Birth

Birth (2004)

The way the film was marketed hurt how the film was received.  In watching the trailer and studying the movie poster of Birth, you can see why people believed the movie did not live up to expectations and were disappointed.  Studios and distributors tried to shape the film's horizon of expectations into a sort of dark psycho-thriller, which badly fell short.  Consider the trailer for instance; it gives off the idea that the film is going to be a fast-paced thrill ride, which it never becomes.  It also builds a great amount of suspense for those wondering if the boy really is her dead husband, yet when the film ends there is great disappointment. 

The poster for the movie doesn't say anything either about the film, it is really just a  marketing tool to promote Nicole Kidman as the star actor in hopes that she will bring along a giant fan-base.  The poster just shows her face looking somewhat confused with the backdrop of the woods or forest.  There is no mention of the boy at all in the poster.  At the very bottom of the poster the tag-line reads, “Careful What You Wish For...”  A very cliché line to say the least, but worse than that is the fact that she doesn't eve wish for anything throughout the whole movie, so the expectation that a “wish” will be a plot point is a critical error in the marketing of this film.

Careful what you wish for.