Textual Analysis Of Horror Trailer

Movie: The Strangers

Year: 2008

Director: Bryan Bertino

Production Company: Rouge Pictures

The Trailer for The Strangers uses several techniques ranging from the use of sound to the way lighting is used to create a successful horror trailer it does this by using these techniques in the following ways.

Firstly the trailer makes brilliant use of running pace for example, the initial pace at the start is normal and sustained for the first several seconds of the trailer but then very slowly speeds up to a pace which is still normal but slightly faster than that which it followed this starts to create the idea of  something bad happening, as a general rule of horror is after the acceleration of pace there is always a following scary moment. However in this trailer the acceleration portion of this common chain of events is slightly altered and shortened due to this the moment of shock is slightly earlier than anticipated and therefore catches the audience off guard.

Secondly the trailer makes extremely good use of dark and light as the light is like a metaphor for a safe environment and just when the audience feel comfortable in that environment they are brought out of there comfort zone into the dark which is extremely effective in keeping the audience on the edge of there seat. As well as the use of light as a metaphor it is also used extremely well to focus the viewers attention on specific aspects of the shot being seen for example at the the 1:08 (1 minute 8 seconds) marks there is a close up shot of the female in which her facial expression is one of great fear to emphasise this and to get the audiences attention to focus onto this the surrounding area in shot is very dark and the little light in the shot is focussed on the character to emphasise the fear she is feeling.

In addition another thing i believe this trailer does really well is the choice of shot used to create the perfect atmosphere, such as the use of a establishing shot at the start which shows the house to be alone it a area we would associate with a typical horror such as the texas chainsaw massacre. Another aspect in which i think camera shots are used very well is during shock moments in the trailer where a long shot is used to show the people on there own followed by another close up shot to show facial expression and fear.

Furthermore the trailer utilises the use of diegetic and non-diegetic sound very well as it completely follows horror music convention for example the first sound we here is a very simple recurring melody which is often associated with the exorcist theme tune which made having a melody such as the one used in the exorcist (Mike Oldfield-Tubular Bells) a must for a horror film. As well as the use of  non-diegetic sound the trailer also make excellent use of diegetic sound an example of this is the sound of the swing moving, this sound is very good in creating tension as it is repetitive and the swing is associated with children which have built a reputation of being vulnerable or demon like in horrors. Another use of sound in the trailer which i think is really good is the vinyl record which jumps at the end of the trailer and speeds up in unison with the pace of the video i think this works really well because as it speeds up the audience feel they are coming closer and closer to a scary moment which cannot be escaped which adds to the atmosphere of the horror. 

In addition i believe the success of  the trailer for the strangers is due to editing aspects as without this the above techniques would not be able to intertwine and allow the trailer to shine as a media peice . Firstly the use of quick cuts throughout works really well with the fast pace of the trailer as they both increase in speed leading to a climax if this didn't happen the trailer would be no way near as effective because a fast pace alone would not have provided as much depth leading to a duller trailer.Furthermore the editing works really well with the sound an example of this is between the 00:30sec and 00:50sec mark were with each new cut the sound of the swing starts again this loop works really we'll together because when the only sound being heard with each new cut is the same sound of a swing rocking again and again the result of this is that it gets the audience on the edge of there seat as it is the last thing you would expect to see which adds to the idea of the ''unknown'' which is often associated with the horror genre. Finally editing is effective in convergence with the lighting used as it allows the sudden switch from a shot were there is lots of light which naturally makes the audience feel safe and then instantly contrasting it with one of darkness which can completely throw the audience.

Overall i believe the trailer for the strangers is a very good one for several reason such as the fact that it keeps with almost all horror conventions, also it uses all the techniques stated above but does in convergence as to create one smooth peice which reflects horror in a perfect light, furthermore the addition of mask gives a ''classic horror'' feel which i think many people from an older age would like and be familiar with and therefore would want to see the movie this makes the trailer very successful in my eyes as it goes away from the stereotype which states only teens watch horrors.