The trailer is for a horror film called Evil Dead that takes place in a remote cabin in the woods. Five friends unwittingly summon demons from a Book of Dead they discover. The demons begin possessing the friends one by one until only one is left to fight for survival. The trailer uses ominous shots of the dark woods and cabin along with unsettling non-diegetic sounds to set a scary, sinister mood that suggests the film is a horror. It also employs quick cuts and close-ups during intense scenes to build tension and emphasize gore.

1. CLICK HERE TO VIEW VIDEO

2. Brief Overview
Five twenty-something friends become
holed up in a remote cabin. When they
discover a Book of the Dead, they
unwittingly summon up dormant
demons living in the nearby woods,
which possess the youngsters in
succession until only one is left intact
to fight for survival.
- Sony Pictures Entertainment

3. Setting the Mood // Finding the genre
The trailer opens with a wide shot, showing a series of dead trees that linger in the
foreground, slightly concealing the dark landscape that lies beneath. The background
reveals a gloomy woodland area, with the prop of an old cabin that stands off centre
of the screen. The weather is miserable.
The diegetic use of thunder sets the mood. It shows the rain falling in front of the
lens, and the cracking sounds in the distance establishes a sinister atmosphere also
making the audiences’ expectations to be just as chilling as the setting.
This combination of mise-on-scene features and diegetic sounds, leave us under the
impression that the film is within the horror genre.
Q: 1, 2, 14

4. The trailer targets the audience, by using the youthful group of
teenagers similar to the age of the target audience. Because of
this, I've chosen to place it within the 18 – 25 age gap. The
movie is rated as an 18, and the cast appear to be within the
same age range.
Also, seen on the right, is the original cover of the first Evil Dead
movie, released in early 80’s. Because of this, the film may also
target an older audience, those who were interested in the
original film may be intrigued by the modern day re-make.
This is an effective way to broaden the films target audience. But
alternatively, depending on how well it is recreated, It can
disappoint those who were in favour of the original film.
Targeting the
Audience
Q: 3, 18

5. The trailer consists of 108 different shots (excluding
intertitles) and the trailer lasts 2:22. It uses many
shots, all put together with transitions such as simple
cuts, but also fading to black was used a lot at the
beginning to show a darker, slower pace before the
break of equilibrium. Then we notice the pace
increases and so does the number of cuts.
Shots and
Techniques
The use of over the shoulder shots
make us feel a part of the film, as if
we’re personally experiencing the film
ourselves. This makes the audience
feel more involved.
This shot shows a dimly lit room and a
long, dark haired girl sat at the end of
the bed; reflecting on the horror genre.
The diegetic sound of the door creaking
as it opens reflects on the spooky,
horrific atmosphere we were
previously introduced to from the first
establishing shot.
Q: 4, 5, 6

6. Shots and Techniques continued & (mise-en-scene)
Q: 5, 16
Close up and Extreme close ups are used in the trailer to
emphasise the gore and to establish the great detail within the
special effects and make-up. This detail can be shown in the
shot to the left. Also, you can see the close attention to detail in
possessed Mia’s face: scars, cuts, bruises, dirt, blood and not to
mention her menacing eyes.
In contrast to the previous shot, an extreme long shot is used to
distinguish the ghastly, dead woodlands, surrounding the
characters as they fight for their lives. The use of the fog and
the dead trees makes the shot look effective. Efecting on the
horror genre.
This long shot of the river, represents the thin line between
them and civilisation. It shows that they are literally isolated
from humanity, in this god forsaken place. The construction of
mise-en-scene consists of the river itself, barricading their only
way out. The car in the foreground, steaming, showing that
their escape vehicle isn’t operating. And the yellow danger sign
reading ‘high water’ shows that they’ve had the worst of luck in
this situation.

7. Code of Enigma
When watching films, as an audience, we tend to question things
a lot when they aren’t clear as to what is happening. This is
knows as the code of enigma. In this trailer in particular I found I
asked “What is this entity that haunts them?” or “Why is
it attached to that poor girl’s soul?” But I think the biggest
question is “What is that book, and how did it get there?”
as the trailer progresses, it reveals the revolting consequences of
ignoring the books orders. But fails to reveal the whole plot and,
ultimately, how it got there. This entices the audience.
Also, linking back to the second scene, the diegetic use of dialogue “Please, Please. You have to
get me out of here.” Shows the girl’s desperate need to evacuate the cabin – leaving the audience
curious as to why they need to leave. This good use of a code of enigma leaves the audience curious
to find out what happened before and after the demonic unleashing.
Q: 11, 12

8. Sense of Narrative
The sense of narrative within the Evil Dead is quite
simple and somewhat cliché to other horror films:
• A group of kids/students travel to a once visited
location somewhere out of their comfort zone.
• The group seem to be having the time of their
lives
• Alcohol and partying often occur
• The group do something they shouldn’t, resulting
in bad consequences
• The majority of the group are killed off, either
leaving 1 or 2 people who work together to try and
fix what they have done.
• One is killed during the resolution of the problem,
leaving a heroin (usually a female)
• The heroin either saves the day, ending the curse
and resolving the problem, or they die and the story
lives on.
Q: 10
• The group travel by car to their old cabin
that is situated in the woods
• They go to ‘let loose’ and have a good
• They bring plenty of beer and narcotics
• The group do something they shouldn’t,
resulting in bad consequences
• The majority of the group are killed off,
leaving David and Mia
• Possessed Mia is killed/purified
• Mia and David defeat the demons

9. Diegetic Sounds
There are a number of diegetic sounds within the
trailer that reflect on the horror genre of the film.
The main use of diegetic sound is the dialogue. In
this case, the dialogue is adjacent to the pace of
the trailer. For example, the first dialogue we here
is the young girl in the bedroom. The pace in
which she talks to the boy (David) is slow. And she
whispers. This makes the dialogue less
understandable but also scarier.
Later on in the trailer, the camera cuts back and forth; showing the same girl looking terrified as she
whispers to the boy “There was something in the woods. And I think its in here, with us.” and then to a
number of gruesome camera shots showing the evil work of the paranormal entity. This cut back
speeds up the dialogue to show an improvement of pace within the trailer. This could also be the same
structure of the actual film.
Q: 7

10. Non - diegetic Sounds
As well as diegetic sounds, trailers tend to you use non-diegetic sounds to create an effective trailer.
The sounds can range from the soundtrack of the trailer to music added in.
In this case, the soundtrack is quite simple; it starts off with a slow paced droning sound which, on it’s
own, can be quite haunting. The sound is created electronically and is used in a lot of horror films and
sci-fi movies to emphasise situations.
Then the sounds change to a drum beat, that is in sync as each word of the inter titles appear. There
are also number of faint, low pitch synth sounds that accompany the harsh drum beat. This creates a
distortion effect, making the sounds quite eerie.
This technique repeats itself until the climax of the trailer, then the beat is interrupted by an enhanced
drone sound to emphasise the arrival of the entity. Then we here only a slight change in the beat; there
seems to be more beats behind the drone, and a few ‘clanging’ noises.
The beat is increased to accompany the montage of sinister clips as well as the fast-pace intertitles.
The pace soon slows down, to come to an end. We then here the ghoulish chants of possessed Mia
that accompany the final title of the film, ‘EVIL DEAD.’
Q: 8

11. Characters & their Relationships
The characters, as said before, are all normal college students. There aren’t many close relationships
within the cast, other than them all being close friends from college.
But one in particular, is the relationship between David and Mia. In the trailer, David and Mia are the
first two characters we see. They're also the only two characters that share the same shot and aren’t
trying to kill one another. This close relationship isn’t a domestic relationship, but David and Mia
happen to be brother and sister.
This isn’t shown in the trailer in any obvious way, but I think it’s important to reveal the fact that the
trailer doesn't show any joyful or near – romantic scenes. It doesn't even have a break of equilibrium,
which is why I think this trailer is unique. It quite literally throws us in at the deep end, with no
introduction of characters or plot. (Only that of the book) In hoping we, as an audience, will soon catch
along to what is happening.
Q: 9
David
Mia

12. Intertitles
The trailer uses intertitles in a very clever and effective way. The individual word appears as the beat
of the soundtrack is heard; making us read every word, one at a time. This sync of text and sound is
obviously intentional and makes the whole trailer come together, flowing through the intertitles to
the next seen.
“From the producers of the horror classic Comes a new vision.”
This title explains a bit about the original Evil Dead movie, describing it as a horror classic. It also stated that the
re-make is a complete new vision compared to the original, suggesting that we look at the story line at a
different angle and perhaps the plot is different.
“Once you unleash evil. It will consume you. “
This title tells us about the plot, explaining their actions; reading the book to unleash the evil that will later on
consume you. Consume relates to the demonic possession taken place in Mia’s soul.
“ This April FEAR WHAT You will become.”
This title tells us the release date of the film. It was released in the UK on the 12th August 2013. But this relates to
the American release. It also says “Fear what you will become” this creates a sense of panic for the audience,
suggesting that demon possession could happen to anyone.
Q: 13

13. Trailers as promotional devices
Trailers are probably the best way to put your film out on the market. Trailers are a very effective
combination of sound and visual elements, creating a exhilarating experience for the audience.
Trailers can also be found on a number of platforms;
• DVD/Blu-Ray at the start of the film, used as advertisements.
• At the cinema when watching a film. They tend to play trailers of a similar genre/style.
• Social Media – Facebook/Twitter use them to advertise the film and broaden their audience.
Q: 17, 20