Prisoners trailer analysis

1. TRAILER ANALYSIS //
PRISONERS
The trailer is highly effective in creating an ominous mood, and the use of dialogue and mise-en-scene contributes
to this feeling. Accompanied by the editing, the trailer becomes more than just the audience witnessing a story
about a father and a detective trying to find two missing girls and places them in the story through the use of
transitions that create the pace and feeling of confusion. Such feelings of puzzlement reflect Keller's mindset: like
him, the audience fail to notice the regression of Det. Loki's character - he enters as clean-cut and seemingly
professional man, and transforms into a rugged and violent person, highlighting the gravity of the situation as being
so exhausting that it can turn any man into a beast. A sombre mood is immediately established when the outside is
edited to have low saturation, indicating that there may be something ominous (or at least suspicious) about the
outside. This suspicion is immediately heightened at the next shot, wherein the house is brightly lit and given a
warm yellow undertone, thus creating a stark contrast between the outside and the inside. The glow of the house
portrays a sense of safety and comfort because it gives the impression that the house is warm. As a result, the
audience can infer that the outside may be dangerous and could even feel a sense of impending doom when the
daughter asks if she can take her friend to her house because there is no music and thus causes the audience to
focus on what she's saying. Furthermore, the fact that the same house has low saturation after their disappearance
suggests that it isn't even safe in a house anymore. This is indicated by the following close-up shots of Det. Loki
interrogating someone and the same man being tied to a radiator - it is a literal and figurative symbol of physical
danger, especially for the suspect. It could also signify how impactful the girls' disappearances are because the
house no longer seems warm or inviting - like the outside, it feels barren and cold, devoid of any feeling. The
turning point in the story is indicated by the ominous music that starts once an RV comes into view. It is a close-up
shot, showing the rust and dilapidation that is quite unlike the previous shots of a clean home, suggesting that an
unwanted and arguably malevolent force is driving into their lives (which the audience could also see when it cuts to
a long shot of the RV driving forward) because it is a stark contrast from the warm environment, indicating danger.

2. Additionally, the use of a fade to black, bloom transition continues to add to this ominous feeling because it gives
the impression that the following events are tied together by darkness, as implied by the colour black. The darkness
may also create a feelings of disorientation because it is as if the days blend into each other, which heightens the
confusion that Keller and Det. Loki may be feeling as they search for the girls. This is emphasised during Keller's
rant, saying that it's been "six days" in the span of a few seconds. Not only does this suggest that the investigation
is already taking up a lot of time, but "every day, she's wondering why I'm not there" stresses at the importance of
finding the girls before it's too late.
Dialogue is used to inform the reader of upcoming events in the trailer and sheds a light on the change in Keller; a
supposedly cheerful and friendly man that becomes desperate, rugged, and violent. The music is lowered whenever
there is dialogue, and this combined with a black screen that has a longer duration forces the audience to listen to
what is being said. At 2:00, the only background nose is a low sweeping note, and the dialogue is as follows: Keller:
Someone has to make them talk or they're going to die.[next cut, then fade to black]Nancy: We're not going to help
Keller but we won't stop him either. Let him do what he needs to. By having Nancy's line follow right after Keller's
indicates another turning point in the story, and the cut to the suspect tied to a radiator with tape over his mouth
implies that this turn can be dangerous for both parties involved. The audience are left inferring that the suspect is
at risk of grave bodily harm, and Keller is at risk of going to prison for hurting him or trying to conduct an
investigation his own way. This also highlights how desperate Keller has become in order to find his daughter
because he turns to violent methods to get what he wants.

3. Similarly, the trailer showcasing change in Det. Loki's appearance hints a change in his personality and investigative
methods as well. His mise-en-scene is more clean-cut in the beginning; his shirts are pressed and white, his hair is
slicked back, and his expressions are soft and professional. The latter half of the trailer is a stark contrast from this -
his hair and clothes are messy, his expression forlorn with lines on his face, and this suggests that the investigation
has taken a physical and emotional toll on him because it gives the impression that he is exhausted. In addition, the
shots of him slamming a man's head on the table or getting a gun and trespassing into a house emphasises on an
emotional, physical, and even moral decay: the upstanding Detective has been geared to use unethical methods of
obtaining information and becomes a mirror image of Keller himself. By having both men start as affable and end as
miserable could evoke pity from the audience, and arguably, hopelessness as well because their misery could imply
that the situation is hopeless.
This drastic change in both Keller and Det. Loki is effectively emphasised through the use of the music synchronising
with the cuts, particularly on those that show Keller lunging towards the man or Det. Loki slamming something that
breaks into thousands of pieces. The amplified beat and immediate lowering of the volume whenever this happens
portrays their change as unsettling because the audience may feel shock at hearing a loud noise, and continue to
feel so even when it dies away, in the same way that Keller can't seem to shake off his suspicions about the man in
glasses. Finally, the appearance of a maze being drawn throughout the trailer conjures a feeling of apprehension
because a maze indicates that the path to the end will be difficult and perplexing, and therefore continues to serve a
notion of hopelessness because it suggests that the road to find the girls will be long, and they may not even find
them in time.
This follows the conventions of the genre as trailers of this nature usually incite confusion amongst the audience
members in order to make them more curious about the ending, which could increase the chances of them watching
the film to find out.