This collection of Shock Festival trailers concentrates solely on horror films. Things kick off with trailers that contain warnings to the audience (The Stuff, Pieces, and Snuff), which is a nice touch. That’s followed by a string of previews that begin with shots of cars entering a seemingly idyllic town that harbors a secret (Beyond the Gate, Burnt Offerings, and Dead and Buried). That’s a pretty niche subgenre and I commend the editors for putting those together.
That’s pretty much where the themed horror trailers trend ends. From there, Shock Festival turns into a grab bag of trailers from different genres, eras, and quality, but it’s a pretty fun one. There are plenty of old standbys here that have been seen on countless other trailer compilations. Despite that, it’s still good to see them all again, which sort of makes this the cinematic equivalent of comfort food. The ever-reliable “Double Bill of Horror” trailer for The Blood-Spattered Bride and I Dismember Mama is here. This has been a staple of many trailer compilations, but I for one never tire of seeing it. Other old chestnuts include The Toolbox Murders, Maniac, and the ad for a double feature of Carnival of Blood and Curse of the Headless Horseman.
Most of the trailers are for stone cold classics like Mark of the Devil, Bloodsucking Freaks, and God Told Me To, but every so often, a preview for something crappy like The Curse will sneak in there. We also get trailers for films from such horror greats as Lucio Fulci (House by the Cemetery), Dario Argento (Cat O’Nine Tails), and George Romero (The Crazies). There are plenty of great taglines along the way too. Some of my favorites belonged to Grizzly (“It’s not just a camping ground, it’s a feeding ground!”), Hell Night (“Pray for day!”), Shock Waves (“Once they were ALMOST human!”), The Illustrated Man (“Don’t dare stare!”) and Blood of Ghastly Horror (“SEE a young girl turned into a 1000 year old mummy!”).
Overall, I think I enjoyed this more than the first installment thanks to the shorter running time and breezier editing. Sure, there are better compilations of trailers out there, but this one should fit the bill nicely during Spooky Season.
Here’s the complete trailer rundown: The Stuff, Pieces, Snuff, Beyond the Gate, Pranks, Burnt Offerings, Dead and Buried, a double feature of Blood Spattered Bride and I Dismember Mama, House by the Cemetery, Great White, Cat O’Nine Tails, Saturn 3, God Told Me To, The Crazies, The Toolbox Murders, Q, the Winged Serpent, Grizzly, Don’t Look in the Basement, Hell Night, Satan’s Black Wedding, The Black Belly of the Tarantula, Invasion of the Bee Girls, Maniac, Banana Monster, Dead of Night, a double feature of Carnival of Blood and Curse of the Headless Horseman, Mark of the Devil, Bloodsucking Freaks, Deep Red, The Curse, Autopsy, Daughters of Darkness, The Illustrated Man, The Fifth Cord, 7 Doors of Death, and Blood of Ghastly Horror.
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