Horror Film Research

Researching other horror films helps me to understand how they present these films in just 2-3 minutes telling the narrative of the film, yet not giving too much away. These are a few examples of the films that i liked the most that also relate to my horror trailer.

'Long Time Dead'
(January 2002) Genre-Horror/thriller.

This film is about a group of British students who enbark on summoning spirits on a Ouija board after a night of clubbing. But someone breaks the link before they have finished and now a demon is trapped in their world and the only way to banish it, is for all the people who summoned it to die.
I was really interested in this film as it has all the aspects I was looking for in my trailer. e.g. The film is about British students, the film involves the supernatural world and spirits. It also involves the teenagers partying which is something I wanted in our trailer.



'Tormented'
(May 2009) Genre- comedy/horror.


The head girl Justine gives a speech on the funeral of the teenage school mate Darren Mullet that has just commited suicide but she does not recall who he was. Then she is invited by Alexis to date him in the celebration party in the house of his friend Bradley. Sooner Justine discovers that Darren had a crush on her and was bullied by Bradley and his friends including Alexis. When each one of Bradley's friends is found dead, they discover that Darren has returned from beyond to revenge the humiliations he was submitted.

'The Texas Chainsaw Masacre'
Genre- horror/thriller


Driving through the backwoods of Texas, five youths pick up a traumatized hitchhiker, who shoots herself in their van. Shaken by the suicide, the group seeks help from the locals, but their situation becomes even more surreal when they knock on the door of a remote homestead. It's quickly apparent the residents are a family of inbred psychopaths, and the unlucky youths suddenly find themselves running for their lives. In hot pursuit is a disfigured, chainsaw-wielding cannibal known as Leatherface.


Trailer analysis

-the trailer begins with setting the scene in a positive way- the lighting is bright and happy, the setting is a nice location-a desert area on a hot day, the music is calm and peaceful. The people in the van are laughing happily, they are shown to be in love. All of these effects show the scene as being positive and happy.
-In this beginning part, we are shown a road sign of the location they have just driven into-this gives a subtle clue/answer to the trailer helping us understand more.
-Slowly the atmosphere begins to change and the horror begins to reveal itself.