http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUMYbMTkWjg

Kat Scott

Screenshots from the trailer:

Cinematography•The trailer begins with a close up point of view of a man hammering a nail into a piece of wood which we later understand is a door hiding a satanic child. The close up reinforces the importance of what he is hammering shut as it is also darkly lit which is a stereotypical convention of the horror genre.•An establishing shot pan of darkly lit hills with thunder, rain and lightening creates an eerie start to the trailer, this is a stereotypical convention used in horror trailers and films as it hints to the audience that the characters are in danger.•After the water has hit the car from the side, a reaction shot of the passengers inside the car is shown. The effect this will have on the audience is that they will sympathise for the characters as they can see their distress. The shot is also very dark which will make the audience feel uneasy. •Another establishing shot is given of an old looking house with thunder, lightening and rain. This is a stereotypical shot used in horror films as the audience automatically knows something isn’t right with the house and that it is paramount to the narrative.•An over the shoulder point of view shot of a hand emerging from the previously seen wooden door with a hole is given, this would be disturbing for the audience as the character reacts in a frightened way, it also creates mystery for the audience as they want to know who and why they have been trapped.•There is then a close up shot of the padlock being broken with an axe by one of the characters. This close up signifies the importance of the padlock and how it has protected the house and characters so far only for it to be disturbed.•As the door of the enclosed room is opened there is a high angle point of view shot looking onto the girl who has been locked away. This makes her look weak as she is lower than the characters making her seem innocent and for the audience to sympathise for her • A over the shoulder long shot point of view of the same girl then appears in the house with long black hair covering her face and a long dress. This then causes the audience to no longer have sympathy for the girl and makes them question what will happen to the family.•There is then a close up of the girl

Mise-en-sceneThe mise-en-scene in this horror trailer adheres to the stereotypical conventions of horror genre trailers.• The close up of the nail and hammer is shown in the

beginning of the trailer, it suggests that they are isolating something for a reason as it is a very violent action, this also touches on phobias which are common conventions used in horror films, It also encourages the audience to react which gives the trailer a jumpy effect and make the film more frightening.

• The establishing shot of the house is also a stereotype to horror films as this is usually the catalyst to a chain of events happening in the house and also represents and reinforces that this film is a horror.

• The large insects that are scattered on the floor where the satanic child was locked makes audiences flinch which is also a stereotypical convention used in film trailers.

• There is also an old child's doll which looks abused, this represents that it is a horror film and also suggests that the narrative is based around a child.

SoundThroughout the trailer there is a mixture of ambient, diegetic and non diegetic sound. This makes the trailer tense in parts where it’s needed and helps to build tension leading up to parts where the audience is expected to jump or be scared.•Diegetic sound is used straight from the beginning of the trailer with the rattled chains, this is a typical conventions used which tells us that it is a horror trailer.•A voice over is used to express the characters frustration “where’s the main road” which will make the audience panic as they don’t know what is yet to come.•As the car tips on the road there is an uncomfortable high pitch non diegetic sound which creates tension to scare the audience.•A non diegetic sound of a woman singing in a monotone pitch is also placed over the trailer, it acts as a warning as every time it is played something bad happens, this is very common in horror trailers which also helps build tension as audiences are familiar with this convention and it scares them because they don’t know what is going to happen.

Editing TheoryThe editing at the beginning of the trailer is slow paced and flows together enabling the audience to understand the narrative of the story. After the family have gone into the house they then discover a padlocked door, from this point onwards the editing becomes faced paced as they have released the satanic child and from then onwards the trailer becomes very dramatic and the editing rapidly gets faster and goes in to a montage effect. This is a typical convention used in horror trailers as it makes the audience question what happened in the end of the film and who will survive.

This trailer adheres to the following theories:Levi Strauss – Binary opposition: Weak/Powerful Evil/Good Male/Female

The binary opposition theory is presented in this horror trailer through gender, power and status for example; there is an age binary opposition between the little girl and the older characters who stereotypically automatically give sympathy because of her age. There is also another binary opposition with the evil in the house (the satanic child) and the good (the main characters).

Target audience and genre conventions

Target audience: The target audience for this film is 18+ this is because it is described as violent and gore. They will be horror genre fans and also inherited audiences as the actors Danny Trejo and Peter Facinelli are well known from other popular films such as twilight and they don’t often play in the horror genre which will also attract audiences as they will wonder if they are as effective at acting in a different genre.

Genre Conventions : This film trailer is very stereotypical to the horror genre and can easily be identified due to the following conventions -Devil/evil in the houseHauntingCreepy satanic childLocked doorScreaming (sound)BloodIsolation