The art of editing is not only one of the most important aspects of filmmaking, but also one of the most powerful tools in telling a story.
Over the past decade, recut trailers have become a fascinating and entertaining way for editors to mashup either two or more films into one—or even better, re-editing and changing the actual tone of the trailer, completely reimagining it into a completely different genre.
Check out ten of our favorite trailer mashups.
1. The Shining
This is the one that started it all, taking Kubrick’s masterpiece starring Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall and recutting it into a feel-good movie, complete with the perfectly placed “Solsbury Hill” by Peter Gabriel. In 2005, Shining won the AICE (Association of Independent Creative Editors) Trailer Park competition in New York and became an Internet phenomenon.
2. Ten Things I Hate About Commandments
Combining Cecil B. DeMille’s The Ten Commandments with such ’90s-influenced Miramax films as 10 Things I Hate About You, She’s All That, and even Pulp Fiction, Ten Things I Hate About Commandments mashes the biblical epic with the teen sex comedy, resulting in pure magic.
3. Must Love Jaws
Take one of the most terrifying films of all time (Jaws) and mash it with the man-befriends-animal genre (Free Willy, A Dolphin Tale) and the result will certainly make you want to befriend a great white shark and give it a hug.
4. When Harry Met Sally
This one’s great, turning Harry into a bona fide whack job. Suddenly Rob Reiner’s romantic comedy takes on a far more sinister tone…
5. West Side Zombie Story
This one was released before The Walking Dead became a phenomenon, influenced mostly by the Dawn of the Dead remake and 28 Days Later. But with, you know, Zombies (and Jets and Sharks).
6. You Got Served
This one might very well be the most entertaining one ever edited, taking the hip hop dialogue from the trailer of You Got Served and adding the video from the 1971 musical Fiddler on the Roof, matching the dialogue with the performers perfectly. L’chaim, yo!
7. Mrs. Doubtfire
In Mrs. Doubtfire, Robin Williams’ Daniel Hillard takes on the guise of Mrs. Doubtfire to work for his ex-wife as a nanny and care for his own children. In this trailer, Daniel Hillard takes a more sinister turn, with Mrs. Doubtfire becoming a far more diabolical motion picture.
9. Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
Once again, the story feels the same but with a far more ominous tone as Willy Wonka becomes a far more frightening host than as originally depicted in this 1971 classic motion picture.