TRAILER ANALYSIS
The production logo is in conventional place at the beginning. Toxic
symbol in background is symbolic for zombie genre, therefore horror. Red and
white has connotations of panic. Film4 afterwards shows it helps and finances
independent British films, this is conventional.
Fade to black and then 5 (5th of November) shows
on screen, part of the brand identity. Shot of the moon, which has connotations
of werewolves and horror. Symbolises the night, conventionally the most
dangerous time in horror films. Moon is over a suburban neighbourhood, the
typical slasher location. Glitch in the opening cards, suggesting within the
plate shot at the beginning that there is some disruption, that something will
go wrong on the 5th of November. The entire narrative is echoed in
the opening plate shot.
Black/red/white is conventional colour palette for horror. Next
plate shot is 4 (best friends). The countdown of numbers builds tension, which
trailers are designed for. This reinforces the brand identity, and by the end
of the trailer the 5th of November date will be familiar.
The characters are introduced with laughter, lightens the
mood and tension already built up. Fire is shown between the couple at the
start. Foreshadows the dangerous connection. This is developing the shot from Jaws, in which a couple kiss, composed in front of a fire in the background, which foreshadows a dangerous relationship.
Then
a fade to black which is a convention of trailer form. This shows that the
events are not happening in the same time frame.
3 suspects is the next plate shot, which reinforces the
conceit of the countdown which shows narrative elements. This also reinforces
the brand identity. In the next shot, the fire is even bigger, and the fire
overtakes the place in the frame where Alex is sitting, therefore showing that
he is on fire, foreshadowing. Promiscuous girl has a low cut top which
reinforces her character trope. Stoner boy is smoking which also reinforces his
trope. Shows they are rebellious. Conveys the idea that those who rebel get
punished. Shows that the characters are at the age where they experiment with
transgressive rebellion. Next frame reinforces the idea that the fire is
separating them.
2 sides to a story implies the equilibrium is about to
shatter, and a problem is going to occur. A scream and the banging on the wall
and the sound of fire. Production can’t afford to set the area on fire,
therefore we had to make do with using the sound of crackling fire to convey
that idea. 1 deadly secret is the enigma code, the audience asks themselves who
will die and who will survive.
High angle shot of the group running down the stairs. The
extreme angle at which the shot was composed creates unusual angular
composition, reminiscent of German expressionism and how it fed into the horror
genre. This angle is disturbing, it’s not an angle we see usually. The shot
reflects the disruption in the narrative. Matched action of the group running
through a door. The composition is placing all of the vertical lines as visual
barriers. Somewhat maze like, the barriers prevent her escape, compositionally
speaking.
Cuts to another unusual angle, in which the shot takes place
from a low angle on the floor. Fire extinguishers and fire alarms are on the
door, which reinforces the idea that fires should be put out, and fire is what
they are running away from. Visual irony, as that is what they need. Sickly
green colour on the walls convey illness within the frame. This is in reference to the colour palette used in Hitchcock's Vertigo, in which the sickly green and earth brown colours were used to convey an uneasy, queasy atmosphere. Edits quicken
as a montage edit.
Frame is split in half. The door symbolises safety / a way
out, and it is reflected on the bottom half in which the door is ghostly
resembled. Camera moves with her and is handheld, typical in the slasher genre
– documentary realism and emergency. Upstairs corridor shot of the killer
walking – two fire extinguishers are on the left of the frame, they are
prominent within the frame. Only showing his legs maintains the enigma and
reinforces the mystery behind him. Matched action as we now see the killer’s
weapon. Mask + weapon combo is conventional in the horror genre. Shows us he is
the villain. He is surrounded by the sickly green / illness colour, conveys who
he is.
He looks down at the group below bathed in red light –
connotations of danger. Over the shoulder shot, shows him as being powerful and
them as being vulnerable. Shown in a theatre, this is like a theatre
performance to him. Could be linked to a theatre of conflict, or an operating
theatre. The two in the group break away from their embrace, but visually they
are trapped. High pitched music reminiscent of psycho.
No escape on another plate shot, a reinforcement of the
brand identity. The group were shown trapped in a frame, and then it says “no
escape”, which reinforces the idea that they’re trapped.
As he watches them in the common room scene, the fact he is
stalking them and watching through a window is conventional in slasher films. Another
plate shot “FROM THEIR SINS”.
Next scene is final girl running into the hall stage. She’s
trapped in the frame visually from a metal bar going along the centre of the
frame. She takes the fire extinguisher in an attempt to beat the killer. She
wore black when she was a rebellious teenager, but now she’s wearing white
which shows a binary opposite between innocence and rebellion. In the stage
shot she is in white surrounded by black. She looks up into the light as if she’s
looking towards the light at the end of the tunnel in death. Low angle shot of the killer on the rafters is
reminiscent of German expressionism and Fritz Lang. This shot conveys the killer as a powerful figure, and it was inspired by the famous shot from Friday the 13th, in which Michael Myers stood menacingly above the girl, staring down at her.
Pace increasing as part of the montage sequence, formally
conventional. She is visually trapped behind a pole. There is art of a brain in
the background, it shows she is trapped inside her own brain, in front of the
brain art but behind a pole / curtains. Inside a damaged brain. He jumps down
from his position of power, and the fire extinguisher is behind him which
reinforces the fire theme. Handheld camera shot of her running away which
reinforces urgency and immediacy. She runs through doors, which is a visual
metaphor for the hidden depths of the subconscious. The shadowed silhouette of
the man is conventional in horror / slasher films.
She falls down in front of a blue door, which has
connotations of freedom, which could suggest that this particular door could be
her salvation. Then the film title plate is shown, utilising the idea of a
circle of fire / Catherine wheel ‘O’ in “Bonfire Night”. Trope in slasher films
to name it after significant days of the year e.g. Halloween, Friday 13th.
Release date is 5th of November, which reinforces the theme. It is a
different plate shots to show that this is real life now, not part of the
narrative universe anymore. Principle cast and crew and tag line shown at the
end, conventional end to have this at the end of a trailer.
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