The trailers of films mostly consists of clips that are used to entice in the audience. The different trailers will be analysed for their content and for their relation to particular horror theorists such as Wheeler Winston Dixon and Wes Craven to name a few. The following movie trailers have been chosen because they represent horror theory and the theorists' observations of the horror genre.
This famous and well recognisable trailer goes with the theory of a missus Carol Clover, her theory of where a horror should take place is in an intimidating or secluded or scary location to allow the audience to experience an amount of fear into the eyes of the audience. However Clover has another theory which states that; a location in which when inside you think yourself but is not is a magnificent location because at first it would relax the audience because they think the characters are safe and are not in any danger anymore but when the danger follows them inside this will make the audiences heartbeat rise and rise and the suspense of the characters possibly dying or being harmed will make the audience shiver in fear, this also allows for additional tension to resonate throughout the audience, showing signs of a good trailer.
In addition to what is stated above, we don't see the subject weapon of the film ( by this I mean we don't see the chainsaw, we see different weapons). However we see elements of danger in the form of an axe which goes along with the theory of Kaminsky of which the weapon needs to be personal to the killer, for instance a gun is not personal because the victim may not see the killer and it wouldn't seem like it was purposely done. But if you have something like barbed wire it is personal because you have to be up close and it is extremely personal showing the the killer wanted to hurt and brutally torture the victim to death. The lighting is deliberately done in a way in which it seems like poor quality or poor colour choice to make the audience seem unsettled because they're trying to see what is on the screen but because they are not they are bracing themselves increasing the fear in which they have inside them, the lighting is this brown yellowish colour because the yellow is supposed to suggest parts of the film being positive but because the brown colour is fairly dark this shows negative connotations and mixes the audience's interpretation of what is happening on screen. The sound is a creepy and steadily beat, this is to build up the suspense and to symbolise the fear rising by the beat rising over time, it is also instrumental to not distract the audience, if there were vocals this would avert the audience's thinking process because they won't completely focus on what is appearing on screen. In addition the atmosphere of the trailer itself is tense and creepy because of the choice of music, the music is negative and therefore the person viewing the title sequence is starting to get nervous and scared.
This trailer is similar to the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, in the aspect of following the same theories. A hotel is a location in which seems safe and secure but in reality scary and supernatural events happen within it, adding a surprise element to the film/show.Another theory followed in this trailer was Kaminsky where there is no ranged weapon all the killing, shown in the trailer itself, is done with either supernatural powers or with hands, making the killing more personal and possibly more satisfying for people who like violence and/or gore.
This trailer actually goes against the typical trend in trailers, the clips are put together in a quick and short sequence, which is normal, however the overall tempo/pace of the trailer is actually slow compared to other horror film trailers; and this has been deliberately done because if it is slow it is making the viewer be on the edge of their seat and then therefore they are expecting something to scare them, waiting for a jump scare because it seems so calm, and so the viewer are already scaring themselves before any of the content that is in the film is shown to them.
The trailer for "Mom" appears to be a dark and sinister just from looking at the colours used throughout the trailer and the eerie atmosphere that the trailer itself has created. Because the trailer decides to film in different locations it will constantly have the audience questioning why there are so many new locations, and they will think that it is because of the fact that you can't escape from whatever it is that is stalking the family, making the audience nervous and afraid before footage of the film is shown to them. The use of the abandoned lodge put's the thought of desperation into the imagination of the audience, because a lodge is that place most people would want to live because it's so cold and dark, which identifies with the way that the kids are used in the film, because it shows that the kids are not normal and so there is something worrying about the children. Using youngsters as the casualties to "Mother" is supposed t make people feel more sympathetic for them as they are naive and weak, making people worry more than if the causalities was an older person. The sound track itself proposes a risk factor to the film and that something awful is going to happen. However, originally the sound track is introduced as very strange and makes you ask why the lodge is abandoned and leaves questions going into the viewer's psyche. . A mid shot of one of the 'backwoods kids' is appeared to be very aggravating and upsetting to certain crowd individuals because it is pointing the out because they are different, affecting how the audience views the film and is worried about what other controversial decisions could be within the film. Quick pace shots make the trailer all the more mis-understanding, leaving people to wonder what is next and to wonder why they were not allowed to think bout what is happening... making them needing to go and see the film to make sense of the story line.
In conclusion to this real trailer analysis, we as Possessed Productions need to create a trailer in which not only captivates the target audience but challenges their mind and viewpoint upon our chosen theme and sub-genre and therefore the way in which we present our media form will become vital in the portrayal of our subsequent film idea. Not only the way in which we edit out opening title sequence but the way in which we choose out sound tracks and sound effects as well as actors and shots, it is important that we try and relate to theories by film critics and theorists . Once such example of following a theory could be to film within a school with innocent looking actors, and relating to a theory not previously mentioned, we as a group should incorporate the theory of Tudor who suggests that the female must be enticing towards younger males for whom the poltergeist sub-genre is mainly aimed at.