The trailer uses a variety of techniques to establish suspense and fright. It begins with a sudden loud bang to grab the audience's attention. Throughout, it alternates between showing the father resisting the supernatural force controlling his mind and showing the force growing in power. Close-ups, zooms, and fast cuts between shots build tension. Low-key lighting surrounds characters in darkness to suggest the evil force is lurking nearby. The force is presented as a ghostly, aggressive female contrasted against the modern family. Its growing dominance over the frightened family is the central conflict teased in the brief trailer.

1. Insidious 2 Trailer
Deconstruction

2. Effects: There’s a sudden bang
that opens the trailer,
immediately making the viewer
jump; this indicates to the
audience that this is a film of the
horror genre. The sudden
scream of the evil, ghostly
female doesn’t display her to be
scared or weak, but actually very
angry and violent, as she
pushes the father back. A
crackling sound effect is used as
the father takes his tooth out, to
emphasize the grotesqueness of
this action.
Voice over: The trailer uses a
voiceover; this is non-diegetic
sound as it isn’t originating from
within the screen world. “From
the director of The Conjuring”
references a popular
supernatural film from the same
director, to suggest to audiences
that this film is equally as good.
Characters: The line “No,
please no” spoken by the father
in the trailer displays his
weakness against the evil force,
therefore displaying the
characters vulnerability…
Sound
“Is there something wrong with
daddy mum?” This line displays
the child’s innocence and fear; a
contrast is established in the fact
that he loves his “daddy” but he’s
also frightened of him. “Get out of
my head!” this line is shouted by
the father, it indicates to the
audience that the supernatural
force is beginning to control him,
thereby displaying its dominance.
“Oh my god” the mother says this
line in a distressed, frightened
tone to display to the audience
how disturbing the supernatural
force is.
Music: The music gradually
builds- there will be a few
seconds where it’s quiet but then
suddenly five thuds take place,
and this repeats about three times
towards the end of the trailer- this
is done to create suspense.

3. Key settings
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The trailer opens with a séance, the people are
centred, the darkness and red of the room
surrounds them- this connotes the idea of evil
and violence.
Although most of the family appear to be
wearing modern clothing, the house that they’re
supposedly living in has an old fashioned
quality, due to the wallpaper and props such as
the grandfather clock. The house is displayed
as a conventionally old fashioned and creepy
house.
Another key setting in the trailer is the
bathroom, which is where the father is shown
as being secluded and irritated due to the
supernatural force trying to control his mind.
The trailer displays a lot of scenes where the
father is walking through complete darkness
with a lantern, creating a strong contrast
between the light and dark. This signifies that
the father is pure and noble as he’s highlighted
by the lantern, but it also connotes the idea that
he’s trapped by the darkness and the evil force.

4. Key characters
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Father: In the trailer he’s shown as having two personalities- one being where he’s weak and being
controlled by the evil force and the other where he’s shown to be a protector and hero. You can easily
tell the different by his appearance and body language. In some shots he looks pale, tired, and his
body language indicates that he’s stressed (e.g. he grabs his hair is frustration); this presents him as
being dominated by the supernatural force. However in other shots he looks confident and strong due
to his good posture, this signifies that he’s determined to beat the evil force.
Mother: She’s displayed throughout the trailer as both a protector and a victim. There’s a shot where
she’s comforting her child and another where she’s investigating the house, with a guarded yet stern
facial expression, indicating that she’s both careful and courageous. However she’s presented as
weak, in one shot she’s shown to be scrambling up from the floor as if she’s feebly trying to get away
from the powerful supernatural force.
Child: There aren’t many shots of the child, but he is displayed as mature- which the audience will
recognise as a result from his distressing and challenging journey in the past film- he’s obviously
worried about his father who he has a close relationship with “Is there something wrong with daddy?”
this indicates that he’s very young and innocent, and this makes the audience worried due to his
vulnerability.
Supernatural force: The supernatural force in the trailer is presented in the form of a disturbing,
ghost-like lady. Her costume contrasts to the modern clothing (e.g. jeans) that the family are wearing,
indicating that she’s from the past, and is therefore a ghost/supernatural being. She’s displayed as
being very theatrical and aggressive, every action that she makes is very exaggerated and forceful,
such as when she screams and points directly at the viewer, ultimately making the viewer jump and
feel singled out.

5. Lighting
• Mainly low key lighting is used in this trailer; it’s frequently displayed in
horror films as it creates a sense of ambiguity and fear.
• I've noticed that the family members tend to be in the area of highlight,
connoting their goodness and purity, but they are then surrounded by
darkness. This signifies that the evil force is lurking around them.
• The evil female is ironically wearing a white dress, which would usually
connote innocence, however her makeup and hair completely contrast.
Her hair is black and slicked back, and her eyes are so dark they appear
hollow.

6. Camera
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A high angle shot opens the trailer (viewing a séance), indicating that
something very powerful and dominant is lurking over the people. High
angles are frequently used to make the family seem feeble against the
evil forces chaos.
Many close-ups are used to either capture the intensity of the facial
expressions or to suddenly scare the viewer. There is a close-up shot in
the trailer where, between quick cuts to black, a terrifying face suddenly
lunges towards the screen; this is an effective technique as the cuts to
black drag out the shot a little more by creating suspense, ultimately
making the final close-up much more intense and frightening.
There are a few zoom ins used throughout the trailer- for example when
the camera zooms in on the evil lady, or when the camera shot zooms
down the dark corridor; this frightens the viewer as (potentially) they’re
scared of the frightening lady and the dark, ambiguous corridor and they
don’t want to get closer, but the camera is giving them no choice.
Over the shoulders are used when the characters are speaking to
display that they are talking to someone, but due to the teaser trailer
having to be short the amount of dialogue is minimal, so often there are
just quick clips of one character saying one line. They are also used as a
character is looking in the mirror, to display the fact that in the reflection
there is the evil force standing behind the character, and this creates a
great sense of vulnerability for the character.
A fast paced pan is used to display the evil force lunging herself and
pushing the father across the room, ultimately connoting a sense of
hostility and viciousness.

7. Editing
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The trailer is a montage of fast-paced shots, and therefore
doesn’t use continuity editing, but instead a variety of shots that
juxtapose and are formed together in quick flashes.
Rhythmic editing is used to build tension, the length of the shots
match the emotion and volume of the music. As the characters
are talking the background music is very quiet, but as the music
suddenly thuds in a cluster of beats a different image appears on
each thud.
An eye-line match is used to cause panic in the viewer- as the
father is rapidly sprinting whilst looking in a certain direction, the
shot jumps to the evil face that is lurking behind the window,
indicating that if the father doesn’t get there in time then the evil
force will cause herm to his family.
A match on action is used at the very beginning of the trailer
because the first shot is a close-up of a lamp that’s flashing, but
this action continues into the next shot which is an establishing
shot to show that all of the lights in the room are flashing; this
indicates to the audience that a supernatural force is at work,
therefore the trailer is already signifying that this is a
supernatural horror film. Another match on action is used as the
father goes to pull down a sheet from a face; suspense is
created due to the action beginning in one shot and ending in the
next, also making the result even more frightening when the face
is revealed, the screen cuts to black, and then a sudden pan is
placed displaying the evil force aggressively pushing the father.