Insidious 2 Trailer Deconstruction

Sound Effects: There’s a sudden bang

that opens the trailer, immediately making the viewer jump; this indicates to the audience that this is a film of the horror genre. The sudden scream of the evil, ghostly female doesn’t display her to be scared or weak, but actually very angry and violent, as she pushes the father back. A crackling sound effect is used as the father takes his tooth out, to emphasize the grotesqueness of this action.

Voice over: The trailer uses a voiceover; this is non-diegetic sound as it isn’t originating from within the screen world. “From the director of The Conjuring” references a popular supernatural film from the same director, to suggest to audiences that this film is equally as good. Characters: The line “No, please no” spoken by the father in the trailer displays his weakness against the evil force, therefore displaying the characters vulnerability…

“Is there something wrong with daddy mum?” This line displays the child’s innocence and fear; a contrast is established in the fact that he loves his “daddy” but he’s also frightened of him. “Get out of my head!” this line is shouted by the father, it indicates to the audience that the supernatural force is beginning to control him, thereby displaying its dominance. “Oh my god” the mother says this line in a distressed, frightened tone to display to the audience how disturbing the supernatural force is. Music: The music gradually builds- there will be a few seconds where it’s quiet but then suddenly five thuds take place, and this repeats about three times towards the end of the trailer- this is done to create suspense.

Key settings • The trailer opens with a séance, the people are

centred, the darkness and red of the room surrounds them- this connotes the idea of evil and violence.

• Although most of the family appear to be wearing modern clothing, the house that they’re supposedly living in has an old fashioned quality, due to the wallpaper and props such as the grandfather clock. The house is displayed as a conventionally old fashioned and creepy house.

• Another key setting in the trailer is the bathroom, which is where the father is shown as being secluded and irritated due to the supernatural force trying to control his mind.

• The trailer displays a lot of scenes where the father is walking through complete darkness with a lantern, creating a strong contrast between the light and dark. This signifies that the father is pure and noble as he’s highlighted by the lantern, but it also connotes the idea that he’s trapped by the darkness and the evil force.

Key characters

• Father: In the trailer he’s shown as having two personalities- one being where he’s weak and being controlled by the evil force and the other where he’s shown to be a protector and hero. You can easily tell the different by his appearance and body language. In some shots he looks pale, tired, and his body language indicates that he’s stressed (e.g. he grabs his hair is frustration); this presents him as being dominated by the supernatural force. However in other shots he looks confident and strong due to his good posture, this signifies that he’s determined to beat the evil force.

• Mother: She’s displayed throughout the trailer as both a protector and a victim. There’s a shot where she’s comforting her child and another where she’s investigating the house, with a guarded yet stern facial expression, indicating that she’s both careful and courageous. However she’s presented as weak, in one shot she’s shown to be scrambling up from the floor as if she’s feebly trying to get away from the powerful supernatural force.

• Child: There aren’t many shots of the child, but he is displayed as mature- which the audience will recognise as a result from his distressing and challenging journey in the past film- he’s obviously worried about his father who he has a close relationship with “Is there something wrong with daddy?” this indicates that he’s very young and innocent, and this makes the audience worried due to his vulnerability.

• Supernatural force: The supernatural force in the trailer is presented in the form of a disturbing, ghost-like lady. Her costume contrasts to the modern clothing (e.g. jeans) that the family are wearing, indicating that she’s from the past, and is therefore a ghost/supernatural being. She’s displayed as being very theatrical and aggressive, every action that she makes is very exaggerated and forceful, such as when she screams and points directly at the viewer, ultimately making the viewer jump and feel singled out.

Lighting

• Mainly low key lighting is used in this trailer; it’s frequently displayed in horror films as it creates a sense of ambiguity and fear.

• I've noticed that the family members tend to be in the area of highlight, connoting their goodness and purity, but they are then surrounded by darkness. This signifies that the evil force is lurking around them.

• The evil female is ironically wearing a white dress, which would usually connote innocence, however her makeup and hair completely contrast. Her hair is black and slicked back, and her eyes are so dark they appear hollow.

Camera

• A high angle shot opens the trailer (viewing a séance), indicating that something very powerful and dominant is lurking over the people. High angles are frequently used to make the family seem feeble against the evil forces chaos.

• Many close-ups are used to either capture the intensity of the facial expressions or to suddenly scare the viewer. There is a close-up shot in the trailer where, between quick cuts to black, a terrifying face suddenly lunges towards the screen; this is an effective technique as the cuts to black drag out the shot a little more by creating suspense, ultimately making the final close-up much more intense and frightening.

• There are a few zoom ins used throughout the trailer- for example when the camera zooms in on the evil lady, or when the camera shot zooms down the dark corridor; this frightens the viewer as (potentially) they’re scared of the frightening lady and the dark, ambiguous corridor and they don’t want to get closer, but the camera is giving them no choice.

• Over the shoulders are used when the characters are speaking to display that they are talking to someone, but due to the teaser trailer having to be short the amount of dialogue is minimal, so often there are just quick clips of one character saying one line. They are also used as a character is looking in the mirror, to display the fact that in the reflection there is the evil force standing behind the character, and this creates a great sense of vulnerability for the character.

• A fast paced pan is used to display the evil force lunging herself and pushing the father across the room, ultimately connoting a sense of hostility and viciousness.

Editing

• The trailer is a montage of fast-paced shots, and therefore doesn’t use continuity editing, but instead a variety of shots that juxtapose and are formed together in quick flashes.

• Rhythmic editing is used to build tension, the length of the shots match the emotion and volume of the music. As the characters are talking the background music is very quiet, but as the music suddenly thuds in a cluster of beats a different image appears on each thud.

• An eye-line match is used to cause panic in the viewer- as the father is rapidly sprinting whilst looking in a certain direction, the shot jumps to the evil face that is lurking behind the window, indicating that if the father doesn’t get there in time then the evil force will cause herm to his family.

• A match on action is used at the very beginning of the trailer because the first shot is a close-up of a lamp that’s flashing, but this action continues into the next shot which is an establishing shot to show that all of the lights in the room are flashing; this indicates to the audience that a supernatural force is at work, therefore the trailer is already signifying that this is a supernatural horror film. Another match on action is used as the father goes to pull down a sheet from a face; suspense is created due to the action beginning in one shot and ending in the next, also making the result even more frightening when the face is revealed, the screen cuts to black, and then a sudden pan is

placed displaying the evil force aggressively pushing the father.