Class Trailer Review 3

Name of film: Evil Dead 
Year Released: 2013
Genre of Trailer: Horror
My Mark after Viewing: 10/10

What Happened in the trailer?
The trailer begins by introducing us to a group of young teenage characters as they venture into the woods and plan to stay in a family cabin for their break. As they begin to explore their surroundings, some of the characters make discoveries that would suggest their relaxing break may turn into something more sinister and traumatising. As the trailer progresses, one of the female characters seems to be having a much worse time than the others and her behaviour gradually gets worse which becomes concerning for her friends. It becomes apparent that this character seems to have been possessed by an evil living in the woods; after this the trailer allows the audience an insight into the more shocking, gory aspects of the film as the girl vomits blood, saws off an arm and pulls a pin out from behind her eye. The trailer is concluded with another small scene in which the audience see the female character cut her tongue in half and kiss another girl.

Which positive, clever or interesting aspects do you think you could include in your own trailer? What generic features are fulfilled well?
The most shocking and horrifying aspect of this trailer was its incorporation of body horror; the trailer highlighted various gory moments including: vomit, being set alight, sawing off an arm, cutting a tongue in half etc. This really emphasized the amount of body horror to the audience and in a way ‘shoved the gore in their face’ in order to shock them from the start and entice them into wanting to see the film. In addition to this, the parallel music helped to emphasize the more gruesome and disgusting parts of the trailer. For example, the loud bass helped to build up to the action, similarly, the high pitched sound helps to build suspense and creates tension. The collision cuts between scenes works with the parallel music to create a really good pace that keeps the audience engaged and wondering what may happen next. The use of mise-en-scene in the trailer also contributes to the overall eerie and horrid sensation conveyed to the audience; for example, the low key lighting is present throughout creating an ominous feeling and the use of creepy locations such as the woods conveys the feeling of isolation. Overall, the most successful aspect of the trailer was its ability to demonstrate a clear narrative structure that gives the audience an insight into how the events will unfold in the film. In our own trailer we could include the most prominent generic conventions featured in this trailer in order to capture the really shocking and horrifying feeling this trailer gives to the audience. For example, the low key lighting for creepiness, body horror for gruesomeness and parallel music for suspense; this could potentially help to entice the audience into wanting to watch our film.

Which aspects of the trailer did you think were unsuccessful, and would put off its target audience? How is it disappointing?
Although the trailer is really successful, there are still some less successful aspects that may be detrimental to the film. For example, including too many of the best moments in the trailer can disappoint the audience when they watch the film due to the fact it will seem as though they’ve seen it all before; this can minimise the film’s ability to shock its audience. Similarly, the clear portrayal of the narrative structure can make the film appear to be predictable which again, can reduce the chances of getting a reaction from the audience. To avoid losing audience interest in our own trailer we could include a mixture of both scenes and highlights in order to prevent too many exciting moments from the film being shown. In addition to this, we could balance out the amount of body horror with more psychologically thrilling moments so that the audience aren’t too put off by the gruesome feeling.

What was the trailer’s average score in class? Why did it receive this mark? 
The overall rating the trailer received in class was 9.7/10. The majority of the class found the trailer very interesting due to its ability to shock the audience. For example, the emphasis on body horror helped to grip the audience and keep their attention throughout the trailer. However, the body horror can overpower the other more psychologically thrilling aspects of the trailer such as the suspense. Therefore, the trailer received a very high rating, just not full marks.