Monday, August 2, 2010

Catfish : Thoughts?

Every once in a while, I find trailers to films that just get me.
Today, Apple has posted an official trailer for the documentary, Catfish, which premiered at Sundance this past January. Catfish is the kind of film that is described as being more successful knowing little to nothing about it. A great example of that kind of film is the Blair Witch Project. My friends and I bought advanced tickets to an afternoon screening during it's original, limited run. To this day, it was one of the greatest theater experiences I have ever had. The audience knew nothing about the film, only word of mouth (before the boom of the internet :) Everyone in the cinema was silent throughout the entire running time. After the last frame, every single person in the theater did not get up until the last credit rolled. We were all in a sudden state of shock. It was great to experience that with an audience.

The most recent example of this is Paranormal Activity. The original marketing campaign was truly successful (limited midnight only screenings, on-line petition for a wide - release). Then, TV and trailers destroyed the film's effect by including the last scene in advertisements. (Kinda like showing the Statue of Liberty in all the posters for the original "Planet of the Apes") Point being that if you know what's going on ahead of time, the suspense does not exist for you.

After I watched this trailer, my instant reaction was that this film might deliver the same experience. I think it does a great job building suspense without ruining the "twist". I know nothing about this film and plan on keeping it that way until I see the limited run in mid-September. If you have any thoughts, please share :) - Eve.


3 comments:

  1. I am dying to see it in September. A few co-workers are teasing me because they already looked up the ending. Grrrrr

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