Horror Trailer Analysis - Sinister

One of the latest horror films out at the moment is Sinister (2012).  Sinister is classed as a horror, mystery and thriller however it best described as supernatural horror film.  Sinister is based on a male who moves his family into a house where a horrific crime took place earlier, but his family doesn’t know. He finds some footage in the house and decides to watch it to gain information needed for a new book he is going to produce based on the crime. However, he soon finds more than he bargained for. There is a figure in each of the videos, but who or what is it? Eventually his family begin to suffer and things suddenly go downhill. The main question within the narrative is will they survive?

The trailer opens with an extreme long shot of the main domestic location. We as an audience would begin to assume this is a family home where danger may erupt. The shot is very dark, there is only a small amount of lighting coming from two small lamps that are situated either side of houses doorway. The house appears to be a bungalow. The shot is taken during the dark night when the mist is low; at this time of night people are vulnerable especially in isolated areas as no-one is around or available to help them. The main protagonist will have to fend for themselves if in danger.  This shot is very short as the trailer straight away uses flashbacks to tell the story about what previously happened in that house. At the same time a voice over is played of a news reporter reporting on the families’ tragedy within the house.  It was a family of four, Jenny, Brian and their mum and dad as shown by a close up shot of a child’s drawing.

After the flashbacks the audience are presented with the first strap at 0.15 seconds which says ‘9 months later’. This strap is in a serif font in white on a black background, it seems to represent the font that would be used on police records or reports it signifies a story. As the strap is shown on screen the sound is stopped until the scene changes to the family that are moving into their new home. A voice over is played of a child telling his father “I didn’t wanna move her” but the replies “We couldn’t afford to live in the old house anymore” “Plus the new story I’m writing is here”. Following this is a variety of shots showing the family moving their things into different rooms within their new home; the father is also showing his excitement for the book he is going to write.  

As the trailer progresses a new scene shows the father wondering up into attic. He scarily comes across a single box that is placed in the middle of an abandoned attic. The lighting used for this shot is very effective as it highlights the box from a 3D angle, there seems to be ambient lighting coming from a small window on the left side of the room. The main looks at this box with an unusual facial expression as if he can’t wait to find out what is in it. On screen then appears the second strap line informing the audience that ‘Sinister’ is “From the producers of Paranormal activity and Insidious”. The man eagerly opens the box and begins watching the clips, he is presented as a brave inquisitive male who is willing to learn.

A number of point of view shots are used back and forth between him and the video screen showing what he watching. They show his interested facial expression whilst he is engaged watching the footage. Suddenly a loud screech is played along with creepy background music the father jumps up out of his seat in fear of what he has just seen. Although he was frightened but one snippet of footage that does not put him off as he continues to watch the rest of the footage as he wonders what this footage really shows. Is there something he doesn’t know about? The scene changes and reveals the father reporting what he has seen to a police officer. A close up shot is used whilst he talks to the police officer showing his concern as he is now living in that house. Voice over’s used as they converse discussing how the link between all the cases is a symbol. The symbol is associated with a pagan diety named Bagul who consumes the souls of human children.  When the audience are made aware of this they instantly know that something is not right and that danger is on the horizon. Following this scene is the third strap which says “Once you see him” shortly followed by “Nothing can save you”. These straps intensify the trailer and make the audience sit on the edge of their seats in wonder as to what will happen next. The third and fourth strap are presented in a black serif font all in uppercase in the centre of the frame. They are pale on a pale grey/dirty white cracked background almost representing that the families world is about to fall apart. Their cracks will show.

 

 

As the trailer progresses the young girl begins to develop connections with girl who used in the house. She draws the girl on a wall in there hallway; this begins to worry her parents. The young girl explains that her picture is of Stephanie; the young girl who previously lived in the house. Whilst the father is walking around in the house, in the dark, he notices a box in the kitchen, then to the audience’s surprise a possessed female figure pops out of the box. As she pops out her head is upside down making her appear demoniac this is the first encounter of torment that the father experiences. The audience then realise that the demoniac figure is the daughter. Her eyes are glowing white signifying that something is taking over her body; her father grabs her in a bid to save her from all evil. The sound used for this scene is a loud scream coming from the girl, however it is very powerful and sounds like a deep mature voice, nothing like a sound that you would imagine coming from the young girl. This is start of the trailers sting. It continues on to show the father in fear telling his family they must leave the house straight away. A range of shots show the family being tormented by the symbol representing/images of Bagul. For example the medium long shot below shows a figure of a woman slowly walking down the small corridor as she carries a young girl in her arms. It is not made clear whether the woman is the mother or whether she is a trespasser. However it is clear that the house has been taken over by the pagan deity Bagul as every wall features his symbol in a dark eerie dripping paint.

 

 

The films basic outcome is revealed at 2.15seconds which we as an audience are shown that Bagul has successfully consumed the souls of human children. An extreme long shot is used at the end to show Bagul standing tall as he has power over five children including the male’s daughter and Stephanie. The children have their face painted white with dark circles around their eyes similar to the face paint Bagul wears. The girls have ribbons in their hair and one has two ponytails and they are wearing dresses and typical children clothing, they are therefore represented as innocent and at the same time vulnerable. These children are so young they cannot fend for themselves, Bagul has them now.  A final quick close up shot in black and white shows Bagul’s dreaded face. The trailer shows a few shots informing the audience of the title, where they can further research the film etc.

 

To conclude, I believe that this trailer is very effective in luring its target audience with the use of dark shots, jumpy moments, horrific footage and striking sound. The trailer is full of horrific imagery that would satisfy the target audience and encourage them to watch the film however they may wonder whether the film has much more to offer as the trailer is very explicit and gives away alot of the storyline.  For example the end of the trailer lets us as an audience know that Bagul has taken the children could they have let us wondering instead? Overall one element within the sinister trailer stuck out to and that was the use of close up shots to and fast edits to really emphasise the characters emotions and fear. I will try and incorporate this into my trailer so that I can also satisfy the target audience of ‘The Entwined’.