SCREAM4- Analysis
The narrative
begins with Sidney receiving a phone call from the antagonist (aka the
killer).The dramatic heightening, which happens all of a sudden implies her
fear when she answers the phone. The
audience is shocked at the immediate line of the killer: ‘Welcome home, Sidney’
for usually we would expect a build up to the antagonist, whereas here there is
a direct phone confrontation with the killer, to emphasize that this is not new
and the audience should almost expect this as the dialogue that follows:
‘You’re a survivor. Aren’t you, Sidney?.’ Thus, there is no equilibrium
(Todorov) as the narrative of a trailer is meant to have. It could be argued
that the disruption of the equilibrium happened in the previous film as it is
obvious that is a sequence, and hence the disruption is emphasized in the
line of the killer: ‘What good is it to
be a survivor when everyone else close to you is dead?’
This automatically tells us that there has
been a situation where conveys that the narrative is going to be about the
slasher trying to murder his targets, which may be Sidney’s close friends, as
revealed by the phone conversation. Already in the trailer we can see the
binary opposites, Sidney as the protagonist and the killer, of course, as the
antagonist.
The monologue of
the killer in the first 25 seconds reveals his pure evil nature, thus it also
reveals the genre and the sub-genre of the movie. Therefore, the dialogue in
the first few seconds makes the audience aware that the movie is going to be a
horror slaher. This is further reinforced when the audience sees the mask
(0:30) which is instantly recognizable to the us due the brand identity if that
mask which children have been wearing during Halloween since the first ‘Scream’
movie was released.
In the same shot
where we first see the mask, we can also see multiple masks along the street,
which implies that the slasher is everywhere, and no one can escape his
presence. Suggesting that the protagonists will not be safe in their own
sub-urban neighborhood, which is also a convention of a slaher movie. The fact that they will not be safe in their
own neighborhood is also emphasized when we see the police man (0:15) while
the killer is saying ‘everyone close to
you is dead,’ meaning that even such an authority figure is powerless
before the killer.
Then we have two
high school males who appear to be talking to Sidney and then to a whole class
about the killer. They explain the main details of the narrative, such as
mainly subverting rules, aka the codes and conventions of the slasher to new
ones, such as virgin being able to doe, which then makes the audience wonder of
the possibility of a final girl, and if there isn't one, the film is therefore
rejecting Clover’s final girl theory. Throughout this conversation there are asynchronous shots of the murders
which are relevant to what the two students are sharing. This not only created
tension, but of course, it also give the audience an idea of the movie is going
to look like. During the two males introducing the new rules, we have the
cards promoting the trailer: “ One movie redefined fear. From the master of
suspense Wes Craven, comes a new generation of terror.” This evokes how
‘Scream’(1999) was the film that brought back slasher films after they died out
as a result of their cyclical nature, and how the director Wes Craven has
changed the movie radically. The new format of the movie is conveyed by
juxtaposing the cards and the speech of the guys. The new ‘rules’ are now used
as a selling point, seeing as modern audience are now used the basic format of
slasher films, and they need to subvert them in order to entertain the
audience, as they won’t be able to predict the events in the film anymore
(Barthes). During the speech of the two
guys the editing is increasing rapidly, signifying the increase in the
intensity of the narrative, because the main problems and events are always the
murders, which are the intense parts in any slasher film.
After the
editing has slowed down we can see the endcard, with the title of the movie,
which is a main convention of any trailer.
Furthermore, all
the characters are introduced very early in the trailer, through a fade in fade
out of the victims of the murderer, which implies the ruthless nature of the
killer, going from victim to victim simultaneously. The introduction of the
character arises quick interests from the audience, as high profile actors,
such as Courtney Cox from F.R.I.E.N.D.S, are introduced, who have been part of
the Scream cast since the beginning, this is to further reinforce brand
identity,
The narrative of
the trailer ends just as it has with the killer interrogating his victims over
the phone, which conveys that throughout the trailer the killer was
manipulating us all along, implying therefore that the killer has also
entrapped the audience, making us more engaged with the trailer.
The trailer ends
with another line of the killer: ‘I hear you like horror movies,’ reminescence
of the first ‘Scream’ film, while the
girl hands Sidney the phone: ‘It’s for you.’ This way of ending the trailer
away from all the chaos before, will make the audience want to hear more of the
dialogue and, of course, the killing.
Dead Man's Shoes Trailer Analysis
The trailer starts off with the logo if ‘Optimum Releasing,’
and this is a typical convention within trailer as the logo of the distribution
company is almost always shown first. This is quickly followed by non-diegetic
folky music which gives a sense of the location of the narrative, as it
represents a rural isolated area, and this does not comply with the
conventional atmosphere of horror films. The lethargic folk music could imply
that this is the equilibrium of the narrative (Todorov) as it conveys
undisturbed peacefulness. The bird’s eye view serves as the establishing shot
which then dissolves into scenery, showing Richard, the main character, and his
brother Anthony walking along a road, and this introduces the audience into
the narrative. By his rucksack and the khaki jacket we can presume that was a
soldier, but the jeans he is wearing suggest that he must have left the
army. Through the long road, the mise en
scene suggest that Richard and Anthony are on the same journey, but their paths
are literally and metaphorically different; as Anthony walks a few steps behind
Richard we can presume that he is not going to complete his journey as the dark
clouds in the distance suggest the dark time that is going to come upon Richard
and Anthony.
Furthermore, in the next scene we can see Richard and
Anthony in a dip within a forest with many shadows and little light, which may
further convey a dark disaster that may come upon them. The forest is a
conventional location for slasher film and the audience are automatically
informed that one of them, presumably Anthony is going to die, as he seems to
be left behind in the forest. We are informed that Richard and Anthony are brothers of the caption ‘a brother’s love’ used between
the the forest scene and an old footage of a home video in which we can see
those two together, and this evokes the love Richard has for Anthony and allows
the audience to empathize with the character and therefore try and justify
his later actions. The voice over, which
is a normal convention found in most trailers, informs us about the greater
evil that is going to take place, as Richard comments ominously about evil,
sin, retribution, which will make the audience take a guess about the plot of
the film, and this is linked to Barthe’s hermaneutic code, as the relationship
between the two brothers, which is not fully explained combined with the voiced
over quote will keep the audience guessing, arresting the enigma until full
closer is obtained in the final sciences where everything will be revealed.
So far the trailer falls in line with the idea of British
Social Realism as it highlights shows ‘life as it is’ through illustrating a normal brotherly relationship that any
person can relate to, as it is experienced in our day-to-day life. Realism is
further emphasized by the fact that the actors are not made to look attractive,
by the fact that they have accents and also they are shown in belong the
working class.
We then move to a scene were we can see Richard behind the
wall of what appears to be a cave, this location juxtaposed with what Richard
is holding a multi-tool set while is
scratching his neck, mimicking slitting a throat could be a reflection of
Richard’s inner raw killer. This can also suggest to the audience that the
business he needs to sort back in town could be him murdering someone. Nevertheless,the
wall behind him could suggest that this is an abnormal situation and as evoked
by the cracked wall behind him, we can see that his state of mind is damaged. Behind
Anthony there is not much besides trees and plants which connotates life, however
in the left corner we can see two bars which suggest that Anthony has been
restrained from life.
When the ‘VENGEANCE’ caption appears, it automatically
conveys the slasher horror nature of the film, as even the typography, not to
mention the word itself, and the
screeching noise which can be heard while the caption is displayed, are normal
conventions of the slahser genre. Along with this caption also comes the
disruption of the equilibrium in Todorov’s narrative theory. Through using the
classic black and white shots the trailer emphasizes flashbacks back of past
events. In order to build up the pace quick flash transition are used to build
up the tension. Richard is the paradox of the narrative as he is both the
protagonist and the antagonist within the trailer, because he is killing people
but at the same time the audience is given the power to justify his actions. It
is unclear to the audience what is right or wrong as the montage editing cuts
from Anthony being bullied to a scene of the bullies laughing, evoking their
cold bully nature. Then the quick red flash coneys that Richard is there to
kill them.This montage editing is done in order to make the lines bewteen right
and wrong more difficult to see.
Richard is masked, and this is a typical convention found in
slasher films. The flashes of red tint
in the shot where Richard is seen stalking the two thugs sleeping further
highlights the images of horror and possibly violence he is going to inflict
onto the thugs. Unlike slasher films such as, Halloween, Scream or Friday 13th,
the identity of the murderer is given away to the audience, and we are shown
that when one of the thugs tells their boss that ‘it’s Anthony’s brother.’
This, in juxtaposition with the scene where Richard tell the boss ‘it was me
and if I were you I’d get in that car and get out of here ‘cause I’m going to
hit you all,’ shows that Richard has no
intention of hiding himself, implying to the audience that the identity of the
killer is not a main aspect in this film.
The pace starts to build up in the second half of the
trailer and Richard is seen with an axe,
almost mocking the bullies who are seen with a gun. Richard’s attitude towards a
gun possibly being pointed at him, shows not only how insane he has become, but
also that he has no fear towards the bullies, making him almost a figure of
invincibility. The captions found within the par of the trailer are the ‘seal of
approval’ which act to promote low budget films, by making it look like it is a
film the audience has to watch as it is appreciated by film magazines and
festivals. The typography is written in a flame style, which has connotations
of hell, giving the trailer a sense of horror, implying Richard’s cruelty and
cold blood.The gore, although it can slightly be seen does no inform the
audience in regard to the gore they will be see in the movie, which might not
sell the film so good. The pace is increases along with a non-diegetic choir to
make the effect of the music more haunting and to evoke the Gothic atmosphere.
When the title of the film is show the pace slows down and
Shane Meadows, the director, is introduced to highlight and attract the
attention of the audience as he is a famous British director. And so, like all
trailer, this trailer end with an end card including a website as a form of synergy,
the name of the film and therefore the cast and crew of the film.
Halloween, released on October 15th
1978, was directed by John Carpenter and it is the most known slasher film ever
made, making it extremely influential on
the slasher genre. Due to its ability to influence the slasher genre, it was
described by the United States National Film Registry as ‘culturally,
historically and aesthetically,’ seeing as
it has started many clichés in the horror films made in 1980s and 1990s.
It is set in a fictional Midwestern town
called ‘Haddonfield,’ in the state of Illinois. Michael Myers, the psychopathic
villain of the story, murders his older sister by stabbing her with a knife on
Halloween night in 1963, when he was still a child. He is then put into a
psychiatric hospital, and 15 years later, still being a horrendously damaged
character, he manages to escape an stalk Laurie Strode and her other teenage
friends, planning to murder them all. Dr Sam Loomis, being Myers’ psychiatrist, foresees his plan and follows him
in order to stop his evil plans.
The trailer starts off with a non-diegetic high
pitches noise to slightly emphasise the horror of the movie, while the subjective
establishing-shot of the typical suburbs house would let the audience know
where the movie is being set. The high
pitched sound combined with the shot of the house conveys to the audience that
the house is effectively a house of horror.
The time and place are narrated by the voiceover in order to give the
audience a further well established idea of the fact that the movie is set in a
suburb or a small town. The fact that the movie is set during Halloween, will
automatically make the audience scared by the thought of the horrific events
that may happen, due to the symbolism of Halloween itself. A fear factor is automatically added, due to
the simple idea that since the movie is set in an ordinary house and
neighbourhood, the horrors of it could happen to anyone within the audience. The
trailer quickly cuts to the point of view of the killer, typically wearing a
mask, while stabbing a woman, as the audience can tell by the diegetic sound of
the her screaming. Montage editing can
be seen by juxtaposing the establishing shot of the house, with the girl being
stabbed, because it conveys that the girl was being killed inside the house we
saw in the establishing shot. The
trailer then cuts to a further point of view shot and after we see the car
pulling up in the drive way, the identity of the killer is revealed- Michael, a
kid of only 8. The age of the killer would absolutely shock the audience,
because normally children are innocent. However, his clown costume combined
with the knife he is holding, automatically reveal his sick disturbing
nature. However, by revealing who is
behind the mask, the trailer shows a challenged convention as it gave away the
enigma within the movie, which is an essential part of the narrative (Barthes).
As a marketing technique the name of the
movie then appears of the screen, in order to implant itself in the mind of the
audience. The colour scheme is very
common- red typography against a black background. These colours have evident
connotations of blood and death, which help to reinforce the genre which the movie
is categorised in.
Then we see a shot of Doctor Sam Loomis, an
older and wise man, who is the benefactor in the film (Propp). In his dialogue he communicates to the audience
Michael irrevocable evil nature. Myers
and Loomis are obvious binary opposites (Levis Strauss theory): Loomis is a
benevolent, older character, whilst Michael a young, abominably monstrous
character. Then we see a shot of Myers
attempting to kill a nurse. The non-diegetic sound will help create tension and
infiltrate further fear into the audience. That shot is used in juxtaposition,
to the shot of Loomis describing Myers wickedness, as if to show that he is
right and Myers is indeed the embodiment of evil.
We then cut to a shot of three girls, which
represents the equilibrium within the narrative (Todorov’s Narrative Stages
theory). By studying the girls we can see that the one on the left (Laurie) is
not taking part in the smoking, instead she is caring her books and she is
dressed very mother-like. This evokes Laurie sensible nature, automatically
conveying that she is the final girl. The
disturbance of the equilibrium is suggested by the non-diegetic rising
music. This musical motif can be heard
whenever Myers is around, looking for a victim. This
recognition accumulated through the non-diegetic subjective sound will make the
audience feel uneasy, as they are able to anticipate what will come, creating
dramatic irony as the character have no clue whatsoever. As we are moving towards
the montage sequence the pace starts to quicken gradually, in order to
reinforce the narrative, while at the same time conveying the genre.
The name of the movie is shown again in
order to embed the title into the head of the audience, making them more likely
to watch the movie. We then hear a squeaky door opening, which is an iconic
sound for horror movies, because it suggests the danger being close. Myers then
appears being the door in a ghost costume, which highlights the supernatural
monster within him- as Nicholoas Rogers stated: "Myers is depicted as a
mythic, elusive bogeyman, one of superhuman strength who cannot be killed by bullets,
stab wounds, or fire."
We are then shown a shot of the dead body
of a girl with a pumpkin next to her to emphasize the brand identity of the
film. The gravestone at the top of her
bed and the pumpkin (an iconic image of Halloween) symbolise the girl’s death
in a horrific way- death and horror being the main themes of the film.
The audience is then introduced to the
grown killer for the first time, who is wearing a mask. This is a typical
convention of slasser films and it can be used to send more subjective fear
into the mind of the audience, as they will subconsciously imagine their
greatest fear behind the mask.
Then we can see a shot of Myers behind
Laurie, about to attack. This shot will make the audience feel terrified, due
to their inability to anything to warn Laurie. This shot is followed by Laurie
falling down the stairs, and it is used to make the audience feel sympathetic
towards the final girl. We then cut to a point of view shot of Laurie, in which
she is looking up the killer. To make the order feel as if they are taking part
in this situation the semantic code shifts. The low-angle is used to convey the
power of the killer within the frame and the narrative. The shadows seen over
the final girl, suggest that she is trapped by the killer. The pace of the
action along with the editing and the horror typical music all increase towards
a climax, heightening the tension within the audience.
Another example of montage editing can be
seen within the juxtaposition of the shot in which Laurie is running away and
the shot in which the killer is walking. These two shots together will make the
audience understand that Myers is following Laurie.
The ‘Halloween’ trailer reveals a great
deal of how the film is going to end, which is highly unconventional. However,
the cliff hanger at the end will attract the audience and make them intrigued
enough to see the film and find out the ending. The trailer is ended by showing
the name of the film and the company.
Overall, although this trailer did not have an ending card like most slasher
trailers, the form of it is rather conventional.
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