Horror trailers....

The Exorcist was first released in 1973, and although over 30 years old, is still one of the most well-known and widely recognised horror films ever made. I chose this film, as I believe that it has stood the test of time, it was named 'the scariest movie of all time' by US weekly, and whilst some may find it 'dated' in my opinion it is a classic. It is one of the most profitable films of all time grossing over $400,000,000 worldwide and was adapted from a book of the same name, which was based on a real life exorcism of a teenage boy in 1949. I specifically chose this film as whilst a lot of 'slasher' films have been remade, or replicated, The Exorcist has stayed almost as a genre in itself. The most recent film based on an exorcism was 'The Exorcism of Emily Rose' which wasn't anywhere near as successful as the cult hit.

KEY CONVENTIONS OF MOVIE TRAILERS

This trailer for 'The Exorcist' is constructed from actual footage from the film and aimed at its target audience of 18-35. Like all trailers it is designed to leave the viewer wanting more by not asking questions rather than answering them. All trailers must indicate within the trailer the genre, name of film and its production values in order to attract its target audience (as without this how would an audience know they wanted to see the film). This trailer represents its genre as a horror from the beginning with use of eerie music getting louder and louder to bridge the first clip from darkness. As well as through music, the genre is reinforced by quick cuts and other editing techniques, which are synchronous with the action on screen. This adds emphasis to the 'scare factor' to clearly define this film within the horror genre. Another technique this trailer uses is the overall darkness with many scenes in the shadows, or at night time, the use of fire, screams, shock, violence and the mention of the devil to give clear connotations of evil, suffering and by only giving quick references to 'the devil' 'exorcism' and 'thing'; the unknown. A convention which this trailer doesn't adhere to is the repetition of the title, however this could be due to its age, as this was made over 30 years ago, or so that the audience had to watch the whole way through to know the title, which could reinforce the suspense which the trailer uses also. The production values are also usually mentioned in some form in trailers, which again, this trailer leaves until the end. However the use of special effects is highlighted throughout this trailer with 'something' moving the belongings in the room around, the use of prosthetics and make-up on the demonic girl, and the fire suddenly blowing up in the basement, which would attract its audience as at this time in the 1970's films were only just beginning to use special effects so this would have attracted a younger possibly more male audience. At the end the voice over finishes 'The Exorcist' which is the first reference to the title of the film, and 'The Exorcist' is written also in bold in the centre with 'William Peter Blatty' (the writer of the novel) on top and the director underneath. However with no mention of them until the end, it must be assumed that their names alone wouldn't sell the film to an audience. There is also reference to Warner Bros, a high budget, American production company showing that it will have high production values rather than a small independent film, which most horrors are. The main aspects of this trailer which are emphasised is the transformation, the unknown (which is referenced throughout) the use of special effects, the shock, suspense, and evil with mention of "the devil himself", "the thing upstairs" and "exorcism" to capture the audience and reinforce the nature of the horror, which is 'supernatural'. The music is in keeping with the genre with the use of crackling, and eerie music building up over the short cuts. The use of music at the beginning I believe is the most effective as it is over a blank screen getting louder, which makes you panic as you know something is coming, also the use of a music bridge of screams is in keeping with the genre and sets a tone from the start. The use of a voice over is used in most trailers as a narrator to fill in the blanks that the clips leave out. The voice over is usually an authoritative male voice in keeping with a tone in keeping with the genre. This trailer effectively uses this by using a loud, monotone male voice with a short single sentence structure cut into clauses, with the punctuation emphasised for dramatic effect. the use of dialogue between the breaks in narration acts as evidence to what the narrator asks, however the narrator never answers any questions, but plants questions in the audience's mind to make them want more. The use of short definitive sentences with repetition of certain words at the end with "The one hope. The only hope. The Exorcist." summarises the trailer and gives the title of the film, which hasn't been mentioned before but still leaving suspense with "Nobody expected it. Nobody believed it. And nothing could stop it." The use of 'it' leaves suspense and the unknown still not discovered which would implore the audience to go and see the film to reach a resolution.