trailer analysis

1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUMYbMTkWjg
Kat Scott

2. Screenshots from the trailer:

6. Cinematography
•The trailer begins with a close up point of view of a man hammering a nail into a piece of wood which we later
understand is a door hiding a satanic child. The close up reinforces the importance of what he is hammering shut as
it is also darkly lit which is a stereotypical convention of the horror genre.
•An establishing shot pan of darkly lit hills with thunder, rain and lightening creates an eerie start to the trailer, this
is a stereotypical convention used in horror trailers and films as it hints to the audience that the characters are in
danger.
•After the water has hit the car from the side, a reaction shot of the passengers inside the car is shown. The effect
this will have on the audience is that they will sympathise for the characters as they can see their distress. The shot
is also very dark which will make the audience feel uneasy.
•Another establishing shot is given of an old looking house with thunder, lightening and rain. This is a stereotypical
shot used in horror films as the audience automatically knows something isn’t right with the house and that it is
paramount to the narrative.
•An over the shoulder point of view shot of a hand emerging from the previously seen wooden door with a hole is
given, this would be disturbing for the audience as the character reacts in a frightened way, it also creates mystery
for the audience as they want to know who and why they have been trapped.
•There is then a close up shot of the padlock being broken with an axe by one of the characters. This close up
signifies the importance of the padlock and how it has protected the house and characters so far only for it to be
disturbed.
•As the door of the enclosed room is opened there is a high angle point of view shot looking onto the girl who has
been locked away. This makes her look weak as she is lower than the characters making her seem innocent and for
the audience to sympathise for her
• A over the shoulder long shot point of view of the same girl then appears in the house with long black hair
covering her face and a long dress. This then causes the audience to no longer have sympathy for the girl and
makes them question what will happen to the family.
•There is then a close up of the girl

7. Mise-en-scene
The mise-en-scene in this horror trailer adheres to the
stereotypical conventions of horror genre trailers.
• The close up of the nail and hammer is shown in the
beginning of the trailer, it suggests that they are
isolating something for a reason as it is a very violent
action, this also touches on phobias which are
common conventions used in horror films, It also
encourages the audience to react which gives the
trailer a jumpy effect and make the film more
frightening.
• The establishing shot of the house is also a stereotype
to horror films as this is usually the catalyst to a chain
of events happening in the house and also represents
and reinforces that this film is a horror.
• The large insects that are scattered on the floor where
the satanic child was locked makes audiences flinch
which is also a stereotypical convention used in film
trailers.
• There is also an old child's doll which looks abused,
this represents that it is a horror film and also
suggests that the narrative is based around a child.
Sound
Throughout the trailer there is a mixture of ambient,
diegetic and non diegetic sound. This makes the
trailer tense in parts where it’s needed and helps to
build tension leading up to parts where the audience
is expected to jump or be scared.
•Diegetic sound is used straight from the beginning of
the trailer with the rattled chains, this is a typical
conventions used which tells us that it is a horror
trailer.
•A voice over is used to express the characters
frustration “where’s the main road” which will make
the audience panic as they don’t know what is yet to
come.
•As the car tips on the road there is an uncomfortable
high pitch non diegetic sound which creates tension
to scare the audience.
•A non diegetic sound of a woman singing in a
monotone pitch is also placed over the trailer, it acts
as a warning as every time it is played something bad
happens, this is very common in horror trailers which
also helps build tension as audiences are familiar
with this convention and it scares them because they
don’t know what is going to happen.

8. Editing Theory
The editing at the beginning of the trailer
is slow paced and flows together
enabling the audience to understand the
narrative of the story.
After the family have gone into the
house they then discover a padlocked
door, from this point onwards the editing
becomes faced paced as they have
released the satanic child and from then
onwards the trailer becomes very
dramatic and the editing rapidly gets
faster and goes in to a montage effect.
This is a typical convention used in
horror trailers as it makes the audience
question what happened in the end of
the film and who will survive.
This trailer adheres to the following theories:
Levi Strauss – Binary opposition:
Weak/Powerful Evil/Good Male/Female
The binary opposition theory is presented in
this horror trailer through gender, power and
status for example; there is an age binary
opposition between the little girl and the
older characters who stereotypically
automatically give sympathy because of her
age. There is also another binary opposition
with the evil in the house (the satanic child)
and the good (the main characters).

9. Target audience and genre
conventions
Target audience:
The target audience for this film is 18+ this is because it is described as violent and
gore. They will be horror genre fans and also inherited audiences as the actors
Danny Trejo and Peter Facinelli are well known from other popular films such as
twilight and they don’t often play in the horror genre which will also attract
audiences as they will wonder if they are as effective at acting in a different genre.
Genre Conventions : This film trailer is very stereotypical to the horror genre and
can easily be identified due to the following conventions -
Devil/evil in the house
Haunting
Creepy satanic child
Locked door
Screaming (sound)
Blood
Isolation