Top 5 Re-cut/Mashup Movie Trailers

Movie trailers are a bunch of teases and flirts.

They give you just enough information to peak your interest, but they don't tell you everything you need to know before you get into the relationship. Sometimes movie trailers even lie to the audience. For example, sometimes they'll use a song that isn't to be found anywhere on the actual movie soundtrack. Or, in some cases, editors will put a line or scene next to another, when, in the actual film, those lines/moments are nowhere near each other. This is all to get an emotional response from the audience and hopefully draw them to the theaters, but it is still a form of deception.

When making a movie trailer you can make it look pretty much how you want, so it's no surprise that, five years ago or so, a bunch of re-cut movie trailers flooded the internet. People would take movie trailers we know and love, and edit them with different lines, music, and even scenes to make them look like a different genre of movie. Some say that this is because of the availability of consumer-level digital video editing suites, but I think it's because people were tired of being lied to and they wanted to show movie trailers for the deceptive teases that they are!

And as I was discussing mashup trailers with a friend recently, I realized that, while I have seen many of these re-cut trailers and have enjoyed 16.8% of them, I didn't have any here on Slice of Fried Gold. There are a TON of these trailers out there, but I wanted to make sure that I showed you, my faithful readers, the best ones that are out there.

So without further ado, I present to you the top five re-cut/mashup trailers on the internet:


#5 - West Side Story


Why it's on the list: I love zombie movies and zombie-related things. Plus, with only the addition of some title cards and a few simple special effects, the creators of this mashup made this cheesy musical adaptation of Romeo and Juliet look like 28 Days Later. Also, this re-cut trailer proves that creepy sound effects and quick cuts (even of people dancing) makes people feel uneasy. However, I think the actual West Side Story movie makes people uneasy anyway, so. . .



#4 - Toy Story/The Dark Knight


Why it's on the list: This trailer reminds me of when, as a kid, I used to mute Sesame Street and turn on the radio to see if I could make the lips on the TV match up to the music. It didn't always work, but one time I did successfully "make" a Muppet sing the lyrics to "Unskinny Bop" by Poison. The creators of this mashup did a spectacular job of making Buzz Lightyear and Woody look like they were reciting lines from The Dark Knight. And the music and sound effects match up quite well, as well. A lot of work went into this mashup, and it shows.



#3 - Sleepless in Seattle


Why it's on the list: When you ask someone to think of a romantic comedy, Sleepless in Seattle is one of the first ones they're going to name. It's everything a romantic comedy should be, so it's fun to see it played up as a thriller. Watching Meg Ryan creepily lurk and stalk Tom Hanks and his son is particularly enjoyable. If this was the actual trailer, I probably would have seen this film in theaters. And I must say that the clips of the blue-filtered fire crawling across the ceiling is a touch of genius.



#2 - Mary Poppins (Scary Mary)


Why it's on the list: I always thought that the creepiest part of Mary Poppins is when that old man tries to steal Michael Banks' money and they run away and end up in that back alley, but this trailer proves otherwise. I never realized how supernatural this movie was until I saw this re-cut trailer. Now I realize that Mary Poppins is just as creepy as Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.This one comes in ahead of the others because it manages to make the original movie look scary while only using clips from the original movie - only some music, color changes and title cards are added. This one is genuinely creepy.



#1 - The Shining


Why it's on the list: While this wasn't the first re-cut trailer, this was the one that opened the floodgates. In October 2005 a contest was held by the Association of Independent Creative Editors to see who could come up with the best genre-bending trailer and this one won - and I agree with that decision. I applaud Robert Ryang for making this trailer that is completely different from the movie. And while this trailer suffers from sub-par voiceover work (it doesn't sound authentic), the use of Peter Gabriel's "Solsbury Hill" would cover a multitude of sins.



So there you go. I know there is a slew of other mashups and re-cut trailers out there, but these are the ones that I feel were worth your time. And I'm all about not wasting your time.