The Invisible Man director speaks on film’s trailer giving away too much

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

The release of THE INVISIBLE MAN is upon us this weekend and the Universal Pictures/Blumhouse remake is appearing to be our first viable horror release of the year after a string of recent disappointments. Currently sitting with a 90% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the studio is hoping that good reviews turn into solid box office but director Leigh Whannell and Blumhouse boss Jason Blum is speaking on one complaint regarding the film and it has to do with the film's trailer giving away too much.

I was particularly intrigued by both trailers for THE INVISIBLE MAN so I wasn't aware of the backlash towards them into I dived into the matter further. Universal dropped the movie’s official trailer February 7 and some horror fans thought it gave so much of the film's plot away that they felt they had practically seen the movie already. Some trailer posts warned moviegoers not to watch it if they wanted to be surprised & also took issue with the trailer being a "Cliff's Notes version of the film."  In an interview for Digital Spy Blumhouse head Jason Blum & Leigh Whannell speak on the trailer reaction and they seem to have different opinions on the matter. Here is Jason Blum's take:

"That’s a very fine line. I, of course, clearly err on the side of you can’t show too much, and Leigh disagrees with me and he’s probably right."

Leigh Whannell goes on to add:

"It’s somewhere in the middle lies the truth. It is a very predictable reaction these days from people online. What’s the classic quote? ‘Thanks a lot, guys. You saved me 15 bucks, and I don’t even need to see the movie anymore.'”

Jason Blum wants audiences to rest assured that everything isn't given away and even speaks to one scene in particular that Whannell refused to let be put into any of film's trailers or TV spots:

"You may think you’ve seen it all but you haven’t. There was one very, very key scene that Leigh didn’t let us put in the trailer and I’m glad that he didn’t let us put it in, but I really tried.”

Even though I have liked the trailers for THE INVISIBLE MAN, I will say that I believe less is more when it comes to marketing for films. We live in a time where there are teasers that are released for a film's trailer debut so there is very little mystery to be had. Some might say all these teases build anticipation but if I feel like I've seen too much, I feel like I've mapped the film out in my brain before I've even sat down to watch it. THE INVISIBLE MAN isn't the first film to have a trailer that is accused of giving away too much and it won't be the last but studios should be aware that if you show too much, it could reveal a crack in the armor that they aren't confident enough in a project to let a few teases speak for themselves.

Do YOU think THE INVISIBLE MAN trailer gives away too much?