It has also simultaneously put out an extended and uncut clip from the film that is much more in line with what we've come to expect from the mini-major that helped solidify the horror/splatter subset now referred to - both disparagingly and with affection - as "torture porn."
One obvious faux-pas that I see in LG's marketing strategy of "give them more" is that the message can get lost in the overwhelming nature that is the unsaid hallmark of these events. This is especially true given the current venue: Comic Con International is the largest gathering of it kind in the world, and with the hundreds of so-called groundbreaking announcements being launched in a three-day period, bite-size portions of information are easier to digest than large spoonfuls. Instead, the trailer/teaser should have been released weeks before Comic Con to whip up fan hype (like they really need it) as a setup for the main event: the reveal of the extended "Red Band - Carousel" Clip (which would have been exactly what the demented doctor ordered).
In all fairness to LG, they did attempt (barely) to get some pre-release "buzz" before the convention by releasing a motion poster for the film. But due to the dudish nature and flat design of the motion poster that left a great many scratching their heads and somewhat wanting, that push, needless to say, has worked against them as has been evidenced by the susequent blogaphere backlash. I called it "lame," others have called it worse.
BUT I think the extended clip gives us all hope that the franchise still has some steam left in its engine. The Carousel scene keeps us on the edge our seat and wanting to know who will weasel their way out of getting whacked, hacked, and restacked. Some serious tension here!
I'm still hoping, however, that the suits at LIONS GATE will take the time to throw us another bone or two with some meat on it to help whet our appetites before the film's wide October 23rd release.
BTW: It's worth noting, at least to my warped mind, that given the forward-thinking platitudes spoken by the unseen Jigsaw about healthcare and greed in the Carousel scene, that a new more "humane" hand is at work pulling the strings of the death games from behind the curtian: President Barack Obama. Sorry - I couldn't resist :)
Edwin Pagán, for Latin Horror
