Dark Water (2002) trailer review

NAME OF FILM: Dark Water 

YEAR RELEASED: 2002

GENRE OF TRAILER: Horror

MY MARK AFTER VIEWING: 8/10

What happened within the trailer?

The trailer for Dark Water tells of a family that moves into an apartment block which seems nice enough to which a mother and daughter move in. It turns out that multiple murders happened on the site of the apartment and the spirits have come back to seek revenge.

Which positive, clever or interesting aspects do you think you could include in your own trailer? What generic features are fulfilled well?

The editing of the trailer was very quick, it had a good use of collision cutting which cut from slow and picked up a pace whilst cutting between different action sequences within the movie. I'd like to try and recreate that feel of panic for my audiences. The trailer used a small amount of inter titles at the beginning, one of which advertised the same director as The Ring (2002) Hideo Nakata so it helps to appeal to fans of the directors work. I liked the music used, it was nice and jolly at the start but it suddenly turns to this very dark ambient sound which completely throws its audiences off. I'd like to recrerate that false sense of security for my audiences. The music used was also screeching violins and reminded me to the works of Bernard Herman who produced the music for PSYCHO (1960).

Which aspects of the trailer did you think were unsuccessful, and would have put off its target audience? How is it disappointing?

I like the trailer which is why my score was pretty high however the trailer was very dark, which I get is a key aspect of horror movies and they can create a sense of fear but I found it hard to see particular moments.

What was the trailer’s score Why did it receive that mark?

My score for the trailer was 8/10 for the use of collision cutting and the overall pacing of the trailer.  I liked the music and the false sense of security and it stuck to natural horror conventions such as the creepy location and the ghosts. Overall I was quite impressed and thought that whilst some narrative was revealed it did provoke questions which I would have liked answers if I had seen this trailer at the cinema.

Splice (2009) Trailer Review

NAME OF FILM: Splice

YEAR RELEASED: 2009

GENRE OF TRAILER: Horror

MY MARK AFTER VIEWING: 9/10

What happened within the trailer?

The trailer for Splice tells a story of scientists that are trying genetic cloning of which they create a monster that they try to stabilize but it gets loose and goes on a killing spree, it starts out cute but destroys the lives of its creators. 

Which positive, clever or interesting aspects do you think you could include in your own trailer? What generic features are fulfilled well?

The editing of the trailer was successful. It had a good use of collision cutting which cut from slow and picked up a pace whilst cutting between different action sequences within the movie. I'd like to try and capture that same pace within my trailer in order to keep the audience hooked with the action but still leaving them wanting more. The trailer used inter titles to establish a little bit of backstory, which I thought worked because they had a chemical and science look about them to tie in with the film's genre which is a science fiction horror.  I liked the music used, it started out as ambient noise but as the action got quicker a heart rate monitor also got quicker to establish the tone of them movie and the pace of the trailer.

Which aspects of the trailer did you think were unsuccessful, and would have put off its target audience? How is it disappointing?

I like the trailer which is why my score was pretty high however whilst I have a criticism it didn't show a mass amount of the monster which is not a problem as such but I wouldn't have minded seeing a bit more of it. Despite this though I still think the trailer does a pretty decent job.

What was the trailer’s score Why did it receive that mark?

My score for the trailer was 9/10 and it received this mark because it was a good trailer, it kept me hooked, it had an interesting narrative and used some good classic horror conventions. Also contextually you don't see that many horror trailers that revolve around monsters anymore like in the 1930's, they are mainly all supernatural so I think it has a unique quality that will make people want to see it. Also Sarah Polley is a great actress and is quite renowned for films such as Dawn of the Dead (2004) so fans of her will want to see the movie. 

Braindead (1992) Trailer review

NAME OF FILM: Braindead

YEAR RELEASED: 1992

GENRE OF TRAILER: Horror

MY MARK AFTER VIEWING: 7/10

What happened within the trailer?

The trailer for Braindead tells a basic overview of the relationship between a power hungry mother over her son until she died through a virus/disease. After that we see hordes of zombies pour into the picturesque neighborhood and create a sense of panic.   

Which positive, clever or interesting aspects do you think you could include in your own trailer? What generic features are fulfilled well?

The editing of the trailer was very successful. It had a good use of collision cutting which cut from slow and picked up a pace whilst cutting between different action sequences within the movie.. I'd like to try and capture that same pace within my trailer in order to keep the audience hooked with the action but still leaving them wanting more. The trailer didn't use inter titles to establish any backstory, other than the title of the movie. I thought the trailer didn't really need it because it gave away enough of the plot to hook audiences attention.  I liked the music used, it was an ambient noise but creepy piece of music, it used the classic instrument in horror films; the violin. This helped to establish the tone of them movie. 

Which aspects of the trailer did you think were unsuccessful, and would have put off its target audience? How is it disappointing?

I like the trailer which is why my score was pretty high however whilst I have a criticism it's probably more of a personal preference. I didn't like how they tried to use a lot of comedy within the trailer, they should keep that to the movie to relieve audiences from the horror a little bit; but this didn't really work in the trailer. I'd want to avoid this by including classic horror conventions to firmly establish the genre for my audiences.

What was the trailer’s score Why did it receive that mark?

My score for the trailer was 7/10 for the use of collision cutting and the overall pacing of the trailer. It also left enough of the narrative a mystery to keep people hooked. The trailer however used very little key horror conventions other than the quick editing and some of the cinematography use, which is fine but the use of a lot of comedy throws it from the genre.

Cloverfield (2008) trailer review

NAME OF FILM: Cloverfield

YEAR RELEASED: 2008

GENRE OF TRAILER: Horror

MY MARK AFTER VIEWING: 8/10

What happened within the trailer?

The trailer for Cloverfield starts at a surprise party with a high atmosphere, and suddenly there is a lot of chaos and explosions within the urban environment. We hear a loud groaning sound and everyone goes up to the roof to investigate. The rest of the trailer is little snippets of people trying to figure out what's going on and military action. The trailer ends with the head of the statue of liberty rolling through the streets of New York

Which positive, clever or interesting aspects do you think you could include in your own trailer? What generic features are fulfilled well?

The editing of the trailer was very successful and created a bit of a jump scare towards the end of the trailer with the statue of liberty head that creates a loud bang. it used collision cutting which cut from quick, slow and back to quick again as we go from the party to the confusion and then back to the snippets of the action. I'd like to try and capture that same pace within my trailer in order to keep the audience hooked whilst still leaving them wanting more. The trailer used one inter title to establish to the audience that this was a 'real event' and takes the form of a documentary movie, similarly to Blair Witch Project (1999). I liked the music used also which helps to establish atmospheres but is then used to completely throw them off. Firstly we are presented with a typical party setting with some music with a beat but then the bat slowly turns to an ambient but creepy piece of music, you could say that it's almost like a change from a drum beat to a heart beat; which helps to establish the tone of the movie. I like the nice cross between the music to a diegetic heartbeat it flows well.

Which aspects of the trailer did you think were unsuccessful, and would have put off its target audience? How is it disappointing?

I like the trailer which is why the average score was pretty high, however whilst I have a criticism it's probably more of a personal preference. I didn't feel as though there was any detail of the monster at all which I would have liked. I also didn't feel as though I was watching a trailer for a horror movie, but more one about an apocalypse of some description. I'd want to avoid this by including classic horror conventions to firmly establish the genre for my audiences.

What was the trailer’s avg. score in class? Why did it receive that mark?

Average score for the trailer was 8/10 for the use of collision cutting and the overall pacing of the trailer. It also left enough of the narrative a mystery to keep people hooked. The trailer however used very little key horror conventions other than the quick editing and some of the cinematography use, so it didn't really strike me as initial horror.