Coining a Phrase: Trailer Spin

I am trying to coin a phrase. It is "trailer spin". What is trailer spin? Simply put - trailer spin is where a movie's trailer contains elements that are presented in such a way so as to deceive a prospective audience regarding the movie that is being advertised.

Trailer spin can come in many forms. It can deceive in regards to the plot of the movie. It can contain elements of the movie that did not make it into the final cut. It can contain elements that were altered in post-production.

Warning: Possible movie spoilers for New Moon, Halloween (2007), Friday the 13th (2009) and Paranormal Activity.

Trailer spin is not common or uncommon but it appears to this author to be on the rise. I can think of at least four examples of trailer spin from the recent past. You might have to take me at my word at this point as much of the "evidence" for movie industry deception has disappeared.

In the remake of Halloween (the Rob Zombie version) the protagonist, Laurie Strode, is seen running/limping away from Michael Myers in a suburban street. In the trailer, at least one of them, the seen appears in the day time; in the theatrical release, this scene takes place at night.

Perhaps you the reader remember the all the press surrounding the release of New Moon in the Twilight series? The trailer for the film was clearly aimed at deceiving audience. The irony here is the falsehood is the same one that the Edward's vampire clan believe in for a time. If you recall, they believed that Bella's cliff dive was a suicide attempt. It was not, but the trailer gave the strong impression that it was.

In the trailer for the remake of Friday the 13th, Jason is seen wielding a chainsaw before he kidnaps Whitney. In the theatrical release he is seen with his old standby tool - a machete. The "chainsaw version" was even up on the website for awhile prior to the release but was then altered to the machete at some point in time.

Trailer spin is neither good nor bad, and could be considered a bit of both. In the case of Michael Myers and Halloween, the scene added to Michael Myer's brazen mystique as he is seen attacking in the day time. Although, in a scene that did not make in the final cut, Michael kills a man at the his mothers graveyard. Also, in Halloween 5 he kills a girl during the daytime.

Personally, I think Jason Voorhees using a chainsaw is tre' cool as that seems to tread on the territory of another famous movie character - Leather Face. I felt a bit cheated when in the theater I witnessed a prop switch that I was not expecting, nor did I want.

The New Moon variety of trailer spin seems the most insidious as the spin involves the whole plot. Not only is Bella's faux suicide put forth but the way the scenes were spliced gives the impression that Jake saved Bella from the vampire Laurent when he did not.

Paranormal Activity deceived us all by putting two of its endings in one trailer. If you recall, in the trailer Katie is seen rocking back and forth. We also see Micah being thrown towards the camera. These events are part of two different endings that were shown theatrically. The ending with Micah being thrown towards the camera is now the "official" version (Paranormal Activity has many versions, and three endings that appeared theatrically, so "official' is on a sliding scale here).

I am not quite sure what the movie industry is aiming for with trailer spin. Generating publicity seems likely. Some of the instances of it may have happened accidentally. I do think there is an forethought to it as all the examples I can think of come for the horror genre.

Now you know what trailer spin is and you even have a phrase/term for it. Spread it around so I can take credit for it, and be careful . . . The movie industry will lie about what it is giving you.