Colin Farrell gets his mind messed up in the latest adaptation of the Philip K. Dick short story We Can Remember it For You Wholesale. Picture: Sony Pictures Source: Supplied
IT used to be the deep avuncular voice of Don LaFontaine telling movie-goers "it was a time of heroes" that turned movie trailers into unwatchable clich�s.
His voice and the phrase "In a world where ..." were used to promote thousands of films during the 80s, 90s and early Noughties, most notably Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Shrek and Batman Returns.
LaFontaine died in 2008 but his hold on trailers had gone long before then, with Hollywood execs quickly waking up to the fact that viewers didn't need a "Voice from God" telling them what the movie was about.
But now execs have latched onto a new gimmick and are flogging it to death: the Inception horn, or BWAAAAHHHH as its known online.
The loud blaring of the horn, with the bass turned all the way up to 11, is supposed to signify impending danger. It's usually intercut with the film's heroes looking scared or desperate and effects shots that showcase the film's huge budget.
It was a novelty when used in the trailers for Inception, and made sense because the loud horns were an integral part of the film's score and story (they were the opening bars of Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien slowed down). But because Inception was a successful film, execs wanted to mimic its campaign.
Here are a few:
Using the BWAAAAHHH horn was a none-too-subtle way of telling viewers that the movie being advertised was as good as Inception. Except most of the movies weren't (Battleship, Wrath of the Titans, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, you know who I'm talking about).
The latest film to grab onto the horn and blow it is Total Recall, a remake of the Arnold Schwarzenegger movie from 1990 that is chiefly remembered today for the line "get your ass to Mars", Arnie's eyes popping out of their sockets and a prostitute with three breasts.
The remake, which comes out in August, stars the decidedly non-bulging Colin Farrell, mirrors the original's plot: Farrell plays an ordinary factory worker living in a future dystopia who finds out he may be a spy after he takes a trip to Rekall, a company that customers' fantasies into memories.
The full Total Recall trailer was exclusive to Apple at time of publication. Watch�it here
The subject matter is at least in the same neighbourhood as Inception but the BWAAAAHHH horn doesn't blare quality: it blares rip-off. And Inception isn't the only movie Total Recall manages to squeeze in its two-and-half-minute trailer, which ridiculously had its on trailer: elements from Transformers, Blade Runner, I Robot, Fifth Element, Attack of the Clones, Minority Report and The Matrix can all be seen and heard.
Kate Beckinsale gets her gun on in the new trailer. She's playing the Sharon Stone part - but will she, like Stone, get a quick divorce. Picture: Sony Pictures
Source: Supplied
Arnie gets his ass to Mars in the original, and extremely violent, Total Recall. Picture: Carolco Pictures
Source: Supplied
The quick fades to black and the taglines "What is real" and "What is recall" aren't quite as bad as the "Titans will clash" that accompanied Clash of the Titans but it doesn't give the viewer much to hang onto.
Sony Pictures is hoping Total Recall will emulate the success of Rise of the Planet of the Apes, which also used the BWAAAAHHH horn in its ad campaign. That film debuted in August and made almost $US500m at the box office. But movie-goers didn't flock to see because of the Inception horn; they went because the ad campaign highlighted the believability of the film's central character, the CGI ape Caesar.
Although he has movie star looks, Farrell has not proved himself as a leading man; S.W.A.T., Miami Vice and Fright Night were all disappointments at the box office, while Alexander was a complete disaster.
Perhaps the BWAAAAHHH horn is warning viewers, not enticing them.
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