Author: Megan Williams

Gladiator 2: Trailer Talk

After news of an unexpected sequel last week, another unexpected one had its trailer released around the same time, which was for ‘Gladiator 2’.

‘Gladiator 2’ stars Pedro Pascal (The Last of Us, The Mandalorian), Joseph Quinn (Stranger Things, A Quiet Place: Day One), Denzel Washington (The Equalizer, The Book of Eli) and Paul Mescal (All of Us Strangers, Aftersun) as Lucius. After his home is conquered by the tyrannical emperors who now lead Rome, he’s forced to enter the Colosseum to return the glory of Rome to its people. 

While this does look enjoyable, it can’t be denied that this feels like an unnecessary sequel. The action sequences look fun and brutal, but the visual effects look cartoon-like and strange, especially with the sailing and some battle scenes that are shown. Compared to the original, this already feels like a downgrade in visual quality.

But the trailer itself is strange. A problem that I find with a lot of trailers is that they’re too long, and the ‘Gladiator 2’ trailer is no exception. With a runtime of over three minutes, it feels like a full summary of the entire plot more than something to encourage moviegoers to see. The choice of music is also odd. Like a lot of modern blockbuster trailers, a rap/pop song is picked; it feels jarring against the Roman-time visuals. 

Overall, the cast of ‘Gladiator 2’ is fantastic, but it’s not enough to hide the fact that this feels unnecessary. Plus, the sequel seems to have an all too familiar plot and cartoon-like visual effects. If you forget that this is a sequel to the 2000 masterpiece, then there might be enjoyment here. 

AfrAId: Trailer Talk

First a robotic doll, then animatronics, and now a security home system. It seems that Blumhouse are running full speed when it comes to horror films about technology gone wrong, this time with ‘AFRAID’.

‘AFRAID’ stars John Cho (Searching) as his family are selected to test out a new home security system. Named AIA, the security system is said to be the most advanced one around, but things soon take a turn for the worst as AIA’s promise to protect the family goes to the extreme.

This trailer suffers from the same problem a lot of trailers do; it’s too long and feels like the entire film was shown in just two and a half minutes. There’s also no denying the fact that this just feels like a sequel or spin-off to the 2022 film ‘M3GAN’. This seems especially the case with the way AIA speaks and interacts with the family, including her actions; it feels very reminiscent of that film. 

But ‘AFRAID’ also doesn’t look scary; it looks like a parody film featuring unintentionally comedic scenes when the visuals are meant to scare. It’s another example of a film having an interesting concept but executing it badly.

‘AFRAID’ looks derivative of films like ‘M3GAN’ and ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’, and doesn’t seem scary at all, potentially adding to Blumhouse’s recent list of non-scary horror films. It is a shame since the concept is interesting and could easily tie into the ‘M3GAN’ universe, plus it has a great cast. But the trailer overstays its welcome with its runtime and looks more like a parody than anything else. I hope I’m proven wrong though. 

Smile 2: Trailer Talk

After the previous film scared audiences in 2022, it’s a surprise to see that the sequel to the horror film ‘Smile’ has taken this long to come around. But the curse has returned once again.

‘Smile 2’ stars Naomi Scott (Aladdin, Power Rangers) as pop sensation Skye Riley, who begins experiencing horrifying events that force her to come face to face with her past.

Trailers can either make or break a film; there have been great trailers for terrible films, and there have been terrible trailers for fantastic films. The sequel has potential to be just as terrifying as the first film, but even the first film had a trailer that felt cheesy and full of cliches; ‘Smile 2’s trailer follows the same pattern. The opening scene looks like something out of a horror film filled with cheap jumpscares.

But the premise is interesting, and the accompanying music is eerie and creepy. Plus, a couple of scenes look like something out of a nightmare: Skye Riley being chased down a narrow hallway by far too many people, and another where she’s grabbed by a crowd of people. It resembles that of a zombie film, and it looks haunting. 

Despite the cliché scenes the trailer shows, ‘Smile 2’ does look interesting and some of the other visuals are terrifying. Plus, the first ‘Smile’ film turned out to be fantastic and extremely creepy despite its trailer, so I am still looking forward to this, and being terrified all over again. 

Alien: Romulus – Trailer Talk

June has, so far, treated movie fans with a lot of great trailers including the highly anticipated new entry in the ‘Alien’ franchise.

Produced by Ridley Scott (Alien, Aliens) and directed by Fede Alvarez (Evil Dead 2013, Don’t Breathe), ‘Alien: Romulus’ follows a group of space colonizers on a space station who have the misfortune of coming face to face with the most terrifying life form in the universe: the Xenomorph.

After ‘Prometheus’ tried to breath new life into the sci-fi franchise, ‘Alien: Romulus’ is going back to its roots by setting it in the claustrophobic corridors and hallways of a space station. And with the setting, combined with the dim lighting and tense moments featured, this might be just as terrifying as the original film.

And not just the imagery, but the editing of the trailer itself is heavily inspired by the original film’s trailer. The sound design is especially fantastic, with it opening with strange cracking sounds that is horrifying revealed to be the opening of a ribcage, thanks to a Facehugger, to it closing with a high-pitched sound that replaces screaming. 

‘Alien: Romulus’ has been anticipated for a long time and it’s already grabbed my attention. The trailer is really simple yet effective: it doesn’t need to tell you the whole story, but instead opts for glimpses of the Xenomorph and the setting. Plus, it wears the influence of its source material proudly on its sleeve, something that is a positive to see.