Trailer Analysis-The Strangers

Genre and subgenre are established very early on within the trailer, due to location and Mise en scene elements. The opening shot is of an open lake in a forest area, and then a house, which is a very isolated area. This isolated location is very typical of a horror movie, because there is no escape. The beginning music in the background is a piano, which is slightly creepy and this could be our first indication to something happening. The narrative is very conventional for a horror movie trailer because there is equilibrium, which get disrupted. We then get the swing moving by itself which means there is something there trying to get them, and this is showing us that this is a horror movie. Sub genre is established when we get a long shot, with a man standing in the background, with a mask on. This straight away tells us that this is a slasher movie, because the killer hiding his identity is a typical slasher convention. We then get multiple shots of two other masked killers, which means this is an unconventional slasher movie because there is more than one antagonist. We then get introduced to our first weapon which is an axe, and weapons again are typical for a slasher movie, we also get a knife and a gun within this trailer.

The narrative of the trailer is highly conventional for a typical horror movie convention because the trailer begins with equilibrium, and it is disrupted, but then attempted to fix, but the end of the trailer leaves you wandering what the outcome was. The trailer begins with the location being established, and we are then introduced to two characters, who appear to be a couple. They are about to have a candle lit dinner, and he is going to propose to her. This is the equilibrium of the trailer, because this young couple do not think anything could go wrong on one of the happiest nights of their lives. This is soon disrupted by a loud bang, and this leads to the couple going to investigate. The couple then begin to look around the house and through the windows, we see an empty swing swinging by itself, which allows us as an audience to realise that there is something there that is going to do something to this couple. We then see the women lock the door, which means that the trailer is becoming tense, because the character are becoming worried and scared. An extreme long shot of the woman standing in her dining room, allows us to see a man in a mask standing behind her in the distance, and this shows us that this is going to be a slasher movie, and this is when the trailer becomes tenser. Following this, we get multiple shots of different masked figures, and the couple at this point are scared, and this tense feeling rubs off on the audience, because we are expecting something big to happen at this point. The young couple walk into the bedroom and see writing all over the windows, and this is when they decide they need to leave the house because they are in danger. When they try to fix this, and get out of the house, this is where everything begins to go seriously wrong because an axe gets hit through the front door. After this, we get the fast montage which includes different clips of the main action that happens in the movie, and this fast montage gets the audience ready for a scare. The last bit of the trailer says ‘why are you doing this to us’ and they reply ‘because you’re at home’. This last line is memorable and will creep the audience out, and will encourage them to watch the movie.

Mise en scene within the trailer allows us as an audience to establish genre. The setting at the start of the trailer shows an open lake in a forest area, which then cuts to an isolated house. These locations are typical of a horror movie due to the fact that they are isolated, which means they cannot get any help because there is no one around who would hear them. We then see rose petals on the bed, and candles at the table, which indicates that the couple are having a romantic night in, and this is the equilibrium of the trailer. We then see an engagement ring box which shows us that they are about to get engaged, and then shows us that something is about to disrupt this happiness. The swing set begins to move on its own, this element of Mise en scene is very important in establishing that there is someone out there, and this creates tension. In a long shot of the main character, we see she is wearing very boyish clothing, such as a shirt and jeans, which makes her less feminine and could mean that she is the final girl in this movie. In the background of this shot, we have the antagonist with a whit mask on; this shows us that he is the killer, because it is a convening for the killer to wear a mask in a slasher movie. As the trailer goes on we get our first weapon which is an axe, and this shows us that the movie is slasher, and also shows us that someone is trying to kill this couple. Other weapons that we see in the next section are knives and a gun, we see weapons in the hands of the killers and the victims, which show that even though these people are in danger, they are trying to fight back and fix this problem. We get a long shot of all three of the killers standing over the victims, and in this shot we see that they are wearing modern day clothing. This gives the trailer a sense of realism, because it shows these are just normal people, apart from the fact they are wearing masks to hide their identities. This would also frighten the audience further because it would give them the impression that this could happen to anyone.

Camera is used within this trailer to create tension for the audience, because the victims are unaware of who is tormenting them. The opening shot is an establishing long shot of the location, which is a lakeside in a forest environment. Lakes and forests are typical horror movie locations because there is a sense of being alone, and having no help around you, so anything could happen. We then get another establishing shot of an isolated house, once again this is a typical location of a horror movie, and this indicates that the movie will be set in this household.  Using a house as a location is clever because it is almost tainting the comfort of someone’s home. Further on, we then get a point of view shot, from the woman looking out of the window, which shows us the swing moving on its own, and this indicates that there is someone outside, and the purpose of this shot is to create tension. A close up is shown of the woman locking the front door and this creates the effect that there is no safety, and she now feels threatened. A long shot of the woman is shown with the antagonist creeping in the background. This is a really effective shot because she is completely oblivious to the fact that he is standing behind her, but it shows us as an audience who is in their house and now they are inside the house, there is no safety. Another long shot is shown of the outside of the house, and in this shot we see another antagonist in a mask, and this shows us that there is more than one killer and they are in danger.  An extreme long shot is shown of a third antagonist, and this shows that that this couple are in serious danger and need to get out of the house, but these shows give the impression that this couple are being continuously watched, and this adds a lot of tension to the trailer. Going on in the trailer, we get a point of view shot from the couple looking at the window, which has ‘hello’ written all over it. This shot shows us that the killers are intimidating the couple, and are creating tension because they still have no shown themselves. A medium shot is shown of the man, with the antagonist in the background with an axe, and this is where the trailer begins to get faster, and therefore the action of the trailer starts here.  We then get multiple shots, including close ups and medium shots showing the victims trying to get away from the killers, and the close ups are showing the expressions of the victims, which are scared. We are also getting shots showing the killers in closer details. The final shot, which is a medium long shot, shows the three killers standing over the two victims. This shot gives the antagonists a lot of power and makes the victims to weak and vulnerable.

The sound throughout the trailer is very interesting and clever because it is very tense and then it becomes contrapuntal. The trailer begins with a slow piano track, which flows nicely with the pace of the trailer. In the background to this we get the sound of crickets, which indicates to us that this area is very quiet and isolated, almost as if there is no one around other then the man and the woman. The piano then begins to play the same note repeatedly, and we then get a stab of sound, almost like something falling on the floor. This stab of sound is unexpected from the piano music and therefore makes the audience jump. We then get the sound of a swing moving back and forth, which is squeaking, this sound creates tension and adds to the effect that someone is out there. This sound carries on for a while, and then fades into eerie music, which indicates to the audience that something is about to happen, and this also makes the audience tense.  After the eerie music, we get complete silence, other than the sound of crickets, which gives the impression of isolation and as if no one is around. This is ironic because in the frame, we see the main character in a long shot, with the antagonist standing behind her in the distance, but she is oblivious to this. After is silence, we get a bang, which makes the audience jump because it is unexpected and very sudden, this stab of sound is affective because making the audience jump may scare the audience but also makes them excited for the rest of the trailer. We then get a sequence of eerie music, with loud stabs in sequence with the editing. This technique of matching the sound with the editing is very clever because this creates a jumpy effect, because the loud sounds, added to the quick cuts on the screen make everything a lot more frightening. The next section of sound is a record playing in the background to the dialogue within the trailer; the record becomes a symbol of what is happening in the trailer once the fast montage begins. We get a loud stab of sound of an axe being slammed through the door, and then we hear the woman scream, and the record player gets knocked. This results in a broken record effect, which means the sound is being repeated over and over again, and this mirrors the fact that the narrative has now been completely disrupted. The record in the background gets faster as the fast montage and the editing picks up the pace, and this creates tension for audience because they are expecting something to happen. In the background to the scratch record, we have tense eerie music that gets louder and higher pitched as the fast montage comes to an end. There is not a lot of dialogue in the trailer, but the trailer ends with ‘why are you doing this to us?’ ‘Because you were home’. This choice of dialogue is clever because it ends the trailer on a creepy note, and these words will play on the mind of the audience. These words also taint the safety of someone’s home, and this also makes the audience feel unsafe and scared, being somewhere they should feel safe.

The straps used within the trailer start near the beginning and continue throughout the trailer. The first strap we get reads ‘inspired by true events’, this strap is telling the audience that something similar to this has happened before. This will frighten the audience because they may no longer feel safe in their own home, and also adds realism to the trailer. The next three straps are ‘we always tell ourselves’ ‘there’s nothing to fear’ ‘but sometimes we are wrong’. These straps will frighten the audience because it creates the effect that something is going to happen, also plays on the readers mind because it is making them question their biggest fears. The next strap comes during the fat montage and says ‘this summer’ which is telling the audience when the movie will be released and then the next one reads ‘what are you afraid of’. This is aimed directly at the audience because it is asking them a question, and makes them think of what they are afraid of, which will effectively frighten the audience. The last strap is the title of the movie ‘the strangers’ and this is used to allow the audience to remember the name and allow them to go watch it. We then get the actors names, which will encourage them to go watch the movie because they are highly popular celebrities.

The trailer begins with an establishing shot of a lake, which cuts to another establishing shot of a house, which is allowing us to see that is area is isolated. We then get quick fades between the next few shots, which allows the beginning of trailer to flow nicely, which is emphasising the fact that they are currently living normal lives and are not expecting anything to happen. We then get a slow fade into a strap, and then quick cuts between the woman and the swing. These cuts are creating tension because it is leading us up to something interesting to happen. We then get a mixture of fades and cuts leading up to a long section of silence, which is a long shot of the woman. This section allows us to see the antagonist in the house which allows the trailer to become realistic. The screen then fades to black and fades back into a new shot. The fade to black after seeing the antagonist almost mirrors that something bad is going to happen. A sequence of quick cuts again and fades are showing the other two antagonists, and these cuts are creating tension because they are revealing different point of view shots. The fast montage consists of continuous quick cuts which progressively increase in speed until the last section of the trailer which fades to black and then fades into a close up blurred shot of one of the antagonists. The sound also mirrors the editing throughout the trailer which keeps the audience interested, and frightened at the same time.

Representation throughout the trailer shows the victims as weak and vulnerable compared to the antagonists. This is shown nicely in one of the finals shots where the antagonists are standing over the victims who are tied to chairs. Liv Tyler is also represented as quite masculine, due to the fact that her costume choices are very unflattering, and this almost makes her stand out as a final girl. Tyler is defiantly represented at the final girl because she becomes feisty, and tries to fight back when we see her holding a knife, but we also see the male character holding a gun, and trying to protect his partner. The male and the female characters are almost seen as equal within this trailer, although the female has been dressed masculine to make her look like a final girl, the male character is also seen as feisty trying to fight back, but also protecting his fiancé, which is typical of a male character.

Overall I feel that the trailer is highly effective in luring in its audience, because there are so many elements to the trailer that make the audience jump, and also keep them on edge. Sound and editing are the two elements that made the trailer effective the most, because the sound was very clever, especially the contrapuntal sound of the broken record. The editing was also very clever for this trailer because it kept the trailer at a steady pace, and then kept in time with the sound which makes the trailer more effective and appealing for the audience.