Though Venom attempted to appeal to fans of superhero action in the trailers leading up to its release, the internet was steadfast in concentrating on one aspect of the movie that didn’t get proper promotion: the inherent romance between lead actor Tom Hardy and the oily, sentient demon goo he teams up with to become Venom.
Now, in the lead-up to its home release, Sony is correcting course with an official ad emphasizing the stirring love story at the center of its comic book movie. The spot is set to jingle bells and a heart-tugging orchestral score with Love Actually-style title cards that read, “This holiday fall in love …” and “Two world, two hearts, become one” popping up between scenes of Hardy running around as—and making out with—the tarry tongue-beast that is Venom.
Clips from the movie are repurposed to bring this all home, setting us all aflutter with the creature growling Satanic sweet nothings like “I am Venom and you are mine” and “The world is not so ugly, after all.” It’s powerful stuff.
The Chinese market, we know, is primed for this advertising shift and many others out there already have the hots for the yellow-fanged, wet garbage bag-looking death monster. Embracing both the romance and raw sexual energy of the film seems like a good step, then, not just to bring new viewers to Venom but to prepare us for the upcoming sequel where the symbiote fakes an orgasm in a Manhattan diner to prove a point to an overly confident Tom Hardy. We’ll have what the inky sludge freak’s having!
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