Trailer analysis “The strangers”(2.11)         

The stranger’s trailer follows a lot of the codes and conventions that are established in horror trailers. Some of these include the fact we see the name of the film in the very last shot of the trailer. This is done to make it the last thing you see so it sticks on your mind and you remember it. Another convention it follows if the pace of the trailer. The number edits picks up pace as the trailer goes on. This is done to show intensity in the trailer and make it seem more compelling as the trailer goes on. After the “man in the mask” appears for the first time the number of edits increases for the remainder of the trailer this is done because the appearance of the “Man in the mask” is the signifier that sets of the chain of events the film is based on. After this signifier the characters in the trailer seem more intense and distressed. Before the signifier very is equilibrium in the trailer and everything is calm. This is reflected in the number of the edits at the start of the trailer as there is significantly less than the rest of the trailer. As the pace of the trailer picks up so does the music in the trailer pick up pace. This is done to show the intensity of what is transpiring in the trailer.

The trailer shows many key staples of the horror genre. One of them is there is a clear “Final girl” which is character type argued by carol clover. We get the picture that she is a middle class white girl who settling down with her husband. This is deemed a success in society based on conservative ideology. Using this theory we can suggest that this character will survive until the end of the film. Another staple of the horror genre that we see is the fact that the majority of the film is set in a lonely house in the middle of nowhere. The final clear staple of the horror genre introduced in the trailer is antagonists or “monsters”. They look like demented and mentally damaged humans which are the antagonists for a lot of films in the horror genre.

Other code and conventions

.There is no BBFC classification

.The “Big finish” of the trailer is 3 of the masked people staring at the two victims. This is a very short scene and is calm. The makes the viewer wonder what is going on.

.The trailer does not follow the narrative structure of the film.