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A Comedy of Horrors: 15 of the Best Recut Movie Trailers on YouTube

By Rob Payne | Lists | September 13, 2013 |

By Rob Payne | Lists | September 13, 2013 |

Movie trailers, as much as me way lament how often they reveal way too much or practically show us the entire film in two minutes or less, can be an art form unto themselves. The best ones can do the grunt work of intriguing audiences who might not otherwise be engaged, while hitting all the right chords so that fans (of the property, the filmmakers, etc.) become legitimately excited for the final product. It doesn’t matter if the end-resultant movie is any good, the trailer did its job and could even be remembered more fondly than the film itself. Really, though, the worst sin a trailer editor can commit is fundamentally altering the tone or the content that moviegoers can expect — like making thoughtful, contemplative children’s movie look like it’s all a wild rumpus or showing a cow thrown across a field by tornadic winds, only to have no cow in the final cut. Trailers have one job, and that’s to properly sell their movie.

That said, like remixing the opening credits of TV shows, recutting movie ads so that they tell completely different — though contextually appropriate — stories from their originals can be a whole hell of a lot of fun. It’s no secret that, thanks to affordable technology and software, fan-made works can of outclass the supposed professionals with very little elbow grease. So, it’s really no wonder that some intrepid editors have turned comedies into horrors and horrors into farce, sometimes with little more than new music and a few extra title cards. It’s kind of an Internet phenomenon, but the best ones are usually uploaded to the YouTubes to reach the widest possible audience. Like how “Friends” was the most popular theme to re-use for TV credits, it seems like Inception is the most popular reconfiguration for films. So, there will be a few of those. It’s also very popular to turn kid flicks into thrillers Dario Argento would be proud of, and, let’s be honest, some kid flicks are mighty easy to alter.

But enough rambling, here are 13 of the Best Recut Movie Trailers on the World Wide Web (click on the titles to compare with the originals). Surprisingly enough, I actually wasn’t inspired by the first entry on this list, which was discovered just yesterday. That’s what Alanis Morisette would call irony. Enjoy!


Monty Python and the Holy Grail


It really is between this and Excalibur for the title of Favorite Medeival Movie.


Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory


They could have just shown the boat scene for the entirety of the piece, that they didn’t is worthy of applause and lifetime supply of snozzberries.


Back to the Future


The idea that someone would go back in time with the sole purpose of messing with you? Terrifying.


Jaws


It’s safe to back into the water! Huzzah!


Mean Girls


It’s kind of like Showgirls now — absolutely frightening.


IT


Basically, if Tim Curry had played Patch Adams, I’d watch it.


Dumb and Dumber


There always was a thin line between dumbness and madness.


School of Rock


At the very least, this is what every parent of those fictional children probably assumed Jack Black was all about, anyway.


The Shining


Still scarier than the 1990s TV mini-series.


Toy Story 3


Like Wonka, they could have just used the entirety of one scene to sell this idea. Collectors editions for all!


Home Alone


Really gives new meaning to the line, “Had enough, or are you thirsty for more?”


The Dark Knight


I never really considered it before, but Bill Murray really would make an interesting Joker.


The Fellowship of the Ring


Clearly, The Hobbit was given to the wrong director.


Mary Poppins


Tagline: Watch out for… The Poppins!

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Top Gun


Whatever Tom Cruise says, this was always the real love story of the film. Sorry, Goose (RIP).


Rob Payne also writes the web comic The Unstoppable Force, tweets on the Twitter, and his wares can be purchased here. He also thinks Bill Murray would make an interesting Thomas Wayne, but admits that could be latent Jeff Winger’s Fatheritis.