On paper, Funny Games could easily be seen as a conventional thriller. It certainly has the basic set-up of one: A family arrives at an idyllic vacation house, two threatening men invade said house and hold them hostage. Mayhem ensues.

Yet with this trailer, which is easily one of the best I’ve seen all year, the film is excellently portrayed as something much more. It has its thrills, sure, but there is also a high-end sensibility on display here. This is the type of preview that can entice snootier film fans while also engaging the kind of filmgoer that sees movies for sheer visceral thrills.

Using a classical score to introduce us to the family (Tim Roth, Naomi Watts and Devon Gearhart) as they peacefully drive to their destination conveys a distinct foreboding tone. I was immediately reminded of the similarly eerie opening to Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining. This is no coincidence considering Kubrick’s style is evoked again later in the trailer.

The preview allows the basic gist of the plot to be shared in a manner that is creepy yet not too revealing. That’s usually a good thing, especially for a thriller. And after we are given a sense of where things are headed, a montage sets in composed of quick, violent cuts which conveys the idea that terrible acts will be taking place (shades of the groundbreaking trailer for Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange can be found here). Again, very little of the plot is actually revealed.

While Watts and Roth come off well in the trailer it’s Michael Pitt, playing one of the two invaders, who really shines. Pitt has paid his dues in plenty of indie films, and from what we see here this could be a break-out role for him. His performance seems to have a gleefully psychopathic attitude to it - think Christian Bale in American Psycho - and this looks like the kind of scene-chewing role a talented actor such as Pitt can really sink his teeth into.

Ultimately, what works so well about this trailer is that it strongly conveys its tone by showing more than telling. The editors behind it were obviously aware that giving away too many plot points can be disastrous, especially for a movie where a sense of dread and uncertainty is essential.

From the looks of things, Funny Games has a solid shot at becoming a financial success. Considering it’s a remake - writer/director Michael Haneke is re-imagining his own 1997 foreign-language version of the same name - a curious group of die-hard fans is bound to show up and see what has changed. Plus, the Kubrick references will bring in artsy crowds, while the thrills reminiscent of other successful family-in-peril flicks such as Martin Scorsese’s remake of Cape Fear and David Fincher’s Panic Room will draw main-stream audiences.

Funny Games: http://www.apple.com/trailers/warner_independent_pictures/funnygames/trailer1/

A Clockwork Orange: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtSo-NtiGFE

Funny Games
Release Date: February 15th, 2008 (limited)
Starring: Naomi Watts, Tim Roth, Michael Pitt, Devon Gearhart
Directed by: Michael Haneke