A truly great trailer conveys the film's flavor with every frame — and if the new Godzilla "extended look" spot is any indication, May 16 at the movies will reek strongly of abject horror.

Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures have done a masterful job of teasing out the "destroyer of worlds," starting with our first look at the big fella's handiwork at Comic-Con 2012. I remember it well:

Godzilla frightened me. Seriously frightened me. All that destruction. All of those ... people. #SDCC

— Josh Lincoln Dickey (@NotoriousJLD) July 14, 2012

 

That sizzle reel showed us virtually nothing of the monster himself, yet was incredibly effective. More than a year later, the first trailer offered a goose-bump-raising glimpse; but its magic was not in its CGI monstrosity, rather the palpable terror of its people — and their fear is contagious. Although the marketing blitz is on, this film is sticking to the plan: Make the characters look good, too.

It helps to have Breaking Bad star Bryan Cranston around to draw us into a world where a radioactive kaiju is laying waste to wide swaths of a city and its citizens with every step. Cranston brings the incomprehensible scale down to an emotional level, destroying us with his deadly gravitas. (He's so good that you almost don't hear the disaster-movie cliché horn blasts with every beat.)

So what was new in this weekend's trailer release? Plenty. We took screenshots of the best of it for you:

Bryan Cranston Reaction 1: The Seismograph

"Show, don't tell" is a dying art in Hollywood, but Godzilla director Gareth Edwards gets it. A seismograph where the needle has nowhere left to go gets the job done.

Bryan Cranston Reaction 2: The Face

Five seasons of Breaking Bad have made Cranston an expert at demonstrating how a human being might react to unspeakable emotional horror. Here, he was just forced to lock his wife into a radioactive tomb. You know, for starters:

Image: Warner Bros./Legendary Warner Bros./Legendary

Bryan Cranston Reaction 3: Just More of That Face

The deed is done. How would you feel? Probably something like this:

Image: Warner Bros./Legendary

Little Girl Face: This Probably Won't End Well

We see this kid watch as the coastal waters recede, then surge. Her father scoops her up and runs away from the onrushing waters.

If That Weren't Emotionally Manipulating Enough, There's Also a Dog ...

... who's fit to be tied. Or fit to be tide. Gulp.

But Wait! The Dog Gets Loose and Runs Away!

Run, Spot, run!

Image: Warner Bros./Legendary Pictures

Yeah, the Dog Thing Probably Didn't End Well, Either ...

It's been 10 years since the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami. Probably still too soon to be comfortable with imagery like this:

Image: Warner Bros./Legendary Pictures Warner Bros./Legendary Pictures

But That Was No Earthquake

If you'll recall, there is a Godzilla in this movie. And here he comes:

Image: Warner Bros./Legendary Pictures Warner Bros./Legendary Pictures

He Whips His Tail Back and Forth

Which, all by itself, would reduce your apartment building to dust.

Image: Warner Bros./Legendary Pictures Warner Bros./Legendary Pictures

But Wait, There's More!

And this ain't no guy in a rubber suit:

Image: Warner Bros./Legendary Pictures Warner Bros./Legendary Pictures

Of Course, Even Godzilla Has Enemies

There's another kaiju monster in play — Mothra? Rodan? King Gidorah? Something new? — but anyway, their tussle also isn't going to end well for us:

Image: Warner Bros./Legendary Pictures Warner Bros./Legendary Pictures

Even on a Smaller Scale, We're Not Safe

Something very Alien about this fellow, and we don't like it, either:

And if You Thought Bryan Cranston's Scream-Face Was Scary ...

Well — get a load of this guy:

Image: Warner Bros./Legendary Pictures Warner Bros./Legendary Pictures

Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.