This has been one of the biggest weeks for trailers that I can remember. And the Black Mass trailer, which came out of left field, is at the top of a very impressive heap.

A trailer style that has become increasingly common is to use the trailer to showcase one specific scene from the underlying film, thus giving the viewers a sense of the film’s pace and editing. This strategy serves as a sort of signal that the creators of the film are so confident in their material that they don’t even need to bother with specially crafting an enticing trailer. Here, I think that decision paid off.

But what I love most about this trailer is that it layers a huge variety of images on top of its focal scene. Viewers begin to sense the larger scope of the film. On a similar note, even Johnny Depp’s brief mention of “Alcatraz” also serves convey that film will deal with the broader historical context of its immediate storyline. My favorite moment from the trailer occurs at :49, when Johnny Depp says “no.”

We hear a foreboding drumbeat and the action pauses for over a second as the viewer slowly begins to comprehend the severity of what just occurred. From there, the tension only builds.