Clip It: Each day, Jon Davis looks at the world of trailers, featurettes and clips and puts it all in perspective.
A gravely sounding narrator opens with, “Yesterday, she was chosen. At midnight, she was sacrificed. This morning, she was buried. And tonight… ” At this point, I'm already saying to myself, “And tonight… she comes! Got it. I'm in, where's the Sour Patch Kids, let's do this!”
But then, we get an homage to the original trailer for The Exorcist, which was removed from the theaters, not because it is too scary (although maybe!) but because it's pretty annoying. I'm not saying The Exorcist is annoying. Never in life would I say that. The original trailer is bothersome because the black and white footage strobe lights goes on for a few frames too long. So it's no longer shocking, just tedious. And meanwhile, your eyeballs are melting like then you drive west on the freeway in the afternoon, and the sun is in your eyes and you're like “Gaaah! Why didn't I bring sunglasses?”
So I was in. And then I wasn't as in, as I stopped looking for the Sour Patch Kids. The black and white, quick cutting, shining-in-your-face footage hides the movie a little too much. I enjoyed some of the visual compositions in the beginning of the trailer, but where did they go? Moreover, we don't need the narrator to finish his last thought. Not only does he end with “Tonight… she comes!” (No, duh! It's the title!) But then he's obligated to add: “Everyone else will die.” Well, I should hope so! Why else are we watching? It wasn't like I was sitting here thinking, hmm, I don't know, I'm on the fence, is this Remains of the Day? Is this a tone poem about the sadness of the dying autumn leaves? Oh, okay, it's a slasher flick. Phew.
Tonight She Comes, I have my eye on you. I want to like you, but you need to show me more.