The document discusses conventions of slasher horror film trailers and analyzes three specific trailers. It outlines common elements of slasher trailers including establishing equilibrium, introducing victims, disturbing the equilibrium with a threat or villain, teasing dramatic events through quick cuts, and ending on a cliffhanger. It then examines the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Urban Legend, and Prom Night trailers, noting how each follows this structure through their use of setting, characters, weapons, pacing, and lack of resolution.

1. Slasher Horror Trailers
Rebecca Paterson

2. Conventions
• Horror sub-genre- stimulates viewers mood, heightened
levels of; terror, fear, anticipation, dread, anxiety and
surprise.
• Villain, mysterious psychopath killer or serial killer; strong,
mental, stalks victim, physically deformed, violent and
brutal, use of weapons and props; knife, cleaver, chainsaw,
axe.
• Victim; teenage, rebellious, unaware of their surroundings
• Hero; female, sensible, senses killer, last woman standing,
may or may not be killed at the end.
• Location; isolated, college or campus like setting.
• Thriller conventions; tension and suspension.

3. Narrative Structure of Slasher Trailers
• Establishing shot, sets the scene and introduces
characters, and shows equilibrium.
• Building of a problem or crisis
• Introduced to victim, and shows the disturbance of the
equilibrium
• Teasing shots of the film, reveals the problematic
events but does not show the full extent
• Further complication shown through a dramatic end
• Trailer ends on a cliff-hanger, to keep the audience
hanging so they go and see the film.

4. 1st Slasher Trailer – Texas Chainsaw
Massacre
• Establishing shot is an old woman singing to a teenage girl, implies
that she is looking after her. (implied equilibrium)
• Disturbance of the equilibrium is the teenage girl questions the
woman, this implies that she doesn't know where she is and we get
the idea that she is the victim.
• We get tease shots of teenage couples, in an isolated setting
driving, then tease shots of a car crash.
• We see weapons; guns, chainsaw, knife, bear trap and brutal
violence in tease shots in dark, low key lighting.
• Heightens levels of fear, fast paced editing.
• The contrapuntal sound of the lullaby and the brutal violence
creates anticipation.
• We don’t see the way the film ends – the new equilibrium –
because then we wouldn’t go and see the film.

5. 2 Slasher Trailer - Urban Legend
nd
• Equilibrium at the beginning, college campus,
students, party
• Victims, teenage
• Weapons, axe
• Unknown villain
• Stalks the victims
• Serial killer
• Anticipation
• Fast paced
• Quick editing

6. 3 Slasher Trailer - Prom Night
rd
• Equilibrium – teenage girls, on campus, prom, couples.
• Fast paced editing low key lighting.
• Villain, man, unknown identity.
• Anticipation, fear, surprise.
• Stalker obsession, serial killer.
• Peeping tom, creeping, girl hiding from villain, cuts and he is next to
her, creates fear.
• Cut cross scenes enforcing fast pace
• Isolated campus
• Weapons – knife
• Use of reflections – mirror
• Silence to loud screams
• Lighting, low key, flashing
• Typography – “night to kill for” ironic
• No resolution – cliff-hangers