Dead Island Trailer Analysis

In September 2011 there was a game released called Dead Island. It was a zombie-shooting game with the theme of a tropical resort. It was promoted by this trailer, which was central to their marketing campaign.

The trailer was well-received and got people excited for the game, and it sold relatively well. However, the game itself had underwhelming critical reception, some calling it “mediocre” and citing that the tone was inconsistent, sometimes sad like the trailer, other times more silly. It received a 71/100 aggregate score on Metacritic.The game sold well partly because this trailer captivated people’s attention, despite not showing any footage of what it was like to actually play the game.

Two stories are told side-by-side in this trailer. The first is a girl fleeing from zombies, eventually ending in her rescue. The second is footage being played in reverse (or rewinding) of the same girl from her death back to the point of rescue. During the reverse shots it’s revealed the girl has become infected and becomes a zombie after the rescue, making the parents’ emotional struggle to save their daughter all in vain.

I would heavily mention the trailer relies on sad piano and violin music, but I must keep the idea of the visual in mind. The rewinding footage is also in slow-motion while the straightforward footage is in rapid, loud shots like a horror movie. The straight-forward shots are so quick they are almost subliminal, perhaps being fully aware the audience is familiar with what fleeing from a zombie is like. 

It opens with zooming out of the girl’s eyes, to reveal she is lying on the ground dead, then the reverse footage starts playing. She is wearing a pink shirt with some kind of vacation resort logo in it, and she’s covered in blood. This is showing how the brutality of the zombie setting has completely crushed the young, innocent, defenseless child. 

It also has a big focus on the parents in the reverse footage, indicating their desperation and determination to protect their daughter (and themselves). Blood starts off excessive, then rewinds to have less before actual violence and injuries occur. As the reverse footage ends, what is normally the parents saving the girl in reverse it is showing them carrying her to her doom. 

The final reverse-motion shot is bloodless to emphasize more emotion than gore/violence. The father (who in normal time is rescuing his daughter) is letting go of her as her fate has already been sealed by the zombie infection.  

The title of Dead Island appears, followed by footage of before the outbreak. The family is smiling, happy, arriving at the hotel, going to their room, unpacking their bags, and taking a family picture together while waving hello to the camera (or goodbye to the audience that knows their fate).

Reaction:

The most common way for a game consumer to be displeased with a game is if they expect something good and get something bad. And there were plenty of people who bought the game and were displeased.

Personally, I had watched the trailer before the game was released and wasn't particularly impressed. I felt it was standard for good trailers to have an emotional connection. Looking at it closer, that final shot of letting go is really what seals the deal.

The goal of the trailer was to hook zombie fans on an emotional level rarely seen upfront in marketing of the genre, and by design and result it seemed to have worked. But the industry as a whole has notoriously relied too much on trailers that don't feature gameplay footage. It's not bad to have both a cinematic and gameplay trailer at all, but I do feel people were misled by this trailer. The game doesn't even start out on the same emotional state as seen here.

I feel a very special anger towards Dead Island's marketing, as it was not wholly representative of the game's content.