Insidious 2 Trailer Analysis

Insidious 2 Trailer Analysis

I will be analysing the trailer for "Insidious 2" to see how effective it is at drawing in and enticing the audience to watch the full film.

Genre

Throughout the trailer the Horror genre and the sub-genre of Possession are signalled in a number of ways by using the many codes and conventions related to the genres.  We see through the early stages of the trailer the setting of the film.  The characters are living in an old fashioned house in an isolated location, hinted to us by the many trees surrounding the home. Inside we see the same old fashioned design of the house through the furniture.  Everything in the house looks old and this gives us the impression that the house has been lived in before, but obviously we do not know who.  The setting is very typical of Horror and Possession films so the audience can immediately recognise that they are watching a Horror film.  

Later on in the trailer (about 30 seconds in), we see key Horror and Possession iconography in the form of innocent objects being turned into something demonic.  A baby walker and a baby monitor have been taken over by a demonic force and the audience knows this because we hear an odd sounding voice through the baby monitor that we have not heard before.  Innocent objects being turned into something evil and demonic makes the audience more scared because we relate these types of objects with happiness and innocence.  More Horror and Possession iconography is shown by the 1 minute mark when the audience is shown a darkly lit room surrounded with candles, dice, skulls and gas masks.  These objects are associated with death and dark spirits, making us feel more scared.  

At 1:36 in the trailer the audience are shown a number of dead bodies down in a basement covered in white sheets.  The audience then believes that something like this could happen to them in their own basement, since it is a typical household room, we see the basement as something that would never hold such horrific things inside.  These features are included in the trailer because the target audience will be able to recognise these conventions, enticing them to go and see the whole film.

Narrative Structure

The narrative structure is very typical of Horror film trailers.  The typical narrative structure of Horror films, proposed by Todorov, consists of five stages, the Equilibrium, where the characters are living their normal lives, the Disruption stage, where the character's normal lives is disrupted by something (in the case of Possession films it would be someone being possessed), the next stages are Reaction and Repair in which we see the characters reacting to the disruption and trying to repair the damage it has caused.  The final stage is New Equilibrium where the characters have defeated the thing that disrupted them and they go back to their normal lives.  In the "Insidious 2" trailer we see the first three stages, Equilibrium, Disruption and Reaction.

The pace of the trailer is fairly slow at the start, establishing the characters and the setting, so the audience understands what is going on, but it also creates intrigue for the audience by showing a disruptive element, wanting us to find out what that disruptive being is, and how the characters react to it.  The pace then builds up, gradually getting faster but then goes to a near complete stop after a child says "Is there something wrong with Daddy?" (at 1:16)  The pace then gradually builds up again for the fast montage and when the montage has finished, the pace slows for one last time to allow for a sudden burst of sound at the end of the trailer.

The trailer intentionally includes some of the most exciting elements of the film while keeping back some of the others and this is to entice the audience to see the whole movies but to also not spoil the film's best moments.

Mise en Scene

Setting

The setting is very typical of a Horror film and of a Possession film since the stock location is in an old fashioned house with old fashioned furniture in an isolated location. At 0:10 we see the exterior of the house, allowing the audience to determine where the characters live.  We do not see much of the surrounding area, but the trees to the left of the frame tell us that the house is in an isolated location.  The house is also detached, meaning we cannot see any houses, further supporting the idea that the film is set in an isolated location.  Making the house look old-fashioned tells the audience that someone has lived in their before and that it has an unknown history about it.  It ties into society's greatest fear, the fear of the unknown since we do not know what has happened inside that house before the main characters started living their.

Colour/Lighting

The lighting changes from bright to dark over the course of the trailer.  This is to represent the fact that the darkness and the evil are taking over the light.  At the start of the trailer the lighting is bright and this is to tell the audience that the characters feel happy and look forward to the future.  It also informs the audience that the trailer is currently in the Equilibrium stage, since bright lighting is associated with happiness and family.  The lighting becomes slightly darker when the disruption first takes place, changing the mood slightly.  We now feel that something evil is about to happen because of the darkened lighting.  Eventually the lighting becomes so dark that the characters have to walk around with torches and electrical lanterns to be able to see.  This represents the fact that the darkness has taken over the characters and has forced them to look for any light (or hope) that they can.

Colours are also used to represent the evil taking over the good.  At the start of the trailer when the lighting is bright, so too are the colours, with lots of yellows, greens and blues.  However as the trailer goes on and the lighting darkens, the colours begin to fade out, with only black, white and grey left at the end.  This is to signify that the evil has drained all of the life out of these characters, telling the audience that the characters cannot escape the evil.

Body Language/Facial Expression

The character's body language and facial expression change over the course of the trailer.  At the start they stand tall, with confidence and happiness, with smiles on their faces, showing that they are happy with their lives.  As the trailer goes on however, their body language beings to lower and it shows that the characters are scared of the evil that is haunting them.  This is further supported by the character's facial expressions, telling the audience that they are scared and worried.

Costume

The costumes that the main characters wear are fairly modern, making them look like regular, 21st century people.  This makes the audience relate to the characters more, which in turn makes them more scared when evil takes over them since it makes the audience believe that the events that happen in the film could also happen to them.  There is a mysterious woman that appears at 0:44 and she is wearing what appears to be a wedding dress.  Wedding dresses are associated with happy times, tying into the convention of innocent objects being turned into something evil.

Camera

The trailer shows a number of long shots and close ups for very effective reasons.  Long shots are used to show the setting that the characters are in while also allowing the audience to see the character's costume.  Close ups are used to show the character's facial expressions, which become much more frequent near to the end of the trailer when the characters are scared and worried, allowing the audience to see their true emotion.

Sound

Diegetic sound is used effectively to create fear, anticipation and excitement for the audience. It also changes throughout the sequence, starting off with an altered version of the children's nursery rhyme "Row, row, row your boat".  This song is seen as innocent but has made to sound scary due to the mysterious woman who is singing it.  The music then changes to being non-diegetic and begins a pulsating rhythm of bass behind the sound, giving the effect of someone's heartbeat racing.

Key lines spoken by the characters can also be heard with phrase like "Get out of my head!" and "Is there something wrong with Daddy?".  This is to increase the impact that sound has on the audience while watching the trailer.

Straps

Straps are used to give more information about the film, while also enticing the audience to watch the full film.  One of the first straps says "From the makers of Paranormal Activity and Saw".  By seeing this strap, it makes the audience think that they will enjoy this film if they have enjoyed either of these films.  More information is given to the audience through straps by giving them back-story with information like "It began two years ago".  The frequency of the appearance of the straps is fairly low to allow more footage to be shown so that is why the information contained in the straps need to be important and relevant.

Editing

The speed of the editing is very conventional for a Horror trailer and a Possession trailer since the pace of the trailer starts of slow and then becomes faster and faster until it reaches the montage stages where each shot lasts for a second or two.  This method of editing creates tension and anticipation for the audience and makes them feel like they have gone on a journey while watching the trailer.  Sometimes the pace of the trailer will slow down and this is to create fear and eeriness for the audience.

Representation

Gender is represented fairly equally and does not fall into the stereotypes that other trailers capitalize on.  Both males and females are seen to be scared of the evil haunting them and both seem to be as physically and mentally strong as each other.  Children on the other hand are seen as weak but innocent through the use of dialogue.  The main child asks his mother "Is there something wrong with Daddy?", telling us that the children are vulnerable and need their father to protect them.

Conclusion

Overall the trailer for "Insidious 2" creates a very effective atmosphere while also giving the audience enough information about the film to entice them to go and see the whole film.  This is something that I would like to achieve in my own Horror trailer, something that is informative but enticing.