District 9 Movie Trailer Began New Sci-Fi Phenomeon

The District 9 movie trailer began a blitz of hype that culminates with the District 9 movie opening today. When the District 9 movie trailer was released, few, if any, had heard of District 9. But one District 9 movie trailer later, the film became a must see then and there. Future District 9 movie trailers, marketing and rave reviews only added to the hype, and today it pays off with District 9 set to be a late summer blockbuster. But the District 9 debut movie trailer is how it all began.

The first District 9 movie trailer was mysterious, and with a now-traditional documentary style format. When people on the streets in South Africa were talking about unwelcome outsiders living in their city, some may have thought it was an illegal alien/immigrant drama. In a way, they were right.

The District 9 movie trailer subverted all expectations by then introducing real aliens, and their mothership. Once one of the aliens said "We just want to go home" to his human interrogators/jailers, District 9 was no longer under the radar. Especially when the movie trailer revealed that Peter Jackson was presenting the film.

A slightly more revealing District 9 movie trailer came out a short time later, as the ad campaign went into full gear. But that very first trailer set the stage for what is now set to be a big sci-fi phenomenon, if reviews and expectations are any indication.

The first natural reaction is to compare the District 9 movie trailer to Cloverfield, which shocked many with its first surprising trailer, for a film that almost no one had heard of. But Cloverfield tapered off when it actually got released, whereas District 9 has much higher hopes.

If the District 9 movie trailer wowed audiences for 2 minutes, critics predict they will be wowed for the full 110 minutes of District 9 itself. Rotten Tomatoes has 93% positive District 9 reviews thus far, with only six negative reviews out of 88.

The consensus reads that "Technically brilliant and emotionally wrenching, District 9 has action, imagination, and all the elements of a thoroughly entertaining science-fiction classic."

If audiences feel the same way over the next few weeks, District 9 will become one of the movie year's biggest success stories. But if not for that surprising first trailer to kick things off, the story might have gone differently.

Sources

YouTube- "District 9 Trailer *uncensored*" www.youtube.com/watch

Rotten Tomatoes- "District 9" www.rottentomatoes.com/m/district_9/