Title: Sinister Release date: 5th October 2012 Director: Scott Derrickson Production/ financing company: IM global, Summit Entertainment Principle cast: Ethan Hawke, Juliet Rylance, Fred Thompson, James Ranson, Clare Foley, and Michael Hall D’Addario. Sub-genre: Supernatural Synopsis: Ellison Oswalt moves into the a murdered family’s home with his wife Tracy, and their two children, Ellison is the only one aware that this house is the place of a former crime scene and he is intending to use the house a inspiration of for his new book.
Watching the films Ellison discovers that they are movies of the families being murdered in various ways and from here he has unleashed the curse of the bogeyman onto his family
Mise en scene: The lighting used here is very generic and is typical to almost all horror movie trailers where there’s low lighting with a light shining in the middle of a dark room, the use of this darkness does connote the kind of darkness that has been affected with the children committing the murders in the movie which gives the audience a sense of the kind of supernatural horror they are about to watch.
Costume: The costume of the family seems to be normal for normal/casual for the 21st century era that they’re in , the laid back choice of clothing may show that they are vulnerable and may not be able to put in the effort that they need to survive the events to come.
Sound: The trailer starts with a voice over of a news report of a family who was murdered previously at a home this is then cut off so the audience can then focus on the deaths that are happening on screen, this mix is to keep them interested in the trailer following this there’s music which ominous music begins to play to set tension to the scenes to come which keep the suspension high for the audience
Camera angles / shot size: A mid shot is used at the middle of the trailer stop show the wife’s facial expression and the camera rotates around the table to show that the whole family is happy so the tragic events were solely cause by Elliot’s decision to dig for information
Location: The main Locations are the house and the attic in which Ellison watches the videos. The house looks rather spooky and low lighting has been used giving it an ominous and eerie effect.
Pacing: The pace at the beginning of the trailer is average speed to allow the audience to understand the narrative of the trailer. It then starts to quicken when the bad things start to take place. The speed of the trailer is in a direct positive correlation to the tension of the scenes.
Editing/ post productions: A Lots of quick cuts are used in the beginning, there were also a lot of transitions throughout the whole trailer fading into some text and scenes. Towards the end of the trailer it begins to show cutaway showing one scene to another than going back to the same scene the first time. Reaction shots mainly by the main character Ellision.
The Purge Anarchy
Film title: The Purge Anarchy Release date: July 18th 2014 Director: James Demonaco Production/ financing company: 5150 Action, Blumhouse Peoductions, Platinum Dunes, Universal Pictures, Why Not Productions Principle cast: Frank Grillo, Zach Gilford, Kiele Sanchez, Carmen Ejogo, Michael K. Williams, and Zoe Borde Sub-genre: Slasher Synopsis: One night per year, the government sanctions a 12-hour period in which citizens can commit any crime they wish – including murder – without fear of punishment or imprisonment. Leo, a sergeant who has lost his son, plans a vigilante mission of revenge during the mayhem. However, instead of a death dealing avenger, he becomes the unexpected protector of four innocent strangers who desperately need his help if they are to survive the night.
Mis-en-scene: Seeing as the purge mainly happens during the night, the lighting is a main factor in this film, the lighting connotes the sadistic side of the story in the film, for example when Leo is getting ready for the purge, lighting is used to show which types of equipment is he going to use during the purge activities. Most of the characters NVC is seen through a close up, so you can see the anger Leo is portraying due to the death of his son. Also, throughout the trailer we can see through the NVC that there is a lot of fear and anxiety. The costumes being worn in this trailer represent the class some characters belong to, for example during the opening of the trailer, citizens are wearing casual clothing, this portrays them as belonging to the lower or middle class social class, however on the other hand an elegantly dressed old women is seen, and this represents her to be part of a high social class. There are a plethora of props that are used within this trailer eg. Guns, knives, masks ect. These props are commonly used within this sub-genre movies because they represent the protagonist needing protection against the antagonist.
Sound: In the trailer, there are slow and anticipating soundtracks which help to build up suspense throughout the films main parts and the highlights in the trailer. Due to this slow type of soundtrack, it gradually evokes fear into the audience and also creates mystery, making the audience wondering what is going to happen next.
Camera angles / shot size: Most of the camera shots are close ups throughout the trailer to symbolise their NVC. For example at 1:00 into the trailer, an establishing shot of the empty road is shown, which represents the danger and violence that is witnessed within the Purge.
Editing: The first five seconds of the trailer is narrated, this is used to make the viewers aware about what they are about to see as well as build excitement before the trailer has begun.
Target audience: Seeing as there is various scenes of violence and disturbing images eg. A young woman covered in blood, I think the target audience would be 18+, and people who are big horror fans, specifically this genre.
Poltergeist
Film title: Poltergeist Release date: 22nd May 2015 Director: Gil Kenan Production/ financing company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Principle cast: Sam Rockwell,Rosemarie DeWitt,Kennedi Clements Sub-genre: Psychological Synopsis: A family’s suburban home is invaded by angry spirits, the spirits escalate in their attacks and takes the youngest daughter. The family are forced to work together to rescue their youngest daughter.
Mis-en-scene: This trailer is set in a suburban home, the lighting at the beginning of the trailer is very low and we can see a reflection from the TV. This would straight away create mystery and terror as the audience would be wondering what is going to happen next. Straight after we see the little boy walk down the stairs, this occurs and then the little girl is being taken by the angry spirits through the television. Through the NVC we can see the characters in the trailer are portrayed as vulnerable, and through close up shots we can see their fear of the supernatural which is a common feeling in psychological horror films. The setting changes throughout the trailer but it is all located in the house, some shots of the trailer have been in the attic or the room with just one character, this relates to the psychological theme because this allows supernatural things to occur as it is secluded from everyone else.
Sound: Non-digetic sound is used at the start of the trailer, this straight away creates an eerie dark mood, and the silence creates suspense. This connotes a sense of danger and mystery because the audience doesn’t know what is going to happen. Shortly after as the trailer goes on, dialogue of the little girl is used to portray her innocence and would then connote sympathy for the characters as she was vulnerable to the evil spirits. As the trailer goes on, we are introduced to a new character which allows more dialogue to occur in the trailer.
Camera angles / shot size: There are a plethora of wide angle shots at the start of the trailer of all the characters within the rooms, it then cuts to a long shot of one of the characters walking down the stairs, this highlights weakness and they are not aware of what is about to happen. When the little girl is being dragged, a close up is used to show her NVC in close detail to show how much fear she had.
Editing: The soundtrack at the beginning of the trailer makes the pace of the film slower as it uses slows cuts to drag on the suspense and tension all throughout the trailer, leaving the audience on the edge of their seats. Using slow cuts creates a dark mystery tone, however towards the middle of the film the pace picks up and the trailer gets faster, this effect makes the film more dramatic and haunting, making the audience want to go and watch the full film to find out what happens all throughout.
Target audience: The target audience for this film are teenagers 16+ and people who are interested in this type of sub-genre, and are big fans of horror in general.
Film title: Train to Busan Release date: 2016 Director: Yeon Sang-ho Production/ financing company: Next Entertainment World & RedPeter Film Principle cast: Gong Yoo, Ma Dong- Seok, Jung Yu-Mi & Kim Soo-Ahn Sub-genre: K-horror Synopsis: A man (Gong Yoo), his estranged daughter and other passengers become trapped on a speeding train during a zombie outbreak in South Korea.
Mis-en-scene: In terms of Mis-en-scene, the setting of the trailer was located at a train station in south Korea. The lighting of the train station (during the establishing shot) was quite dark, which could indicate an eerie atmosphere, which could excite audiences.. However, near the end of the trailer, where the father is running away with his daughter, the lighting used was quite warm, with a yellow undertone. This could suggest that they are in a hazardous situation, this is backed up with other cuts showing that they are being chased by the zombies. There was different costumes that the characters wore to indicate what type of people they were, for example people dressed in jerseys to indicate that they are students or people wearing suits to show they are a white-collared people - those who work in professional professions. In the trailer the workers in the train are shown wearing blue suits which could represent them being calm, which is what the are supposed to do for the passengers, however within the trailer you can see that the male worker is running down the train telling people to run, which contradicts them being calm. Also, the blue could represent them offering security, for example professions such a surgeons where blue scrubs, however, in the trailer it is shown that the female worker was probably one of the first people to be infected by the virus and become a zombie, being a problem for the passengers rather than offering security. The props used in the trailer were bats and magazines with cello-tape to protect them from the zombies. The fact that the three males in trailer were able to come up with the idea of putting magazines and tape around their arms, illustrates how resourceful they are, thus showing that they can come up with smart options in dire situations. This could coax the audience into watching the film as often the audience wants to have someone that they can root for and who are fighting to live and not watch a film where everyone has no other option but to die. Moreover, the NVC of the characters were shown often showing similar facial expressions, for example the majority were shown looking very sad and distressed, this could accentuate the fact that the characters are either defeated and do not know how to get out of their current situation, or they have just witness their loved ones being injured or killed (transformed).
Sound: In terms of sound, the mode of address used differed for example, the beginning of the trailer the way in which the person on the intercom spoke was very slow paced to indicate how normal the situation was for the characters, yet at the end of trailer, although the person of the intercom sound calm, it was evident that he was out of breath and spoke more fact paced to indicate that the situation the passengers was in was not normal and may even become worst. Also, the passengers were shouting a lot to show the urgency that they feel in order to get away from the zombies and to somewhere safe. Additionally, some of the characters tone of address indicated how they were feeling at the moment, for example one of the men in the film, was shouting that they should depart from the train station as soon as possible in a very aggressive tone towards the teenage girl, showing that he was not only scared but quite furious with the girl as to why she is not on the same page with him. It could also be deemed as quite patronizing as the teenage girl was younger than him and he thought he had to shout in order to be more authoritative. Moreover, the score used throughout the trailer was very fast paced to demonstrate how fast paced the film is going to be, as the zombie's arrival on the train was unexpected thus expressing how fast the zombies will attack as the passengers must be unprepared. Foley was used in the trailer for different reasons, one being for the transformation of the people's bodies when they begin to change. This could be quite disturbing to the audience as people do not really like the sound of bones breaking, therefore enticing the audience who like those sort of things. Furthermore, there was dialogue used, the more distinct one being "help", said by a male dressed in the attire one wears to the army, showing that he is part of the army. This could make the audience eager to watch the movie due to the fact that the roles should be revered whereby the passengers should be asking for help not those in the army who should be providing it.
Camera angles / shot size: There was different types of camera angles and shots used in the trailer including the establishing shot, whereby it showed a quiet station in the early morning indicating that there is not much people at the station, which has an eerie atmosphere due to the fact that usually at trains stations around that time is jam packed with people trying to get to their destination, bringing the feeling of where is everyone? Another camera shot used was close-ups, this was to show the facial expressions (linked to their NVCs), to illustrate how the characters were feeling, from anger to shock to distress. This makes the audience interested due to the fact that, it allows them to feel amerced into the characters and to know what happened to make them feel that way, such as whether their loved ones died or if they are about to meet their doom. Also, extreme long shots/aerial shot were used in order to indicate the amount of zombies that the passengers of the train are about to encounter, in addition to the destruction that the zombies have caused throughout the city, the long shots used also showed how fast the zombies were and how dedicated they were in order to catch their pray (the passengers). This could create a thrill for the audience as those sort of movements of urgency the zombies pilling up on each other are rarely seen in zombie films. Moreover, zooming was used to show the P.O.V of the zombies trying to attack the passengers of the train, this was used to show how fast they were in order to catch them. Due to a lot of the action being on the train, a lot of panning was used in order to track the movements of the characters and how they are trying to fight there was through the zombies to get to their loved ones and escape the train. This could excite the audience due to the fact that it indicates a sense of claustrophobia as the characters are in a tight space and can only go left or right to escape the zombies.
Editing: There was different types of editing evident in this trailer, a lot being quick cuts. This is to show the audience not only the injuries sustained by people such as bite wounds the the darkening of veins in addition to blood shot eyes (result of being attacked by the zombie), it also allowed for different sequences showing the victims being attacked to illustrate how action packed the movie is going to be, therefore allowing the audience to have a thrill and be excited of other actions scenes that would be included in the film, other than the ones shown in the trailer. In addition to this, the use of quick cuts allows the audience to feel a sense of urgency just like the characters do in order to know how the characters get away from the zombies. Another editing technique used in the trailer is eye-line match, illustrating the problem the protagonist has in order to save his loved one in addition to creating a sense of mystery as to how he got separated from his loved one and how he intends to reunite with her. Moreover, shot/reverse shot was used in order to show the problems that the characters have and shows what could be deemed as peoples reactions in real life to these types of situations (the conversation between passengers discussing whether they should just leave or wait for more people to jump on the train).
Target audience: The target audience for this film are teenagers and adults aged 15+ due to the fact that although the film had some gruesome scenes, it was not overly gruesome thus, teenagers would be able to withstand it. In addition to this it can be relatable to both teens and adults due to the fact that most people go on public transport on a daily basis therefore it would be appealing to anyone.