Film trailer analysis 2

1. Film Trailer Analysis 2
Hush 2016 Official trailer 1
https://youtu.be/Q_P8WCbhC6s
Mike flanagan created an American psychological horror starring John Gallagher Jr and Kate
Siegel called Hush. The film was released with a world premiere on March 12th, 2016 and
was released by Netflix on April 8th.
The film has a unique storyline which has resulted in lots of positive attention from multiple
audiences, specifically as no dialogue is
used throughout the trailer. The film
follows a character called maddie, she is a
young deaf author, living alone in a
secluded cottage within the woods, writing
a novel. In the film, her phone is stolen
and a picture of herself on her ipad, taken
by a killer is sent back to her. Unknown to
her before this point, there is someone
outside her house- a disguised, armed
intruder on the mission to enter her house and murder Maddie.
After the institutional information and the restrictions have been shown, the trailer for the film
begins. A long establishing shot has been used to portray the setting of an isolated house
within the woods. The long-shot used by the director Mike Flanagan starts at a high angle
displaying a dense sea of trees before slowly panning in a downwards rotating motion into
the abandoned woods, possibly foreshadowing upcoming danger for the victim of the film,
suggesting to the audience that there is nowhere to run, no help or anywhere to hide due to
the isolation. When the camera makes it below tree level, a pan is used to establish the
setting of the isolated house. The house looks fairly modern and is filled with dark tones
such as black, possibly foreshadowing how the owner does not want to be seen as the
house camouflages in with the environment. Low key lighting is being used in this scene as it
is a common convention within horror and the the slasher genre in particular, it is used to
make the audience scared of their surroundings, fitting in well as it is an isolated area within
the woods.

2. Direct light is also used in the scene above as we can see it shining on to the top of maddies
house, making it the subject of the frame as it is the most visible. This draw our eyes to the
house, insinuating that it is a key aspect throughout the film. The use of high key light in this
area is also accompanied with the use of low key light everywhere else. This is used to
make it difficult for the audience to make out the figures and shadows within it. This is
specifically used to provide an eerie atmosphere where the film is set to try and make the
audience feel on edge and easy to scare.
As previously mentioned, dialogue is not used throughout the trailer as she is deaf and mute,
meaning she could not understand and sound jumpscares would not connect with her
character. This makes the audience become more reliant on the imagery on screen, the use
of sounds and the text within the trailer.
Throughout the first portion of the trailer, roughly 30 seconds, the audience are made aware
that the main character, who they have not yet been introduced to yet is deaf and a mute.
This is made clear to the audience through the use of text appearing on the screen.
The use of white font is essential in order to portray parts of the narrative, as white
traditionally holds connotations to purity and innocence which can possibly reflect the traits
of the main character within the film. This is specifically used in contrast to the dark
background with the house and woods as the director Mike Flanagan is reiterating to the
audience that the house is a main aspect of the film and it foreshadows the upcoming
dangers that it may bring throughout the narrative. Essentially, the uses of binary oppositions
within this scene is vital in context to the narrative of the film. There is a battle between good
and evil within the film, which the audience can automatically assume is the battle between
the innocent victim and the malicious intruder trying to kill her.
In the images above, the words “speak” and “hear” are specifically used to stand out on the
screen in comparison to the background and other text. Thery stand out as they are
positioned on a lower line and are written in bold, making them easily visible. The fact that
the rest of the line stays the same and only they change also symbolises that they are a key
factor within the film and is important in setting up the trailer. This could also be used to

3. portray the uses of binary oppositions in an alternate way. It could indicate to the audience
about the ongoing battle which the victim faces with her disability throughout the film and
how this will affect her ability to survive from the killer.
Throughout the first third of the trailer, a background sound of nature in the form of low
ambients sound is present. This is used as dialogue cant feature at this point in the trailer
because maddie is deaf and a mute, and so can't make any noise, this is used in order to
reinforce the eerie theme of the trailer. The lack of sound during the opening of the trailer
holds high significance as it is directly reflective of the plot of the film. This forces the
audience in to vulnerable position as they will have to solely focus on the imagery on screen
and not dialogue, making them easy to jump scare with non-diegetic sound, this relates to
the main character Maddie as she lacks the use of sound, therefore making her other
senses become heightened making her reliant on the visual imagery which makes constantly
feel at unease and fearful of what could happen.