Trailers From Hell! Volume One – DVD Review

For anyone who has read any of my DVD/Blu-ray reviews you know I love theatrical trailers. Those cool shorts that showcase the cream of the crop scenes from a particular movie. The great thing about most trailers are they can even make bad movies looks incredible. In a lot of cases, the trailer is better than the actual film. When I go to the theater I make a point to arrive early to make sure I see them all.

Trailers From Hell is an award-winning series that brings together a multitude of people in the film industry who lend their thoughts on an assortment of trailers through an intro and audio commentary. The series is the brainchild of film director Joe Dante, new media entrepreneur Jonas Hudson, graphic artist Charlie Largent and producer Elizabeth Stanley. The series was born out of their mutual love of classic films of all types, but particularly horror and exploitation films.

I have been a regular visitor to the site over the last few years, and I keep coming back for more. Where else on the internet can you hear Eli Roth dissect the preview for Exorcist II: The Heretic? Some of my favorites include: Blow Out, Don’t Look Now, The Fury, Videodrome, Suspiria, and Masters of The Universe. Speaking of Eli Roth, he had planned to do a feature film for MGM called Trailer Trash that was going to be a compilation of faux trailers like what was done for Grindhouse. That film is not going to happen.

The web series has become so popular that a DVD of the “Best of” promos has been released of films that Mick Garris, Joe Dante, Eli Roth, Edgar Wright, and John Landis gave their insights to. Below is a breakdown of the movies covered:

Joe Dante: The Tingler, Blood and Roses, Curse of Frankenstein, and Earth vs. Flying Saucers.

Mick Garris: Rabid, The Valley of Gwangi, Scream and Scream Again, and Horrors of the Black Museum.

John Landis: Curse of the Werewolf, Green Slime, Private Parts, and Mighty Joe Young.

Edgar Wright: Corruption, The Sentinel, Silent Running, and The Phantom of the Paradise.

All of the trailers can be played with or without audio commentary.

Bonus Material: The 1933 Majestic Pictures horror classic The Vampire Bat, starring Lionel Atwill, Fay Wray, Melvyn Douglas, and Dwight Frye, as well as two animated classics, Foster & Bailey’s The Haunted Ship (1930) and Ub Iwerks’ The Headless Horsemen (1934).

Conclusion: Buy this bad boy right now! Volume One can be purchased at Amazon or Amoeba Music on Sunset and Cahuenga in Hollywood. This week alone the site is featuring Roger Corman on The Wild Riders and Adam Rifkin on Werewolves on Wheels. What I find special is you can tell by the movies picked by these filmmakers which ones motivated them to move on to become who they are today.

The DVD: Rating: