Sinister
The opening titles appear to be similar to that of
'non-horror' movies however the film distributor showing 'SUMMIT' implies that
this may be a horror movie as the background appears to be a wall with cracked
paint on it. This fades and the focus is on an establishing shot of a house,
surrounded by mist and fog. The house appears to be simple and basic and
consists of one story. A house similar to this is likely to have a ‘normal’ or
nuclear family living in it, however as this is a horror movie the audience
predict that this will not be the case. There are a lot of shadows surrounding
the house, and of course we connect darkness with evil- suggesting that evil is
lurking near by. A strange symbol appears on screen and then the house fills
the screen again, this symbol flashes so quickly the audience question whether
they are seeing an illusion or if the symbol has actually appeared on screen.
The camera zooms in ever so slightly as if enticing the audience and dragging
them into the house to find out more. It cuts to another flash of the symbol or
a similar one- it is very fast so the audience cannot clearly see it- making
them curious and more interested to find out what the symbols are or what they
represent.
The digetic sound is a news report on a television or radio reporting
on the family’s murder. This almost de-sensitizes the audience, as they now
know the terrible event that occurred. Therefore they expect that this is the
worse event that will take place and lure them into a false sense of security.
We then see a picture of the family, with one of the girls faces circled with
red marker. The girl looks particularly morose, which suggests there's
something not quite right about her. In the background of the photo,
plants and weeds seem to be growing wildly, weeds are associated with being
evil and over-taking other weaker plants. This could be a suggestion that the
girl who is circled may be stronger than the rest of her family- or possibly
possessed and have strength from whatever has possessed her. The camera then
rolls down and reveals a drawing of a stick family being hung, then cuts to
people’s legs laying down on the ground- which the audience assume to be the
dead family members. The drawings of the people hanging conjure up thoughts of
violence and force the audience to expect bad things to happen, but they are
particularly unsettling too as they have been drawn by a child. Yet
another example of something innocent becoming sinister and dark. We
assume that the drawings are the creations of the circled girl, reinforcing our
suspicion that she is sinister or evil. The camera cuts back to an establishing
shot of the house- implying that the house holds a secret and holds a key part
in the plot of the horror movie.
A black screen appears with the strap '9 MONTHS LATER' and
the news report ends abruptly, the shot fades to an establishing shot of the
house in full day light intimating that normality will return. However it must
be noted that sunshine cannot be seen and the sky appears to be a grey-ish white
colour. The camera zooms in again and we see a truck with boxes surrounding it,
showing that a new family is moving in. The '9 MONTHS LATER' strap refers to '9
months' which is the usual time it takes for a baby to develop- which could be
linked to a new spirit or creature will haunt the new family. This scene is
suggesting that an equilibrium or normality is present which leads the audience
to believe they don't have to be afraid just yet.
The next important scene is of the girl and her father, she informs
him she didn't want to move to here, while drawing over a painting on the wall.
The idea that the girl does not want to be there may foreshadow bad things
approaching, as she does not feel excited or full of hope. To which the father
replies 'we couldn't afford the other house anymore', this makes the movie seem
more realistic as many people can relate to the circumstances playing out on
screen. The father appears to be a normal father and is in the process of
writing a book. While in the room with his daughter he puts her dolls on the
book shelf- again emphasises normality and calmness.
A shot of the family at the dinner table from a distance away
suggests that someone or something is watching them, producing fear. Light is
apparent on the table and reaches the family, but the rest of the environment
is extremely dark, conveying the idea that the family are good and pure, while
the actual house is sinister and any evil that approaches will come from it
rather than the characters. The family joke at the table, which lures the
audience even further into a sense of false security. The screen goes to black and then fades up to
the father telling his daughter he's going to write the best book. The girl
smiles happily and is surrounded by toys and a white pillow that she’s leaning
on, suggesting she is still very child-like and innocent. The father then
whispers to his wife while in bed 'I've got a really great feeling about this'-
the audience know that this will not be reality and the father is almost jinxing
their future.
A camera shot in the loft shows the father open the door, and
shows light shining on the beams, other than that light on the beams and some
light surrounding the fathers face and upper body as he enters the loft- there
is no other light and the audience cannot see much else, other than a single
box. Not being able to see what you are afraid of is one of the greatest fears
people have and this trailer is reflecting this fear and playing to it. The
beams of light can be compared to bars- prison bars, hinting that the man will
become trapped in the loft. It can also be said that it’s metaphoric and he is
likely to be trapped in a dark terrifying situation.
We get a close up of the father, slamming a box on the loft's
floor looking tired and a point of view shot of the single box already placed
there. The audience are encouraged to focus on the box as it is the only other
object in the loft, making it mysterious and causing the audience to want to
know what is in it. It appears as if the light is coming from the previous
angle the audience just saw where there was in fact no light source. Light is
usually associated with good, so the audience may become confused or still
comfortable and not tense.
A strap then appears on screen and says from 'The Producer of
Paranormal Activity and Insidious'- this is likely to influence audiences to
want to see this movie as previous movies that they may have enjoyed were made
by the same company. Again, the references to other movies will give clues as
to what kind of narrative will feature and what type of film it is. The
audience will expect supernatural occurrences and they will be more interested
to continue watching. The background is similar to cracked paint as in the
opening titles which remind the audience it is a trailer.
An over the shoulder shot is used and shows the father
looking a box full of old movie reels. The subtle music adds a lot of tension
as the father looks through the movie reels, the clip is cut to a close up of
the apparatus moving and working. A low angle shot is employed and then shows
the father switching the archaic movie player on, a close up or zoomed in shot
shows a bright light- which could be linked to when people die and 'see the
bright light'. The audience may think that the father is about to die after
watching these films but then we see the actual film footage which appears to
be a calm setting, involving a woman with her children sitting on a blanket.
The father continues watching it until he realises something is wrong and jumps
up away from the old video player contraption when a stab of sound is employed
and he sees the people's legs when they were hung. He turns the device off and
the screen goes black- which adds tension as the audience wants to know what
happened and if the father got attack by a ghost or the child we presume that
killed her family.
The blackout fades up to a police officer talking to the
father who is sitting and looks worried, almost childlike- this un-nerves the
audience as typically a father is meat to be the ‘brave’ and ‘strong’ protector
of the family. Later he goes home and tries to make sense of the videos and
watches one where a car goes on fire. This is shocking to the audience as
although its heard of that cars have burnt, it is not an every day occurrence
that people witness. Fire is associated with the devil, hell and evil- however
previously in the loft light was associated with being scared, so the audience
wonders what the fire will be linked to. The fire and darkness are contrasting
elements and confuse the audience as they do not know if they should be afraid
of what they can see -the fire- or what they cannot see -in the darkness. The
father finds the symbols that were flashed before the audience’s eyes rapidly
at the beginning of the trailer. Implying that evil being or creature is back
to haunt the family. The father continues to research further into the
symbols and contacts another man who seems to know a bit more about it. It is
as if the father has become obsessed by this symbol and needs to find out more.
He continues to watch more videos and sees a boy jump into a pool that is very
dark and continues to stare at the screen until a ghostly figure wearing a
black cape with a white mask on in the pool. The father seems to be unsure
whether this is an illusion or reality.
Another strap with the same background as the two prior to
this- cracked paint as a background and the words reading 'ONCE YOU SEE HIM'
suggesting that now that the father has seen 'him' he will be cursed or get
killed. The father stupidly continues to research the figure he saw and finds
it in more videos, he holds it up in front of him and then puts it down and
sees the figure outside and jumps again. This is almost like a fake sting as
nor the audience or the father were expecting to see the ‘evil’ mans face. Now
the audience too, begin to get frightened as they have also seen this figure
multiple times. The computer later shows an image of the figure looking at the
father, and soon after a strap appears reading 'NOTHING CAN SAVE YOU', which is
effective as the audience are now definitely frightened. The main character's
daughter wonders into the room where he was doing all of his research and is
acting strangely towards her parents. Her father sees her playing on a sing
outside and then glances to a wall of a painting of a girl on a swing, the
father then approaches a box slowly, and a contorted girl bending backwards
comes out of the box. The father runs with his daughter protectively in his
arms, and all of the editing is fast paced. In this scene it appears that the
daughter is possessed apparently by the girl who killed her family previously.
A deep focus shot is used and shows the wife coming towards
the husband, who's face is eliminated by the fire in which he is burning the
video reels. The father is desperately trying to save his family and carry out
extreme behavior to do so. This scene cuts to the father inside the house with
the symbols painted with blood on the wall, the audience may assume that this
is a foreshadowing that the family is going to be killed. The daughter’s room
is a mess and the father hurriedly carries his daughter outside. The past pace
creates a sense of panic as well as the messy room adding an element of disorganization.
Very fast cuts of the symbols appear on screen and then it goes black, and a
close up of the movie player object working by itself. This is a convention
found in supernatural movies, and makes the audience afraid of what they cannot
see. This leads to the father screaming in horror, a black screen, a shot of a
persons legs laying on the floor and another person with an axe walking past. The
audience fear the worst that multiple people have been killed. Another black
out and then a cut to a girl leaning over in bed, then a black out then cut to
a ghostly girl is employed. The repeated
black screens add even further tension to the trailer. The man checks the loft
and sees multiple ghostly/zombie like children all sitting innocently, this is
certainly not what the audience were expecting and shocks everyone. The ghostly
figure from the dark pool sticks his head into the camera shot last minute
which acts as a sting and is terrifying.
The final strap reads 'SINISTER' which embeds the name of the
movie into the audience’s memory. Another less effective sting is employed and
the outline of the ghostly figure from the pool appears. The strap and release
date blink a few times and then burst into flames. Including possessed children
is a usual convention in horror movies, even previously they were feared as a
result of the contraceptive pill and other various changes in society in the
past. Overall the trailer was scary, however it can be criticised for
taking too long to get to the tension and there is too much tension too quickly
nearer the end of the trailer.
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