

 

[Lullabye]

Like having some zombies come up from a sewer and just start handing out T-shirts with the movies poster on them or something. To cut back on expenses, use friends.

As awesome as that'd be, I'm sure it breaks some law.

Not if you ask permission first. I thought that would be obvious. I mean, if you just up and did it without giving any notice, you'd be sent straight to jail.

 

[The Moose Wrangler]

yeah i was going to steer away from traditional marketing plans. to the point of not even having a trailer. i was going for a more interactive feel. much in the same vain of a zombie climbing out of the sewer and handing out shirts. but a bit more subtle

 

[Jonny49]

If it has a deep story, do a viral thing. Make it like a jigsaw puzzle and leave the viewer to put the pieces together. But only do that if your story is really, really, really good, otherwise it'll just become one huge climax that ends with a big unsatisfying *poof*

 

[oliveira8]

Okie dokie:

Alien (technicaly sci-fi but still)
Dog Soldiers
Jaws
Nosferatu (not scary these days but hey)
Let the right one in
28 Days Later

These have all left pretty permanent scars on my psyche, Alien in particular had me jumping out of bed in a sweat for months. As for their trailers, check out the sound on the Alien trailer, it's the total opposite of current trends and it's freaking unnerving.

<youtube=ojhGdRSkiUw>

Immense sound design and no pay off, if you want to people to be intruiged, show them something that tells them nothing at all. So many movies absolutely fuck up this very basic rule.
I mean for goodness sakes, this trailer is 30 years old now and it's still one of the best ever.

To be honest Alien is a Horror/Terror movie. It has all the basics of a classical horror story.

The plot is quite Lovecraftian in a way.

A bunch of people isolated from civilization trapped with a monster that the characters or the watcher cannot understand. Reminds me alot of The Colour out of Space where the creature just does nasty things and no one knows why and by the end no one knows what the thing wanted.

Also the film is named Alien and the actual Alien probably fills in total of 5 minutes screen time.

Alien is a classical horror tale with all the right tricks and thrills. It's a great movie. One of my favourite sci-fi movies right along with Blade Runner. Both made by Ridley Scott. If only he has the brain power to drop the crap to make a sequel to BR and a prequel to Alien we will be fine.

 

[Fire Daemon]

I honestly thought that this would be about Apocalypse Now. To be honest trailers don't make me want to watch a movie, word of mouth does. What you could do is start up a chat about a movie with your class mates, tell them how scary/disturbing it was and encourage them to go see it. When they come back to you saying that it doesn't exist you can say that they're wrong and weren't looking hard enough or deny having ever told them about the movie, maybe something else I don't know. Describe their reactions and present how many people tried to look for the movie. Using that you can create a marketing campaign around word of mouth which I will leave up to you.

 

[The Moose Wrangler]

well yeah the movie is a deep movie, more a psychological thriller with horror elements. which is why i don't want just a trailer and some press releases. that type of marketing never works with movies. especially horror movies. people need to be intrigued about something to want to go see it. and if you can instill curiosity or even fear in people, you have a better chance of catching their intrest

 

[fix-the-spade]

If only he has the brain power to drop the crap to make a sequel to BR and a prequel to Alien we will be fine.

NOOOOoooooo! (crunch)
This never turns out well.
If you ever think a great should return to what made him great, just think George Lucas.

I see your point about Alien, as a tangent how good do you think a Ridley Scott directed Call of Cthulu be?

 

[oliveira8]

If only he has the brain power to drop the crap to make a sequel to BR and a prequel to Alien we will be fine.

NOOOOoooooo! (crunch)
This never turns out well.
If you ever think a great should return to what made him great, just think George Lucas.

I see your point about Alien, as a tangent how good do you think a Ridley Scott directed Call of Cthulu be?

Hmm not very good really. CoC in my view is a much more IN YOUR FACE horror story with the monster showing up in full brute force and everything goes crazy in the end . Maybe something like Shadow over Innsmouth were the suspense is built and is much more creppy.

Or even Whisperer in Darkness. But I don´t really see that story working in a visual way.

 

[Tharwen]

Hmmmm. well, for me, all horror movie t.v commercials suck. Real world marketing usually gets the message across more, and people appreciate that you took the time to not make a horrible commercial. Like having some zombies come up from a sewer and just start handing out T-shirts with the movies poster on them or something. To cut back on expenses, use friends.

The zombies would probably get shot by some trigger-happy, paranoid gamer.

 

[Lullabye]

Hmmmm. well, for me, all horror movie t.v commercials suck. Real world marketing usually gets the message across more, and people appreciate that you took the time to not make a horrible commercial. Like having some zombies come up from a sewer and just start handing out T-shirts with the movies poster on them or something. To cut back on expenses, use friends.

The zombies would probably get shot by some trigger-happy, paranoid gamer.

ah....uh...*opens mouth as if to say something then shuts it*........*loads shotgun*. I dont know what you're talking about.......

 

[Sonicron]

Alien in particular had me jumping out of bed in a sweat for months. As for their trailers, check out the sound on the Alien trailer, it's the total opposite of current trends and it's freaking unnerving.

<youtube=ojhGdRSkiUw>

Immense sound design and no pay off, if you want to people to be intruiged, show them something that tells them nothing at all. So many movies absolutely fuck up this very basic rule.
I mean for goodness sakes, this trailer is 30 years old now and it's still one of the best ever.

Holy fuck! I think this trailer scared me more than the actual movie! 0_0

Well, if you have a monster in your movie (yes, that can work in deep and psychological horror movies, too), don't show it in your trailer, or if you must, only in short flashes so it's virtually impossible to make out anything definitive. Make it elusive and vague. Humans don't understand what they don't know, and there's nothing we fear more than what we don't understand.
When advertising for a horror movie I feel it is vital that a trailer (or any other medium used for promotional purposes) preys on very basic human fears. Sporadic lighting, a shaky camera or camera angles that give a feeling of scared anticipation, loneliness or inferiority, violent or irritating sounds (especially against a dark or flickering backdrop/scene) - all these are powerful tools at your disposal.

 

[cleverlymadeup]

it's hard to say without knowing fully what the movie is about. i'm going to say look at what other movies that are similar are doing and then do something similar, tho some gorilla marketing on radio stations or around where you will be showing it can help