Positive
Feedback: Good intertitles x 13
Good varied use of cinematography x 9
Jump scare was effective x 8
Good gore effects x 7
Loudness emphasises drama x 3
Intense x 3
Good use of fast paced montage x 2
Sound effects work well x 2
Good narrative x 2
Good editing x 2
Suggested
Improvements: Needs Music x 15
More backstory x 12
Tidy some scenes up (editing) x 9
Less intertitles x 7
More variety in setting x 5
Too many screams x 2
Repetitive shots x 2
More dialogue
NAME OF FILM: The
Babadook
YEAR RELEASED: 2014
GENRE OF TRAILER: Horror
MARKS AFTER VIEWING: 7/10
What
happened in the trailer? The trailer begins with a mother reading a
spooky bedtime story to her son. The child begins to have nightmares about the monster
in the book and the paranoia of this soon reaches the mother. As the trailer
goes on, indescribable events begin to occur and we discover that the monster
is real and is haunting the family. There are a few scenes in which the mother
is standing her ground and demanding that the monster leaves and then the
trailer ends with the monster repeating a terrifying line from the book to the
frightened mother.
Which positive, clever or interesting aspects do you think
you could include in your own trailer? What generic features are fulfilled
well? I really like the tension and
suspense that builds over the duration of the trailer and I think this is a
very important aspect of a horror trailer. I also really liked the conventional
use of restricted narration where we would hear the story being told but not
seeing the scenes that match up with it. It came across as intriguing and
effective. The location of the actual film was enclosed and creepy which again
is a convention of horror, as well as the low key lighting used throughout the
whole trailer. This created the spooky mood and chilling atmosphere that was
intended. The music for the trailer is mostly parallel all the way through and
fits well with the general chilling vibe, and actually helps a lot with causing
tension and suspense in the trailer because the music keeps building as it goes
on. The cinematography in the trailer I also noticed was well varied and
effective, and each shot worked well and effectively. Particularly when the
mother shows anger towards the monster and the low angle makes her seem
superior in that one moment. The intertitles for the trailer were also very
effective and visually pleasing, and they fit well with the theme of children’s
books that the film centres around. These are all aspects I would like to try
and represent in my own trailer as I feel they result in an effective and
successful trailer.
Which aspects of the trailer did you think were unsuccessful and would put off
its target audience? How is it disappointing? The main aspect of this trailer that I was personally disappointed with
was the lack of a jump scare. There were certainly moments scarier than others
but there was a minimal use of collision cutting which decreased the pace of
the trailer and ruined it for me. The pacing started off well but it then
continued to increase too slowly and never reached the point where collision
cutting could have been used or a quick sequence could have been added. The
suspense builds all the way through only to end on another tense scene.
Collision cutting is definitely something I intend to include in my own
trailer.
Why did this trailer get the mark you gave it? I only gave this trailer a 7/10 because I felt that it lacked the
important horror trailer convention that is a jump scare. I thought the tension
building worked very well to begin with but there is no climax at the end of
the trailer and so you finish feeling disappointed that collision cutting was
not used. For me, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to add a jump scare but
it was not included which made the trailer seem a much slower pace, and I
therefore didn’t think it was as successful as it could easily have been.
NAME OF FILM: Insidious:
Chapter 2
YEAR RELEASED: 2013
GENRE OF TRAILER: Horror
MARKS AFTER VIEWING: 9/10
What
happened in the trailer? The trailer begins with a montage showing the
new equilibrium set after the events of the first film. This is then followed
by a scene of a strange woman appearing and then disappearing in the house with
the mother in the room, still traumatized from the previous occurrences. The
pace then changes as similar events to before begin to unfold and the family
realise they haven’t escaped the paranormal world. As they try and uncover what
the spirit wants, they learn that the target this time is the father instead of
the son. The rest of the trailer is a fast paced montage of the terrifying
events that unfold.
Which positive, clever or interesting aspects do you think
you could include in your own trailer? What generic features are fulfilled
well? One of my favourite aspects of this trailer
is the editing and pacing. It starts off slowly and calming and the montage is
slow, but then as events take a turn for the worse the editing becomes more
fast paced and there is then a quick sequence at the end of the trailer. This
is a very important aspect of a horror trailer and I will try and include this
in my own trailer. The characters presented in the trailer also fit the
conventions, as the mother Renai is the female victim but also is the final
girl, and the father has now become the villain possessed by evil spirits. The mise-en-scene
in the trailer works very well and shows conventions of a horror film. The
lighting was good because it wasn’t too light or too dark so we could see what
was going on but at the same time it was low key and spooky. The music used for
the trailer was contrapuntal but worked extremely well and I felt it was very
effective. It was creepy, chilling and adds a dark twist to the idea of happy
families by making children’s nursery rhymes disturbing. The cinematography
used in the trailer is effective as there were a good amount of close ups and
expressionist angles to show characters emotions and express their feelings.
For example when the baby walker moves by itself, we see Renai looking very disturbed.
I also really like the use of intertitles and how they change from being simple
to being more chilling when the pacing increases and the content is more
frightening.
Which aspects of the trailer did you think were unsuccessful
and would put off its target audience? How is it disappointing? I didn’t think this trailer was
unsuccessful, but an aspect which could be seen as unsuccessful is the use of
contrapuntal music. I personally loved the use, but others may see it as boring
and not as effective because it may not create tension and suspense the same
way parallel music might. Also, the narrative wasn’t too clear to someone who
may not have seen the first film because it doesn’t explain what the spirits
are actually doing, just that they are there causing problems for the family.
Why did this trailer get the mark you gave it? I gave this trailer a 9/10
because it successfully made me more interested in the film the first time I saw
it when it was released, and it fits many of the conventions most important for
a horror trailer. The only reason I didn’t give it a 10 is because it could
maybe have been a bit better by making the narrative more clear but I definitely
think it’s a great trailer and inspires me for my own trailer.
This image is from 2010 horror film Insidious.
The scene occurs when the paranormal investigator Elise is trying to uncover
the truth about the deadly spirit haunting the house, and she is the only
person that can see it and is therefore having her colleague draw everything
she describes. I really like this scene for many reasons, the first being the
angle and composition of the shot. The high angle clearly asserts the power of
the demonic spirit positioned on the ceiling of the boy’s room, and shows that
it has more knowledge of the situation than Elise does. This simple aspect of
the shot has so much symbolism behind it and shows many ways in which the
spirit has the power. The director of this film James Wan does this again in
the sequel to this film Insidious: Chapter 2 when the mother Renai is
looking up the stairs after hearing a strange noise. Another reason I enjoy
this scene is the eye contact we assume Elise has with the demon, because it
shows her connection to the other world and how she is thoroughly determined to
save the family and discover the secrets. I also really like the lighting in
this scene and how only the two characters are lit with everything around them
blacked out so that the focus is on them.
