Movie Trailer Music Madness: The ATMOSPHERIC Region
The results of the first round match-ups from the HYPE region are in! Also, we’ll be breaking down the ATMOSPHERIC region in this second edition of Movie Trailer Music Madness
This story is the second part of a larger series. If you haven’t read the first edition, click here before continuing.
In the first edition of Movie Trailer Music Madness, the good folks from UNPLUGG’D unveiled the overall bracket, as well as a breakdown of the 8 trailers comprising the HYPE region.The five judges were then asked to decide which trailer from each of the four match-ups would advance to the Sweet Sixteen (taking place in Omaha).
Entries were to be judged based on the quality of the marriage of music and trailer; both the song and the trailer might prove worthy on their own, but the best music helps elevate the trailer to a whole different level. Think Henry Cavill air-punching to the beat of Imagine Dragons’ “Friction.” Or Charlize Theron one-take dismantling a troupe of assailants as Kanye’s “Black Skinhead” bumps in the background.
Well, the results are in, and while the HYPE region so far might have gone straight chalk, there were a few near-upsets which cause the initial seedings by the ranking committee to come into question:
#1 Black Panther vs. #8 G.I. Joe: Retaliation
Black Panther — 3
#2 Mission: Impossible-Fallout vs. #7 Westworld
Mission: Impossible-Fallout — 5
Westworld — 0
#3 Thor: Ragnarok vs. #6 Bohemian Rhapsody
Thor: Ragnarok — 3
#4 Atomic Blonde vs. #5 Creed 2
Atomic Blonde — 4
Creed 2–-1
It was an exciting opening weekend for the HYPE region, with heavy favorites like Black Panther and Thor: Ragnarok squeaking out close victories. While the chalk bracket sets up some intriguing second-round clashes, we’ll be moving on to the hotly-anticipated ATMOSPHERIC region, which starts with a bang.
The ATMOSPHERIC Region
1) Logan (2017)
Where were you when the first teaser for Logan dropped? This masterpiece took home almost all of the movie trailer hardware (yes, there’s actually awards for these things) and gave us a shocking look into the final ride of Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine. Not only did the thing prove that trailers could truly be an art form, it even led others to try to emulate the Johnny Cash vibe — to lesser success, of course.
2. Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
Cross-promotion be damned, the original teaser for Avengers 2 was fire. The hype was a given after the success of the first Avengers, yet James Spader’s metallic voice-over gave viewers all of the creeps as a legitimate, don’t-[redacted]-with-me big bad. The teaser may have set the bar too high, as I still haven’t gotten over how big of a letdown the actual film was. Nevertheless, who knew Pinocchio could be so scary?
3. Stranger Things — Season 2 (2017)
This one could have fallen under all four categories. The creepy narration and 80’s electric beat of “Thriller” feel right at home in Hawkins, and the song evolves into the banger we know just as the trailer starts to get juicy. If Netflix can dream up a trailer half as good as this for Season 3, Stranger Things fans will lose their minds. More dancing Steve Harrington please!
4. Birdman (2014)
“I remember when / I remember, I remember when I lost my mind,” croons Cee-Lo Green in the most-played song of 2006. Only Alejandro González Iñárritu and Co. opt for an ominous, slowed-down, and downright creepy cover of “Crazy,” encapsulating the entire essence of the film in less than two minutes. Because, ya know, Michael Keaton’s Riggan Thomson is kind of…crazy.
5. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)
Compared to some of the other content on this list, the teaser for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo stands out for breaking the typical hype trailer mold. A weird future-metal remix of “The Immigrant Song” races along to a frantic string of wordless dark imagery, making the music for the trailer the key driving force. David Fincher never quite gives us something ordinary, and this trailer is no exception.
6. Ozark — Season 1 (2017)
Jason Bateman in a dark, muted role, playing a money launderer on the run? Fresh off of watching Arrested Development, calling it a hard sell would be an understatement. Yet, with the aid of Kanye’s eerie “Wolves,” we’re shown all the crazy things certain to happen in the Ozarks. Even if I never made time to actually watch the show, that final “Surrounded by / the [redacted] wolves” gives me the chills every time.
7. The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017)
Now I don’t like scary movies, and whether or not you’d describe Yorgos Lanthimos’ work as more disturbing than scary, I still get the heebie-jeebies after watching this quick teaser. Why is Barry Keoghan eating his spaghetti like that? Why Yorgos???
8. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)
For a movie in which nobody can seem to hold in their anger, the Four Tops Motown rendition of “Just Walk Away Renee” surprisingly fits perfectly alongside the violent outbursts of the trailer. There’s something in Levi Stubb’s soulful chorus which capture the chaos and angst of a wild film from the always unpredictable Martin McDonagh.
Next time out, we’ll be reviewing the LIT region. What trailers do you think got snubbed from the ATMOSPHERIC region? Let us know in the comments below. Stay tuned for all the inevitable shocking upsets, close calls, and banging tunes in our subsequent editions of Movie Trailer Music Madness. 32 trailers enter the tournament, but only one will leave!
