The Last Exorcism Part 2 Trailer Analysis

The Last Exorcism Part 2 Trailer Analysis

I will be analysing the trailer for "The Last Exorcism Part 2" to see how effective it is in drawing in the audience and enticing them to see the full movie.

Genre

Many conventions of the Horror genre and the Possession sub-genre are seen throughout the trailer.  By using these conventions the audience is able to gain an understanding into what genre the film represents.  Key Horror iconography and other conventions can be seen such as religious imagery which includes a church, a priest, a crucifix, a statue of Jesus and stain-glassed windows.  These pieces of iconography all link to the Christian faith, which is conventionally seen in most Possession films since it represents the good that is fighting the evil possessing one of the characters.  Religious imagery is also used to link with the idea that the characters need outside help to defeat the evil. Another convention shown in the trailer is possessed characters levitating and bending their bones into odd and contortioned positions. These body movements are seen as demonic, linking in with the demon possessing the characters.  "The Last Exorcism Part 2" uses these features to appeal to its target audience, since they will be able to identify the conventions, enticing them to watch the film.

Narrative Structure

Conventionally, "The Last Exorcism Part 2" uses the same narrative structure as many other Horror film trailers.  According to Todorov, typical narrative structures in trailers feature 3 of the 5 main stages of a Horror film narrative which include the Equilibrium, Disruption and Reaction.

The Equilibrium stage is seen from the start of the trailer to about 40 seconds.  Here the pace of the trailer is at a decent speed, but is the slowest compared to the rest of the trailer.  This stage shows the audience what life is normally like for the main characters.  It also allows us to see the stock location for the film using establishing shots since the Equilibrium stage is to introduce the audience to everything about the film from the plot to the characters.

After the trailer has established the characters and the setting, the Disruption stage takes places, where we see something that disrupts the normal life of the characters.  We are then introduced to the evil being that will torment the characters, giving us the first taste of fear, making the audience enticed and wanting to find out what the disrupting force really is.  This stage of the trailer is the most important in my opinion since it gives the audience a small idea of what the evil force is, but keeping some information held back, making us use our imagination which can lead us to think of something worse than what is actually in the film, creating more fear amongst the audience.  "The Last Exorcism Part 2" does this very effectively since we cannot see the evil being and only hear it for a few seconds.  This plants the fear of the unknown into the audience's heads, playing on society's greatest fear that has lasted throughout human history.

The final stage seen in many Horror trailers is the Reaction stage where we see the characters reacting to the evil being's actions that developed within the Disruption stage. Reaction is seen in the fast montage that appears near to the end of the trailer.  Montages are used to show a number of different and interesting shots from the film at a very quick pace for two reasons.  The first is to entice the audience by showing them exciting shots, making them want to watch the film even more. Secondly, montages are used to increase the pace of the trailer, creating excitement and tension within the audience.  This trailer uses the montage very effectively because it uses are wide variety of shots, giving us a taste for what the whole film is like.

Mise en Scene

Setting/Background

Setting is established during the first stage of the trailer and is hinted throughout.  At first we see the house that the main character lives in, allowing us to see what the house looks like and what the surrounding area looks like as well.  Going by conventional definition, this setting is typical of a Horror film due to its isolated location and the old fashioned architecture.  Many cues are seen in this one shot that helps the audience to identify the location as being isolated, such as the many tall but bushy trees surrounding the house, mainly appearing at the edges of the frame, almost like the trees want to hide what they are surrounding.  Through this meaning, it gives us the idea that this house has been taken away from the outside world for a reason and that nature has tried to hide the evil that is associated with the house.

The old fashioned nature of the house, from the yellow painted walls to the structure of the house, represents the fact that the house has had a lot of history behind it which we do not know, tying into society's greatest fear, the fear of the unknown.  Pale yellow is often associated with the colour white being tainted in some way and by using that colour for the house represents the fact that the home and the people living in it were innocent and pure once but something evil has taken that away from them.

During the trailer we mainly see the action taking place in the house seen at the start however further on in the trailer we see another setting, a Christian church.  Using religious imagery is another Horror convention since it represents the battle between good against evil.  Another reason religious imagery is used because it is associated with exorcisms, which is the usual way for characters in Horror films to get rid of the demons possessing them.  A statue of Jesus, candles, a crucifix and stain-glass windows are all religious imagery for the Christian faith, allowing the audience to recognise where the characters are. Christianity is the faith that most people believe in western countries such as North America, Great Britain and Brazil.  People who live in these countries are the target audience for the film which allows the religious imagery in the movie to become more effective, since the audience are more likely to respond to it.

Colour/Lighting

Colours and lighting are used very effectively within the trailer, showing not only certain representations and meanings, but also shows the progress of the trailer.  For example, the colours become duller and the lighting becomes darker as the trailer progresses.

Firstly, the Equilibrium stage is presented to use with a use of a wide variety of bright colours, making the audience more drawn into the shot, while also connoting the idea of happiness and innocence.  One shot that particularly stood out to me was this:

This shot stood out to me because of the many colours it displays, using a large crowd to display happy emotions and thoughts to impact the audience.  Due to the large crowd wearing multiple colours informs us that the people are celebrating something which provides a stark contrast between the Equilibrium stage and the stages to come.  The fact that vibrant colours are used represents that the characters feel happy and look forward to their future hence the celebration.  Note how the lighting is also bright, connoting the idea of happiness and celebration.  The bright light allows us to clearly see what is going on in the frame while also providing a contrast between it and the dark lighting that follows.

Further on in the trailer the colours and the lighting begin to reflect the main characters mood, slowly becoming even more depressing, darker and duller.  It also reflects the mood of the whole trailer, representing the idea that evil is slowly taking over.

Body Language/Facial Expression

Over the course of the trailer the main character's facial expression and body language deteriorate.  At first she seems lifeless and emotionally dormant but as time progresses she feels more desperate, scared and out of control, linking in with the idea that the evil is slowly taking over her.

Body language is an interesting topic in relation to this trailer due to the fact that we see people being contortion-ised because of the demon possessing them.  Seeing the body is strange positions informs us that the person we see has been possessed, creating fear amongst the audience.

Costume

The main character is made to look innocent and weak through her clothing since she is often seen wearing a white dress.  The colour white is associated with purity and innocence which makes the female character wearing it look weak and feminine.  However in some shots she is seen to have blood spilled onto the dress, representing the fact that she is impure and has lost her innocence which may have something to do with the evil demon possessing her.

Camera

Almost all of the shots used are static and do not move at all.  This is to keep a professional look to the trailer and to clearly position everything in the frame.  There is one key shot that uses camera movement effectively and it is when the camera is in a bird's-eye view angle and is moving down towards the main female character, all the while circling her.  This can represent a number of things.  Firstly it could connote that her life is about to spiral out of control and something will happen that she cannot be certain of.  It can also give us the idea that someone is watching her from above, which could be the evil that will later possess her.

Close ups are mainly used throughout the trailer to show the character's emotions while long shots and extreme long shots are used to show the setting of the film.

Sound

Sound in this trailer is featured very effectively, sticking to conventions of the Horror genre while also making it exciting but scary for the audience.  During the first moments of the trailer we hear slow, soft music in the background, making us feel relaxed and comfortable.  However while this music is playing is gets interrupted by a sudden burst of sound and then returns.  One example of this is when the main character is looking in the mirror and we suddenly hear screams.

Once the Disruption stage starts the music stops immediately which is then followed by a very short silence and then a sudden burst of sound synched to the next shot.  This same sudden burst of sound continues up to a certain point in the trailer.  Once the major plot point is revealed the bursts of sounds stop and we hear a religious lullaby sung by a young girl.

As soon as the montage begins the pace of the sound speeds up rapidly with the shots to create tension and fear for the audience.  As the sound reaches its crescendo and the montage reaches its climax the sound slows down to a crawl, resulting in the trailer ending.

Straps

Straps are used in trailers to deliver extra information about the film while also drawing the audience in, enticing them to see the whole movie.  They appear roughly every 30 seconds and designed effectively to create a symbiotic link between the trailer and other promotional media while also connoting ideas about the film.  In this strap alone we see some familiar themes that have been connoted throughout the trailer.  Firstly we can see that it gets darker around the edges, representing the evil creeping up into the frame.  We can also see that the lighting becomes lighter around the text, allowing us to see the information more clearly.  Another convention repeated through the strap is the use of religious imagery, hinted through the background and the font of the text.  In the background we see black scratches against what appears to be and old page of a book, linking in the idea with the Bible.  The letter "T" in the word "Trust" is shaped like a cross, further linking with the Christian faith.  Trust is often associated with religion so when the word is combined with the phrase "There is nobody to trust", it makes us feel scared and doubtful of the Churches contribution to help with the demonic possession.

Editing

Predominately we see cuts and fades from black throughout the trailer and this is so the editing does not become distracting for the audience.  Cuts are used to show different angles of the action taking place, creating a professional look to the trailer.  Fades from black are used to signify that the action is happening somewhere else or that some amount of time has passed since the last on screen event.  Fades are also used to introduce a new strap and to leave that strap to go into the next piece of footage.  Connotation is difficult with this editing since it does not leave any ideas into representation in terms of character, setting or the film as a whole.

Representation

The representation of gender is slightly unconventional since nearly all major parts are played by females.  However in the trailer there are 3 instances of male performers and all of them are members of the Catholic church.  The female main character is represented as weak and inferior to the other characters, giving us the idea that she is an easy target for the demon to possess.

Conclusion

Overall "The Last Exorcism Part 2" uses many codes and conventions of both the Horror genre and the Possession sub-genre effectively to draw in the audience and entice them into watching the full movie.  The use of footage, straps and editing are all used to make an effective and well constructed trailer.