Insidious - Movie Trailer Textual Analysis
The Film Title: InsidiousYear of Release: 2010
Director: James Wan
Production/financing company: Blumhouse Productions, FilmDistrict
Main Cast: Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Ty Simpkins
Synopsis
A family moves into an old house and suspect paranormal activity being present. Their son then falls into what seems to be similar to a coma, although doctors aren’t sure of what to call it. His parents struggle to find out what has caused their son’s state and this struggle gets in the way of their relationship. It is then revealed to them that it is not their house that was haunted like they originally suspected, but it is their son that has been taken over by an otherworldly force.
Insidious is a
psychological thriller that focuses on the idea of demon possession,
associating both with a child as the spirit's host as well as the house
itself.
Textual Analysis
The trailer begins with slow clips, separated by fade ins and fade outs to black, split clips are put together also to provide a fast-paced and dramatic teaser. The creators have done this so that nothing is revealed, other than the high intense scenes. This keeps the viewer intrigued and wanting to know what exactly going on with this family and their house. This is a common technique in horror as a key feature is to keep things from the audience and shock them with certain plot twists whilst watching.
This feature film is set in a house which is often featured in horror films. A view of the house is also shown through an establishing shot and this reveals that the house is located in a pleasant suburban setting. The American suburbs are used commonly in horror movies as although they connote happiness, families and easy living, they have other connotations such as isolation.
Characters revealed in the trailer include a mother, her son and a woman who seems to be the 'helper' role in the film, which suggests the movie is following typical conventions of the genre.
The first ten seconds of the teaser are mostly slow paced, making sure that the audience take in the credits, with emphasis on the captions ("From the makers of Paranormal Activity"). It then straight away gains speed, becoming fast paced and cutting short clips together to increase obscurity in the audience. This contrast between very slow parts and the high-speed sections balances out the feelings of tension and anticipation against terror and disorder therefore making even the quiet scenes, exciting. The mixture of the different paces could reflect the film as it evokes both feelings of suspense and fear throughout.
As mentioned, the credits advertise the feature film by stating the already successful films the creators have made, and through big titles such as "Saw" and "Paranormal Activity", the audience then assume that this film is worth watching. Then, in bold white font, text fades in from the black background saying, "Comes a new phenomenon for a new generation"..."beyond your dreams, your imagination, and your control". All text is written giving greater importance to interest the reader on the words, "dreams", "imagination" and "control". Each of these words are very different to each other and the fact that they are emphasised may suggest that these motifs appear in the film. While 'dreams' and 'imagination' connote positive ideas and feelings, using the word 'control' after both bring negative images to the film. This leaves the audience curious how these words can be connected.
Various camera work is used through editing as it zooms into to an innocent boy sleeping deeply in a hospital bed to a concerned looking mother. As an audience, we feel we are made anxious to continue watching. There is then the use of ghost-like figures to set up the narrative as a psychological horror and this takes place in the scene with the two girls. There is little camera movement occurring in the clips but certain shots are notable and symbolic - they remain in your mind after you watch the trailer. For example, the extreme close-up of the eyes opening and the bird's eye view shot of the mother, frightened as she looks up at something which we cannot see. These images have a great effect on the viewer as we are introduced to the unknown - and what we cannot see scares us more.
Although there is non-diegetic sound involved in the trailer, silence seems to be of great importance to this trailer. There is no music soundtrack, but eerie sounds are used to produce fear and disturbance. As the credits appear, we hear atmospheric sound effects. These noises are unclear which is particularly unsettling for the audience. Perhaps these different sounds are later heard in scenes of the film and this makes you wonder about the kind of scenes that will take place. During the fast-paced scenes, we hear snippets of horrifying sounds that are unidentifiable, but cut off into silence and this disorientates us even further than the climatic parts did alone. In contrast, sounds and high pitched sounds are played over the slow paced scenes to enhance the discomfort that the characters show. After a climatic silence, creaks and ticking of the clock are used. Although these are common and harmless sounds you hear around a house it builds suspense and leads us to the scary end of the teaser.
As well as this, dialogue is used and the creators have decided to reveal quite important quotes from the film. Important quotations include the mother saying, "He's not in a coma. They don't know what to call it." This sets the film up and we get a sense of what's going on, it also introduces the theme of the supernatural. Shortly after, we hear the same character in a more desperate tone of address say, "I wanna leave. I wanna leave this house." We then make a connection with the boy's problems and the new house, again, setting the scene. The third and final quote we hear is, "It's not the house that's haunted - it's your son." By using this, the creators have already misled us and included a twist so we know the film must intensify the narrative even more. Even though there is no voice over being used, we are introduced to the storyline by the characters themselves making it seem all the more real and this enhances our fear.
Textual Analysis
The trailer begins with slow clips, separated by fade ins and fade outs to black, split clips are put together also to provide a fast-paced and dramatic teaser. The creators have done this so that nothing is revealed, other than the high intense scenes. This keeps the viewer intrigued and wanting to know what exactly going on with this family and their house. This is a common technique in horror as a key feature is to keep things from the audience and shock them with certain plot twists whilst watching.
This feature film is set in a house which is often featured in horror films. A view of the house is also shown through an establishing shot and this reveals that the house is located in a pleasant suburban setting. The American suburbs are used commonly in horror movies as although they connote happiness, families and easy living, they have other connotations such as isolation.
Characters revealed in the trailer include a mother, her son and a woman who seems to be the 'helper' role in the film, which suggests the movie is following typical conventions of the genre.
The first ten seconds of the teaser are mostly slow paced, making sure that the audience take in the credits, with emphasis on the captions ("From the makers of Paranormal Activity"). It then straight away gains speed, becoming fast paced and cutting short clips together to increase obscurity in the audience. This contrast between very slow parts and the high-speed sections balances out the feelings of tension and anticipation against terror and disorder therefore making even the quiet scenes, exciting. The mixture of the different paces could reflect the film as it evokes both feelings of suspense and fear throughout.
As mentioned, the credits advertise the feature film by stating the already successful films the creators have made, and through big titles such as "Saw" and "Paranormal Activity", the audience then assume that this film is worth watching. Then, in bold white font, text fades in from the black background saying, "Comes a new phenomenon for a new generation"..."beyond your dreams, your imagination, and your control". All text is written giving greater importance to interest the reader on the words, "dreams", "imagination" and "control". Each of these words are very different to each other and the fact that they are emphasised may suggest that these motifs appear in the film. While 'dreams' and 'imagination' connote positive ideas and feelings, using the word 'control' after both bring negative images to the film. This leaves the audience curious how these words can be connected.
Various camera work is used through editing as it zooms into to an innocent boy sleeping deeply in a hospital bed to a concerned looking mother. As an audience, we feel we are made anxious to continue watching. There is then the use of ghost-like figures to set up the narrative as a psychological horror and this takes place in the scene with the two girls. There is little camera movement occurring in the clips but certain shots are notable and symbolic - they remain in your mind after you watch the trailer. For example, the extreme close-up of the eyes opening and the bird's eye view shot of the mother, frightened as she looks up at something which we cannot see. These images have a great effect on the viewer as we are introduced to the unknown - and what we cannot see scares us more.
Although there is non-diegetic sound involved in the trailer, silence seems to be of great importance to this trailer. There is no music soundtrack, but eerie sounds are used to produce fear and disturbance. As the credits appear, we hear atmospheric sound effects. These noises are unclear which is particularly unsettling for the audience. Perhaps these different sounds are later heard in scenes of the film and this makes you wonder about the kind of scenes that will take place. During the fast-paced scenes, we hear snippets of horrifying sounds that are unidentifiable, but cut off into silence and this disorientates us even further than the climatic parts did alone. In contrast, sounds and high pitched sounds are played over the slow paced scenes to enhance the discomfort that the characters show. After a climatic silence, creaks and ticking of the clock are used. Although these are common and harmless sounds you hear around a house it builds suspense and leads us to the scary end of the teaser.
As well as this, dialogue is used and the creators have decided to reveal quite important quotes from the film. Important quotations include the mother saying, "He's not in a coma. They don't know what to call it." This sets the film up and we get a sense of what's going on, it also introduces the theme of the supernatural. Shortly after, we hear the same character in a more desperate tone of address say, "I wanna leave. I wanna leave this house." We then make a connection with the boy's problems and the new house, again, setting the scene. The third and final quote we hear is, "It's not the house that's haunted - it's your son." By using this, the creators have already misled us and included a twist so we know the film must intensify the narrative even more. Even though there is no voice over being used, we are introduced to the storyline by the characters themselves making it seem all the more real and this enhances our fear.
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