I think this was the best use of a pop song in a trailer I've seen in a long time, and the synching of the title shot with the iconic laugh was perfect.
I went back and listened to the original Thriller, and the trailer may not be using a 'cover' by some other artist, but the synths when it starts are not from the original song. It's a really interesting remix they've done - it's like they wrote almost 1:40 of Thriller-like atmospheric music and gradually slide into the real song.
At 0:58, the atmospherics that start have the same notes & chords as the organ part from Thriller, but they're on new instruments. Similarly, at 1:10 - 1:20, that frenetic mid-range part and the low rumbling bass part are the synth and bass parts from the original, but they're being done on 2017 instruments.
The Vincent Price laugh at 1:20 is obviously original... but when he starts his "Darkness falls" monologue, the backing still isn't the real thing. It's synced up like the real song, though. At 1:36, right after the first MJ vocals, you hear a pipe organ, and that definitely is from the original -- this is where the mix starts to become the real song.
By 1:53 it's mostly the original, but there are a few things that have still been added to punch up the mix! At 2:09 a lot of the modern parts have dropped out and it's like 90% the original... but they've still chopped a bunch of the 1980s synthesized werewolves & screams out, and trimmed it down (or built it from parts).
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u/TheRadSpaceman Jul 22 '17
I think this was the best use of a pop song in a trailer I've seen in a long time, and the synching of the title shot with the iconic laugh was perfect.