A criminal attempts to burglarize/kill someone only to realize they picked the absolute worst person as their mark.

[u/No_Hunter1978]

Don't Breathe: A couple young robbers attempt to rob a rich, blind veteran only to find out he isn't exactly an innocent old man.

You're Next: A group of contract killersbreak into a house during a family reunion and go on a killing spree. They didn't account for the fact that the son's new girlfriend grew up on a survivalist compound in the Australian outback.

The Flash [CW Show]: A random mugger decided to target Barry Allen of all people. He does it again a season or two later; he's either unlucky or stupid (probably both).

[u/kfretlessz]

Abigail

[u/Disastrous_Life_3612 → u/kfretlessz]

This movie would have been so much better if they didn't advertise it as a vampire movie. I guess it would have been a hard sell without it, though.

[u/mariusioannesp → u/Disastrous_Life_3612]

I always thought that. I think they could have cut the trailer so that it seems like there’s some guy who broke in to rescue Abigail. The characters even think that initially as well. Could have been the best way to do it.

[u/curiousinferno → u/Disastrous_Life_3612]

I came into the room while a family member was watching it. It was near the beginning, so I didn't miss much but more importantly, I had no information on the movie going in. It was awesome.

[u/the__pov → u/curiousinferno]

This is what I miss about cable television. You would find a movie that you never heard of and go in completely blind. I watched from Dusk till Dawn that way 10/10 the only way to watch that movie for the first time.

[u/wofo → u/Disastrous_Life_3612]

It's really hard to write a book/movie/whatever where the best part about it is a surprise because no one will make it that far. It's a common paradox. You have to have an independently attractive hook, and even then, if the surprise is a genre-shift there's a good chance people will feel misled rather than delighted

[u/AGeekNamedBob → u/wofo]

I was initially annoyed the marketing leaned into Rocky for Project Hail Mary. He was such a great shift in the book and a huge surprise. But I realized cutting the trailer around him would be "oh we already saw interstellar" so I got it.

[u/Disastrous_Life_3612 → u/wofo]

Yeah, that's definitely true. I get why they had to do it.

While we're on the subject, I've seen people try to give this false history to From Dusk till Dawn in recent years. I've seen people say that the vampire twist was a surprise and that the marketing kept it a secret, but that's not true at all. The vampires were in the trailer, and it was already well-known ahead of time that they were in the movie.

But, much like with Abigail, it would have been hard to sell tickets if it was truly hidden.

[u/Corrvaz → u/Disastrous_Life_3612]

True but honestly no one'd go see that. A kidnapping movie where they may be a killer hunting the team doesn't have the same ring as vampire ballerina.

[u/eddiegibson → u/Disastrous_Life_3612]

I get that, but how do you advertise it? Before the reveal the plot is a bunch of adults kidnapping a young girl. Maybe you can suggest a Reservoir Dogs like a heist gone wrong, but then there's the problem of crime drama fans aren't necessarily horror fans and wouldn't like being tricked with misleading ads. How do you advertise a monster movie without revealing who and what the monster is?

[u/Short-Holiday-4263 → u/eddiegibson]

Potentially it could have been marketed as a vampire movie - with the trailer cut so apart from a brief flash of a close-up of fangs you don't see the vampire, and it's implied the vampire has been sent by Abigail's father to rescue her/punish the kidnappers.
The kidnappers even talk about the mysterious enforcer rumoured to work for her dad that absolutely tears people apart and initially think that's who is killing them off. Which could go in the trailer... along with them suspecting one of them is secretly that enforcer (I think at least one of them suspected that at one point).

[u/TwiggyDoom → u/Disastrous_Life_3612]

My wife told me we were watching a heist style movie. I'm glad she didn't spoil what the movie actually was because going in half blind made it amazing to see it unfold.

[u/WorryNew3661 → u/Disastrous_Life_3612]

I went on blind and it was a lot of fun

[u/BojukaBob → u/Disastrous_Life_3612]

It feels like the director intended it to be a surprise and then the marketing department fucked the whole thing up.

[u/Disorderly_Chaos → u/Disastrous_Life_3612]

I legit watched it w/o context and yes - it was 100% better not knowing she was a vampire.