***For example, in the narrative the baby could be born and abandoned at birth. This could lead to the baby losing its innocence early and wanting to gain revenge on its unloving parents. This was the narrative that came to mind when I first viewed the film poster in relation to the film title, but other audience members may interpret the poster differently. Overall, I believe this film poster is extremely effective in portraying/following the conventions of the horror genre. The colours, layout, title font, background image and other features all indicate that the film is based on the horror genre.
As I said it is not easy to define the any genre because its based on individual interpretations. Before creating my own horror trailer, I knew that I would need a wide range of research in horror films and the horror genre itself to create a successful trailer. I knew that if I analysed the trailers of the 5 most popular/best selling horror films of all time I could get an strong idea on how these films became so successful and what I would need to do to try and match the quality. Obviously, I will not have the same budget as the big film institutions, but I will try to create the best quality trailer using all the resources I have. To create a successful horror trailer I would also need to be sure of the main codes and conventions of horror films. These include high levels of violence between the characters (usually a killer and innocent people), dark settings, non-diegetic music when the killer is about to murder, etc.
The 5 best selling horror films of all times are arguable, according to www.filmcrave.com, the top 5 horror films of all time are:
1) The Shining 1980
2) Halloween 1978
3) Exorcist 1973
4) The Silence of the Lambs 1991
5) Psycho 1960
The film poster doesn't give alot away about the film which could intrigue potential viewers and attract them to watch this film. I believe the film poster doesn't suggest the genre of horror directly, but more like the Detective murder genre. This is because the poster uses a black background with a spotlight on a man who seems to be wearing a tophat and holding a briefcase, this costume is associated with detectives in films. On the other hand, I think the title of the film poster suggests some elements of horror within the narrative. My interpetation of the film title before watching the trailer is that the narrative involves some sort of exorcism (in relation to the title) and the detective on the film poster has come to investigate what happened.
Throughout the trailer there is dark, evil music, which is non-diegetic playing which is a common conventions of horror films. The diegetic sounds of screams and objects smashing are also conventions of horror films to illustrate the tension building then make the audience jump in fear from the loud smashing sounds. This trailer has a narrator talking at different points. Having a narrator is another common convention of older horror trailers (1970s-1990s).
On the one hand the narrator in the trailer is useful for giving the audience a brief explanation on the narrative so they can get an idea if they would enjoy watching the full length film. As the narrator speaks the speed of the cuts within the trailer gets faster. On the other hand, not using a narrator in the horror trailer can build some sort of tension and suspense so that the audience will be anxious to know what will happen within the film. The use of non-diegetic music instead of a narrator can be more effective in keeping the audience uneasy whilst they are watching the trailer and give them the pleasure of horrors. Fans of horror movies go watch horror movies to experience the personal thrills they get from the different aspects of horror films.
Horrors can be broken down into different subgenres and these subgenres appeal to people in various ways. I believe the Exorcist is a horror films with the paranormal subgenre. This is because paranormal horrors contain supernatural elements against mortal heroes. The supernatural elements of the trailer would be the suggestion of the young girl being possessed by a ghost or evil spirit. Paranormal horrors usually involve the hero (the exorcist) having a 50/50 chance in defeating the villain (evil spirit or ghost).
The characters in the trailer relate to the theories of Todorov and Propp. After viewing the trailer the audience automatically assume that the hero is the detective/exorciser and that the villain is the possessed young girl, which relates to Propp's standard character types. My indication of the narrative after watching the trailer could relate the Todorov's theories of equilibrium, disequilibrium and a new equilibrium. This narrative structure could suggest that the film begins with the young girl acting normal (equilibrium), and then she gets possessed (disequilibrium). Later on in the film, the exorcism may take place, the young girl returns to her normal self and they may find out the exact cause of the disequilibrium. Many horrors dot follow this narrative style so my predictions may be wrong, but they are an overview of how Todorov's theory can relate to horror films.
TODOROV’S THEORY – Todorov proposed a basic structure for all narratives. He stated that films and programmes begin with equilibrium, a calm period. Then agents of disruption cause disequilibrium, a period of unsettlement and disquiet. This is then followed by a renewed state of peace and harmony for the protagonists and a new equilibrium brings the chaos to an end. The simplest form of narrative (sometimes referred to as ‘Classic’ or ‘Hollywood’ narrative).
PROPP’S THEORY –Vladimir Propp’s theory was formed in the early twentieth Century. He studies Russian fairytales and discovered that in stories there were always 8 types of characters evident. These are: the hero, the villain, the donor, the dispatcher, the false hero, the helper, the princess and her father. He did not state these characters were all separate people e.g. the provider could also be the helper. There are only 8 different character types and only 31 things they ever do. Once you have identified the character type (e.g., the hero) it’s easy to guess what they will do (save the maiden, defeat the villain, marry the maiden or whatever) because each character has a SPHERE OF ACTION. This is easily relatable to films and programmes today.
LEVI-STRAUSS’ BINARY OPPOSITION – Narrative tension is based on opposition or conflict. This can be as simple as two characters fighting, but more often functions at an ideological level – e.g., in Westerns, what do the cowboys and Indians each represent? What ideologies are embodied by the opposed sides in LOTR or Star Wars?
Film trailers are one of the most successful ways of promoting a film that is coming out soon. They are usually 2mins-4mins long and contain the most attractive scenes from the film to attract potential movie-goers to view the film. Trailers usually portray the genre of the film so that people who enjoy that particular genre will be interested in watching the film to fulfil their passion for that genre. Trailers for all types of genres must be rersearched thoroughly before the trailer is made so that the film creators can guess the potential audience reactions to their trailers. Trailers are usually an arrangement of fast-paced cuts to keep the audience engaged in the trailer and be more likely to go and watch the film length film.
Genre is a very elusive concept because it is not easily defined. Genre all depends on people's interpretations and previous created films because people can associate certain things in newer films that they have seen in older films. For example, people would associate the Saw films to be horrors because of the extreme gore and violence in the films, and this idea of horror may have come from older films like Child's Play. This shows that concepts of genre are taken from previous works and adjust with similar ideas for people to define the film in a certain genre.
