The trailer summarizes a film about five girls in an asylum who escape into an imaginary dream world to cope with the horrors of their situation. In the dream world, they complete tasks to obtain items that will help them escape for real. Symbols and events in the dream world mirror those in the real world. The trailer uses visual techniques like shot composition and music to set up the film's themes of empowerment, blurred reality, and the number five's significance to the girls' escape plan.

1. Film Trailer Deconstruction By Laura Ireland

2. Trailer Summary We see the main character of the film being sexually abused by her stepfather after the death of her mother. She retaliates by attempting to shoot him and as a result of this is institutionalised. In the asylum we see her meet a group of girls and together they create a plan to escape. These five girls make the transition into the imaginary dream world as a way of aiding themselves in dealing with the day to day horrors of the asylum but more importantly to empower themselves to escape. The group undergo a series of tasks while in the fantasy world to get particular items which will aid their escape. These actions and items carried out and found in the dream world are then mirrored in the real world.

3. Trailer Analysis The trailer begins with a MCU shot of a dead woman as displayed through the sheet covering her head. This idea of death is shown through the dark filter added over the scene as the colourgrey is not only dull, but has connotations of death and creates asense of foreboding doom towards the films protagonist. We hear the voice over state, “I lost everyone I every loved,” which causes the viewer to automatically question this, in relation to the funeral scene. This is as during the burial of her mother the films protagonist is seen comforting her younger sister, therefore making this voice over foreshadowing of her fate.

4. The menacing look through the use of a low angled MCU on the girls stepfather’s smiling face at the funeral, shows his supremacy and indicates him to be a villainous character. This is confirmed further through the following eye line shot of the films protagonist looking at the stepfather in fear. Her suppression in comparison to this domineering male figure is emphasized further through the use of a low angle. The use of the eagle eye shot on the funeral scene is very reminiscent of Zach Snyder’s other film, ‘Watchman.’ This therefore, indicates to the viewer of the trailer that this work is presumably very much in the style of his other films. Sucker Punch Watchman

5. The next shot follows with the voiceover saying, “then they locked me away,” with the camera zooming in on her eye peering through a keyhole. This keyhole shot is also representative of her character being locked in an asylum as well as needing a key escape ( one of the five items). This shot is also very reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland, with Zach Snyder himself saying that the film is, “like Alice in Wonderland … with machine guns” As well as using fade to black transitions to teleport the audience from scene to scene, we see the reflection in the main characters pupil acting as a mirror, taking the trailer to a different setting. The particular emphasis placed on the protagonists eyethroughout the trailer also helps to indicate the physiological sub-genre of the film as well as making the transition into the her fantasy world more easy to grasp for the audience.

6. This idea of the stepfather being a villainous character is later established in the trailer through his physical actions with the underlying suggestion of sexual abuse being confirmed with a CUshot of him pulling off the protagonists shirt button. The slow motion shot of the spinning button represents that something imminent is going to happen, as well as echoing the force of the situation. The fast paced used of continual quick cuts builds up tension and creates suspense adding to the action / thriller genre of the film. This action is enhanced through the increased pace of the previously slow, non-digetic soundtrack. The beat becomes increasingly faster in juxtaposition with the rapid use of quick cuts until the concluding sound of the gun shot. The gun is later shown in the trailer as a recurring element as it is part of the protagonists main weaponry.

7. The building idea of insanity is concluded with the establishing shot of the, “Lennox House for the mentally insane Brattleboro Vermont.” The idea of these five girls escaping into their minds to deal with their reality is set up with the presence of a stage inside the institution presenting the idea of psychodrama with the whole film ultimately being a psychodrama in itself. A psychodrama is a group psychotherapy technique. Under the direction of a therapist, individuals re-enact life situations or feelings in order to gain insight or learn new ways of coping. It is one of the adjunctive therapies used in treating trauma disorders.

8. On arriving at the institute a new non-digeticsoundtrack is introduced. The presence of a kazoo within the track has connotations of a prison inmate playing a gloomy tune and this can be seen reflected through the protagonists depressed state on screen as she is seen undergoing heavy labour. In the next shot we are introduced to the other four key characters in the film however, the group of girls go unnamed throughout the trailer creating a sense of mystery and foreshadowing. Through this enigma the audience feels immersed in text and drawn to it through curiosity.

9. The use of the voice over stating, “You control this world,” gives this previously victimised girl a voice and a sense of empowerment. This is prominently shown with a slow-mo shot of her walking through a battlefield holding a stance of superiority through the use of a low camera angle. In these two shots we see a seamless transition from location to location via a 360 degree pan clearly showing the audience a change in location and the narrative progress within a matter of seconds.

10. Scott Glen’s character is first introduced as a religious appearing man creating him to seem as some sort of saviour for the films protagonist. This savior image is enhanced through the use of props, with the candles behind him showing him to be herguiding light as he states, “I am going to help you to be free.” His persona is set up to be a mentor forthe girls in the fantasy world as he givesthem their tasks and explains what they will need to help them escape the asylum in the real world. The non-digetic music used in the fantasy world is mimicking of that commonly found in heavy action computer gaming. This can be heard through the electric guitar and heavy rock drum beat adding to the action genres of the film.

11. We see the lines between reality and fantasy increasingly blurred throughout the film. With particular words and objects, carrying heavy symbolism. “To reach your own paradise just let go.” We see this idea of reaching paradise signified throughout the trailer with a fire for escape being started in a bottle of paradise rum.

12. Also the architecture of the asylum mimics that of the dream world. When entering the ‘Lennox House’ we see the architecture of the asylum imitated in the fantasy world. Rabbit imagery is also a key sign in relation to the main characters samurai sword in the fantasy world, as it has a rabbit engraved into it. The rabbit is also significant of Alice in Wonderland, as this protagonist has gone into her own rabbit hole. Once again, this image can be seen on the Mech suit as it shoots down a bi-plane.

13. There is a strong significance placed on the number five with the girls being five in number as well as needing five items to escape. The number five can also be seen on both the chopper and on the mech suit, emphasizing its significance further through these visible representations.

14. The explosive noise in conjunction with the visual explosion on screen helps to emphasis the title and its literal meaning. This is as it comes out of nowhere and bursts into the centre of the screen, making it impacting and memorable for the audience as they are not expecting it.