Analysing Horror Trailers- Insidious

Analysing Horror Trailers

Insidious

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1YbOMDI59k

The trailer begins with the sponsor ‘Film District’, which has a dark feel to it, automatically telling the audience that the film is supposed to be scary. The back track for the first 15 seconds sounds like a scratching, which again is associated with scary things. The word ‘Insidious’ changes to ‘is’, then back to ‘Insidious’. This comes back throughout the trailer, which not only reminds the audience of the name of the film, which is conventional, but also keeps them on edge, and intrigues the audience and makes them want to ask questions. ‘Insidious is what?’ The opening shots of the trailer go against the conventions of a typical horror trailer, as the shots are not normal and establishing, but instead fast paced with scary music in the background. The audience would not usually expect this until nearer the end of the trailer, but instead get thrown into uncertainty and tension within the first 20 seconds. The locations shown are typical of a horror trailer; a new house and a hospital.

There is a faint ticking noise running throughout the trailer, which could connote that time is running out for the family, who have just moved into a new house, typical of this type of a horror film. I would say that the subgenre of this film is a psychological horror, similar to such films as ‘Paranormal Activity’ or ‘The Grudge’, as the film is very slow starting as it builds tension for the audience until finally showing them what all the ‘spooks’ have been. As is typical of a horror trailer, the ‘scarier’ sounds, such as creaking or cracking are amplified, and usually the only noise that is happening at that point. This is shown in the ‘Insidious’ trailer at 30 seconds, when the little boy, the victim, falls from the ladder. The trailer gives you a small insight into what the film is going to be, another convention of a typical trailer.

The main character and victim are clearly established early on in the trailer. The main character is probably the father of the family. The audience can guess this by the amount of shots that are on him within the first minute of the trailer. The victim is clearly the little boy, which is conventional, having a ‘vulnerable’ child as the victim. The audience know that he is the victim due to the fact that there is a shot of him in the hospital. The audience know that it is not normal for the boy to be in hospital as the mother states “He’s not in a coma. I don’t know what to call it”. This quote shows that all is not well, as again is typical of a horror trailer, leaving the audience wondering why all is not well.

It reveals a little more of the film until 1.09 in the trailer, where help from a professional is called. It is the wise grandmother that calls the help, rather than the naïve mother, who typically is clueless and scared. The experts come in and do their checks, and establish what the problem is, which is conventional of the narrative structure of the horror trailer. It could be argued that this is the clear identification of the event, although the boy in hospital is more likely to be the event, as it informs the parents that something is not right.

The pace of the different clips then increase, the editing and the music, which lets the audience know that the film will do the same, which is typical of a horror trailer. The music chosen to play over the video in this trailer is fast-paced violins, which connotes uncertainty and tension. The pace of the trailer keeps increasing until 1.24, where we see the ‘monster’. This has been what the trailer has been building up to, and gives the audience a preview of what to expect. The trailer then cuts to black and the music stops. The silence leaves the audience on edge, but lets them recover after the fast-paced loud part of the trailer. Vital information is given in the 6 or 7 seconds of silence from the expert, before going to the ‘big finish’ which is typical of a horror trailer.

The final shots of the trailer is the title again, which is typical of a horror trailer, as it is one of the last images the audience see, which leaves the title in their head, making them more likely to want to see it. The trailer then tells the audience when the film is out. It says ‘everywhere April 1’ which could scare the audience into thinking that the monster will be after them. They may have brought the film out on April 1^st as a joke, or an ‘April fool’, which again may scare the audience. At 1.45, the second to last shot of the trailer, the music suddenly kicks in and a face flies towards the camera. This will make the audience jump as they will think that it’s over, and calm down, before being screamed at by the trailer one last time. The final shot shows the producers and distributors etc, which is typically the final shot of a horror trailer.

There is about 100 different edits in just under 2 minutes of trailer, making the edits roughly one every second. This fits into the typical number of 60-120, and sticks to the conventions of the trailer.