Andy - Textual Analysis of The Strangers Trailer

The Strangers teaser trailer analysis
At the beginning of the teaser trailer we are shown a sideshow of houses and under each picture we see different sentences, these different sentences tell the audience the reason why people choose certain houses for example some people choose homes ‘For the neighbourhood’(Figure 1 and 2). As the trailer moves on the houses start to get more luxurious and then the quality of the pictures start to change, they seem to look like the photo was taken a long time ago as if the ‘strangers’ have already targeted the house and this is indicated by the red cross on the last few photos(Figure 3). Under the last few photos of the slideshow the sentences start to become more sinister as the following words are used ‘But some people choose a house for a completely different reason’ this tells you ‘the strangers’ are crazy psychotic people and that something horrifying is going to happen to some innocent people.

Figure 1
Figure 2

Figure 3
Once we are shown the last picture it cuts straight into an establishing shot of that house, which shows it in what appears to be the woods. It is set at night time. This very typical in horror films because it shows that the place is out in the open and if something bad were to happen no one would find out and also the darkness shows that the area is dangerous and evil. After the establishing shot it fades into a shot of a middle aged man who is well dressed and this indicates that he is quite successful. Then there are quick cuts between him and his girlfriend who is also well dressed, these shots show that the couple are in love and are very happy as if nothing has gone wrong, this gives the audience a nail biting situation because they know something horrible is going to happen but they don’t know when. While the couple are hugging and comforting each other they hear a knock on the door which startles them, the door is then shown in the next shot to create a mysterious atmosphere as the couple are oblivious of what or who is at the door and for what is about to happen to them. The next shot is a medium close up (Figure 5) of the women up close next to the door to show she is listening for something outside of it, when she says ‘hello’ she gets a reply from the other side and this voice says’ Your going to die’ and from this point on the trailer get more intense and frightening. From the medium close up there is a fade into a black screen and then cuts into a shot of a weapon. The weapon is introduced which adds to the horror of the film, as the shot quickly shows the axe knocking through the wood. This shocks the audience because after the black screen it comes when it is unexpected. It then cuts into a medium close up of the couple screaming and jumping, this shows that the couple are powerless towards the strangers (Figure 8). Then there are quick cuts of the terrifying events to come. Within the cuts we get to see the people who are terrorising the couple. These quick cuts give the audience too much too take in and this gets them baffled and scared at the same time.
Before we are given another black screen we see in the last image ‘the strangers’ (Figure 6) with the couple beneath them, this shows that the couple are powerless towards the strangers doing and they can only watch what will happen to them effortlessly. We are then shown the movie title followed by a shot we the following words ‘inspired by true events’, this gets the audience thinking how can people become so corrupt and want to mess with others lives, which gives them more reason to go and watch the film. Lastly there is a last slideshow showing the women clawing towards the camera (Figure 7) as if she is trying to escape after the countless assaults from the strangers. This tells the audience that they are not in for a happy ending.

Figure 4 Figure 5

Figure 6 Figure 7

Figure 8
SOUND
The song used at the beginning of the trailer is "If I didn't Care" written by The Four Inkspots. This was a classic in the 80s. With the combination of the recording quality back then and the situation in the teaser the trailer it creates a sinister and suspenseful atmosphere within it.
Non diegetic music is then played when we are introduced to the couple, this sound is suspenseful and creates tension giving audience a hint that something is about to happen. There is a loud knock on the door and the couple get startled, tension is then built quickly from this point on and we are introduced to a diegetic sound. At the end of each slide shows from figure 5 and onwards we hear a scream. This gives shock value to this part of the trailer.
From Figure 5 the woman gets a reply ‘Your going to die’. This gets the audience on the edge of their seats because if you heard someone say that to you, you would be rather scared and with this feeling the audience know what the character within the movie is going through.