It’s been years since Guillermo del Toro’s aquatic romance swept the Oscars, but honestly, if you go back and watch the Shape of Water movie trailer today, it still hits differently than most modern teasers. Most trailers nowadays just scream at you. They blast "Inception horns" and show the entire plot in two and a half minutes. This one didn’t. It felt like a fever dream. It felt like a invitation to a secret.
Del Toro has always had this weird, beautiful obsession with monsters, and the trailer perfectly captured that 1960s Cold War aesthetic without making it look like a boring history lesson. You've got Sally Hawkins as Elisa, a mute janitor who communicates through her eyes and hands, and then there’s Michael Shannon, who is basically the king of playing terrifying, repressed men. The trailer set a tone that was simultaneously wet, dark, and strangely hopeful.
What the Shape of Water movie trailer got right about marketing a monster
People were skeptical. A woman falling in love with a fish-man from the Amazon? It sounds like the plot of a B-movie from the 1950s that you’d find in a bargain bin. But the marketing team at Fox Searchlight knew exactly what they were doing. Instead of leaning into the "horror" of the creature, the Shape of Water movie trailer leaned into the loneliness.
Music is the secret sauce here. The trailer uses Alexandre Desplat’s score—which eventually won an Academy Award—to create a rhythmic, ticking sensation. It feels like a clock. It feels like a heartbeat. When you see Elisa dancing in her apartment or pressing her hand against the glass of the tank, you aren't thinking about the logistics of interspecies romance. You're thinking about how much it sucks to be alone.
Most movie trailers try to sell you on the "what." This one sold us on the "how." How does it feel to be an outsider? How does it feel to find someone who doesn't see your silence as a disability? It’s basically a silent film tucked inside a high-budget genre flick.
The visual language of green and teal
Have you ever noticed how everything in that trailer looks like it’s underwater? Even the scenes on dry land have this murky, swampy, teal-and-green palette. That wasn't an accident. Del Toro and his cinematographer, Dan Laustsen, used light to make the air feel thick. In the trailer, the transition from Elisa’s bathroom to the secret government facility is seamless because the colors never change. It creates this claustrophobic, immersive world where the "Creature" (played by the legendary Doug Jones) actually looks like he belongs.
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If you look closely at the shot of Michael Shannon’s character, Strickland, he’s often framed in harsh, yellow light. It’s sickly. It’s a contrast to the cool, soothing blues of the water. This visual storytelling is why the trailer worked so well on Google Discover and social media; it was "eye candy" in the truest sense.
The controversy of the "Creature" design
Before the movie came out, everyone was talking about the look of the Asset. Some people thought it looked too much like the Creature from the Black Lagoon. Others thought it was a bit... well, weirdly attractive?
Del Toro spent nine months designing that creature. Nine months! That’s a human gestation period. He wanted it to be something a woman could actually fall in love with, which is a tough sell when you’re dealing with gills and scales. The Shape of Water movie trailer was very careful about how much it showed. We got glimpses of the glowing scales, the webbed hands, and those expressive eyes. It teased the mystery without giving away the practical effects' full glory.
- It’s not CGI-heavy. That’s a suit.
- Doug Jones had to spend three hours in the chair every morning.
- The eyes were the only part that really needed digital enhancement to get that human-like "spark."
Honestly, the trailer's restraint is what made the theatrical experience so rewarding. You felt like you had earned the right to see the full monster.
Why it still ranks as a masterclass in editing
If you study film editing, the Shape of Water movie trailer is a gold mine. There’s a specific sequence where the cuts match the beat of the music perfectly. It builds tension not through jump scares, but through the escalating stakes of the Cold War setting. We see the Russians, we see the lab, we see the eggs boiling in the pot. It’s all connected.
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Most people get wrong the idea that this was a "small" indie film. It was produced for around $19.5 million. In Hollywood terms, that’s pennies. Yet, the trailer made it look like a $100 million blockbuster. It showed that scale comes from art direction, not just blowing things up.
The impact on the 90th Academy Awards
When the trailer dropped, the buzz was immediate. It wasn't just "genre fans" talking. It was everybody. The film eventually went on to win Best Picture, and you can trace that success back to the first impression made by the marketing. It convinced the Academy that a "monster movie" could be high art.
There's a specific shot in the trailer of the two characters hugging underwater as a room floods. It's iconic. It's the kind of image that sticks in your brain and refuses to leave. That single shot probably did more for the film's "Discoverability" than any press release ever could.
Lessons for creators and film buffs
What can we actually take away from the way this movie was presented to us? First off, don't be afraid of the "weird." If del Toro had tried to make a "normal" trailer, the movie might have bombed. By leaning into the fairytale aspects—explicitly calling it a "fairytale for troubled times"—they gave the audience permission to suspend their disbelief.
Secondly, the Shape of Water movie trailer proves that sound design is just as important as the visuals. The sound of the water clicking, the muffled voices, the scraping of the metal—it all builds a physical world.
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If you're looking to revisit the film, or if you're a filmmaker trying to understand how to hook an audience, go back and watch that first teaser. Pay attention to what they don't show. They don't show the ending. They don't show the full extent of the violence. They show the emotion.
Actionable Insights for Movie Fans and Creators:
- Watch for Color Cues: Next time you watch a trailer, look for the dominant color. If it’s consistent, the director is trying to tell you how the world "feels" before a single word is spoken.
- Analyze the Pacing: Count the seconds between cuts. Fast cuts usually mean action; slow, rhythmic cuts usually mean a character-driven drama. The Shape of Water movie trailer masterfully mixes both to show that it’s a thriller and a romance.
- Check the Practical Effects: Notice how the light hits the creature. Because it's a physical suit, the shadows look "real" in a way that CGI often misses. This is why the movie has aged so much better than other films from 2017.
- Research the Influences: Del Toro was heavily inspired by Creature from the Black Lagoon but wanted the monster to actually "win" the girl this time. Knowing the history makes the trailer’s subversion of tropes much more interesting.
Ultimately, the trailer served as a bridge. It took a bizarre, potentially off-putting premise and turned it into a universal story about wanting to be seen. It's a reminder that even in a world of massive franchises and sequels, there is still room for an original, water-soaked, poetic vision to find its way to the top of the charts. Check out the original teaser on YouTube if you haven't seen it in a while; it’s a two-minute masterclass in how to sell a dream.
To truly appreciate the craft, compare the official theatrical trailer with the "Red Band" version. You'll see how the marketing shifted to highlight the more visceral, adult themes of the movie once the initial "magical" hook had landed with the general public. It’s a fascinating look at how a single film can be many things to many people.