Teasers

Universal Unleashes First Trailer For ‘The Exorcist: Martyrs’

Posted on by The Ultimate Rabbit

With the critical and commercial failure of “The Exorcist: Believer,” you would think movie studios would get the picture and realize that “The Exorcist” franchise had long since overstayed its welcome. But because Universal Pictures spent hundreds of millions of dollars on the rights to this long-running franchise, they still need to get their money back. Clearly, they will do anything to keep this from looking like a horrific investment.

So, David Gordon Green is out, and in his place now is writer and director Mike Flanagan who has spent much of his career adapting the literary works of Stephen King to the silver screen. With “The Exorcist: Martyrs,” Flanagan looks to reboot the franchise with what has been described as a “radical new take,” and he was very aggressive in getting the director’s job as he felt he could bring something new to this franchise which some will say has seen one sequel too many.

And now, we have the first trailer for “The Exorcist: Martyrs” which will be arriving in theatres everywhere come March of 2027. One hand, it makes the upcoming film look quite creepy, but its also makes it look like a movie. When it comes to William Friedkin’s “The Exorcist,” it was not so much a movie as it was an experience (and an incredibly visceral at that). The sequels have either failed to live up to that experience or have dared to take things in a more cerebral direction. With “Martyrs,” I am not sure where this sequel or reboot is going to land, but I have a feeling it is going to be more of a movie than an experience.

The trailer has a clever beginning as we see Detective Julie Miller (Scarlett Johansson) descend down a number of steps which may not be the same ones in Georgetown, but they certainly reminded of those same steps we saw Jason Miller tumble down all those years ago. Julie comes up to a murder scene involving an altar boy who her partner, Detective Gina Restrepo (Sasha Calle from “The Flash”), tells her is about 15 to 16 years old. We do not see all the gory details of this altar boy’s death as Julie’s head is in the way, and Universal Pictures will not benefit from a restricted trailer at this point in time. But to see this boy being crucified upside down is quite the image, and the medal we see being pulled out of his mouth looks exactly like the one from the original film.

The rest of the trailer features a number of images which have quickly seared into my memory, we see John Leguizamo who is playing a character about to be executed by lethal injection, something which has not been very effective in Tennessee recently. Laurence Fishburne shows up as a priest who looks to have many years etched on his face (please do not ask me how I cam to this conclusion). And an especially prominent figure here is Julie’s son, Max Miller (Jacobi Jupe), who looks to provide this film’s innocent moments in addition to its most terrifying ones.

But for me, one of the most memorable images comes with Julie entering a room and then stopping in place to where I was convinced someone or something would jump at her when least expected. Instead, her son Max asks her, “What is it mom?”

To this, Julie replies, “I’d appreciate it if you didn’t call me that.” And when it comes to Johansson, she delivers this line in a way which is not the least big theatrical or demonic, and it makes the dialogue all the more terrifying as a result.

I also have to add; we never hear Mike Oldfield’s “Tubular Bells” played once in this trailer. Maybe this film will indeed be a radical new take.

After watching this first trailer for “The Exorcist: Martyrs,” I have to be honest and say I cannot help but be intrigued by what Flanagan has to offer us. At the same time, I am quickly and often reminded of how the original “Exorcist” was a visceral experience more than anything else. This one, however, looks like just another horror movie. Can Flanagan and company come even close to duplicating what Friedkin gave us years ago, or can they only hope to make a movie which is only slightly better than “The Exorcist: Believer?”

Well, it cannot be any worse than “Exorcist II: The Heretic.” Can it?

Check out the trailer below.

All-Time Favorite Trailers: ‘Pale Rider’

Posted on by The Ultimate Rabbit

With Tony Farinella’s ever so enthusiastic review of Clint Eastwood’s 1985 western “Pale Rider,” I was quickly reminded of the various trailers made for it back in the day. Each trailer and television commercial made for it was dominated by the music of “Best Endeavours” which was composed by Alan Hawkshaw. That piece of music alone was enough to get me super excited about this particular motion picture.

But one particular trailer for “Pale Rider” which excited and stayed me throughout the years was its teaser. I first watched the teaser when it was included in the VHS release of “City Heat,” a movie which teamed up Eastwood with Burt Reynolds and eventually became one of my most inescapable guilty pleasures.

What makes this trailer for “Pale Rider” stand out for me is how it is composed simply of still images. Like the Italian movie trailer for Dario Argento’s “Suspiria,” it is the images which, in their stillness or frozen moments, spoke volumes. While Warner Brothers might have preferred more in the way of moving images, the still ones had much more of an impact on me.

Plus, it has a narrator telling us how Eastwood had previously directed the last great western back in 1976 with “The Outlaw Josey Wales.” This made the trailer’s promise of “Pale Rider” being the next great American western all the more thrilling. Whether or not you think “Pale Rider” proved to be such the thing, I admired the case the narrator sold us on.

As much as I wanted to see “Pale Rider” when it arrived in theaters, I was only ten years at the time, and it was rated R. The best I could do was watch Siskel & Ebert review it as I got to see movie clips there, and I did get to read the movie’s novelization which was written by Alan Dean Foster. For some odd reason, my parents never kept me from doing that.

I didn’t get to see “Pale Rider” until many years later, but that is a story for another time. And from now on, Alan Hawkshaw’s “Best Endeavours” will always forever be the “Pale Rider” theme to me. To others, it may forever be the theme for the British program Channel 4 News, but Channel 4 never secured permanent exclusivity rights for it at the time, so there!

Please check out the “Pale Rider” teaser trailer down below.

Worst Movie Trailers Ever: ‘Warlock – The Armageddon’

Posted on by The Ultimate Rabbit

I remember seeing this movie trailer back when I was an employee at Crow Canyon Cinemas in Northern California. I was aware of the original “Warlock” which starred the late Julian Sands as the title character, a son of Satan who is intent on destroying the world. And like any horror film from the 1980’s, it had to be followed by a sequel. This teaser showed some promise as we watch a peaceful landscape of nature become infinitely degraded to where the end of the world feels far too near for our comfort. And it always feels like the end of the world is just around the corner these days and, unlike R.E.M., we do not feel fine about it. Plus, the man narrating the trailer does make your blood curdle as he talks about “when he comes” and how “the land will be tainted with blood.”

So, why does this teaser trailer for “Warlock: The Armageddon” end up on my list for the worst movie trailers ever? Because it shows a lot of promise, and yet it feels so incredibly and unforgivably cheap. This could have been one for the ages, but it instead illustrates how this sequel had to deal with a far too low budget than its predecessor. While “Warlock” had a budget of $15 million to work with, “Warlock: The Armageddon” was made for only $3 million. Watching this trailer makes me realize how the producers were clearly pinching every penny they had when going into this production, and it makes everything here look so sad.

Seriously, this could have been one of the greatest movie trailers ever had more money and creativity been put into its making. That land tainted with blood looks like it was painted with a red Crayola marker. I look at this piece of marketing, and I cannot help but think about all the things about it which could have been improved on. While the narrator does what he can to sell it to the moviegoing public, the images betray the fact that not enough money was put into this particular film. Talk about a power point presentation gone bad!

It’s no wonder that this sequel’s follow up, “Warlock III: The End of Innocence,” would have an even lower budget to where Julian Sands bailed on the proceedings and was replaced by Bruce Payne and didn’t even get a theatrical release. Going straight to video back then never made anyone look all that good.

First Trailer For ‘Alien: Romulus’ Has Been Unleashed

Posted on by The Ultimate Rabbit

For my money, both Sir Ridley Scott’s “Prometheus” and “Alien: Covenant” were worth the price of admission as the famed director dared to take this franchise he began back in 1979 in a different direction as they both dealt what happened before the events of the original. But regardless of Scott’s intentions, audiences were very critical of both films as many were expecting something along the lines of what they got before. After watching the teaser trailer for the upcoming “Alien: Romulus,” I get the feeling they will get what they want, but are we also charting our way back into familiar territory?

The start of this trailer features familiar visuals as we visit a spaceship which looks very much like the Nostromo. From there, we see a couple of capsules which I assume the humans hibernated in, and one is quite the bloody sight. From there, we see characters running through corridors, we see a female getting something very long and possibly deadly being pulled out of her throat and mouth. It all culminates with Caliee Spaeny wielding an “Aliens” looking weapon as she carefully traverses the corridor, terrified of what might be waiting for her around the corridor. Looking at the way she is dressed and the weapon she has in her hands, it is very clear Spaeny is being introduced as the Ellen Ripley of this franchise installment.

Looking at this first trailer, it has me wondering if 20th Century Studios (formerly 20th Century Fox) was adamant that it look like something which stoked the nostalgia of the “Alien” franchise’s most die-hard fans. Clearly, they feel the need to give the fans something they want after the commercial under-performance of “Alien: Covenant.” But if that is the studio executives’ intention, can they succeed in doing so as nothing can ever compare to the original? Moreover, there is no guarantee that the fans will be accepting of the same old thing when they get it.

For what it is worth, however, the image of those numerous facehuggers galloping out of a certain room to land on the faces of the unsuspecting is quite the sight. It gives new meaning to the term, “I want some head.”

What really gets me excited about this particular “Alien” installment is what I have read about it thus far. It is directed by Fede Alvarez who directed the “Evil Dead” remake which I was lukewarm about, but he also made the 2016 film “Don’t Breathe” which proved to be an excellent thriller and a great exercise in handling suspense in a motion picture. If Alvarez can make “Alien: Romulus” every bit as unnerving as “Don’t Breathe,” then we are in for quite the cinematic ride.

Also, this film is a interquel, a sidequel and a prequel as it takes place between the events portrayed in “Alien” and “Aliens.” Furthermore, it has the sincere approval of the directors of those two classic movies, Ridley Scott and James Cameron. Scott has been quoted as saying the rough cut he has seen is “fucking great,” and Cameron has praised the same cut as well. If that is not the best endorsement a filmmaker can get, what is?

While I am obligated to keep any expectations I have for “Alien: Romulus” in check as I do with most movies, I do look forward to checking it out when it arrives in theaters on August 16, 2024. Please feel free to check out the trailer below.