Are reviews and marketing campaigns playing fair when it comes to spoilers?
Why is it news now when a film’s plot twist remains a secret?
This piece contains implied spoilers for The Usual Suspects.
Theres also Terminator 2 discussion, and marked spoilers for Cold In July.
And it was glorious.
I was pulled along for the ride unencumbered by expectations and predictions.
And of course the ending blew me away.
Ad content continues below
It bothered me then and it bothers me now.
Im not necessarily talking about spoilers here, although everyone has a slightly different definition of that word.
So maybe I am talking about spoilers, just in far broader sense than they are usually discussed.
Not a single thing alerts an unsuspecting viewer to the fact that spoiler alert hes a terminator.
The slo-mo build-up, the way Arnie seemingly points a shotgun at John.
Now imagine being that viewer.
Imagine sitting in the cinema knowing only that you were watching the sequel to an 80s classic.
How amazing would that have been?
How punch the air, holy shitballs, WTAF would that have been?
Is there a human being on the planet that got to sample that pleasure?
I very much doubt it.
It certainly wouldnt be classified as a spoiler even by todays standards.
Which begs some questions: why was the opening act structured the way it was?
Was the idea of keeping Arnies allegiance a secret ever discussed?
Were we, the audience, robbed of an amazing moment in cinema because of marketing concerns?
I enjoyedCold In July, but nowhere near as much as the person I was watching it with.
So… elephant in the room time.
Its your choice if you want to press a particular story, of course.
If Im sat in the cinema, its very hard to avoid seeing the trailers for upcoming features.
Its tricky to avoid every single ad for a movie that plays on TV.
Shouldnt this be the norm rather than the exception?
And by that time, is it too late to preserve that Nexus-like feeling of revelatory wonder?
And while youre pondering that, do yourself a favour and make an early New Years resolution.
Trailers, news stories, reviews, everything.
Try, as best you’re able to, to go in cold.
Trust me, it will be an awful lot harder than you think.
But I guarantee it will be worth it.
