Trailer Conventions

I have worked with Lizzie Lee on this post.

'DEVIL' is a 2010 horror film in which 5 people trapped in a lift realise that the devil is among them. The actors used in this film are not as well known as 'A' listed celebrities. It was directed by John Erick Dowdle who is a well-known director in the trade. Music and dialogue is used throughout the trailer to keep suspense and add to the audience's anticipation. There is no voice over, but instead inter-titles explain the movie with clever cuts from the movie its self.

At the beginning of this trailer we see the titles written upside down on what looks to be an American state possibly New York City. This gives us the sense of disorientation; it makes us feel un-easy on our feet and plays with our mind. A horror convention of setting is a small community in which the main protagonist(s) is/are enclosed or isolated. In this film they are not isolated in the city but trapped in a lift which takes the sense of isolation to the extreme. In the middle of the trailer the action on screen carries on yet the soundtrack is very effective. This is my favourite convention in the trailer and is when a lot is happening on screen and background music cuts out totally and all that can be herd is the sound of a lift beeping as if moving normally. This is done on purpose to enhance the impact of the lift. The final part of the trailer stood out to me when the female shouts "Turn on the lights!" which is followed by a male striking a match to reveal a humanistic figure with what appears to be a bandaged face. This shot very suddenly cuts straight to black giving us the jumpy effect and at the same time leaves us wanting to know what that "creature" was. Depth of field is used well in this trailer when the male strikes a match and we see the mysterious yet horrific character behind him. The camera focuses on him and then rapidly cuts to black.

"THE GRUDGE" is a 2004 film directed by Takashi Shimizu starring Sarah Michelle Gellar   who is best known for her role as "Buffy" in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. "The Grudge" was realeased in 2004 and was mainly filmed in Japan. This film uses Sarah Michelle Gellar to draw in the audience. The target audience is mid - late teens onwards and it is the story of when something "dies at the grip of a powerful rage...a curse is left behind." The setting of this film is closed in dark spaces maily being at the house which also has a history of death. The lighting from this movie is mostly low key and with high contrast the shadows are emphasised into unsual shapes. The main characters are rarely in centre frame yet there are various ECUs on the eye of the monster. This forces us to identify with the monster rather than the main protagonist. Flashbacks are also used throughout the movie to show the "creature's" past. The trailer raises questions about how Karen got involved with the house and how the monster came about the house. This is good as it encourages the audience to go and watch the movie which fills the purpose of a trailer.





The iconography of this film is very simple. The ghosts are white which connotes death in this film and the darkness and black suggest a fear of this creature, mystery of the creature and suspense of what is going to happen next. All these are part of the key conventions of horror. This film as many horrors has a "Final girl" however unlike many horror films the final girl is non-androgynous. In fact she is quite the opposite being used to show a relationship with Doug. This breaks the convention of using females as an object as the final girl.