Practice Horror Trailer: 'Grave Encounters'

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Class Poster Idea 1st Attempt

Prop List

Health and Safety

Horror Mood Board (1)

6 Panel Practice Storyboards

"Fangoria" Magazine Cover Analysis 3

Fangoria is a US Horror fan magazine publishing since 1979. The main signifying image within the front cover of the magazine is what we would typically presume is the killer or villain of the presented film ‘Drag Me to Hell’. You are only able to see the woman's head which dominates most of the page. The image also shows direct mode of address towards the audience which conveys fear and anguish. Iconic factors which indicate that this is in fact the villain are features such as being dirty, old, bad dental hygiene and scabs upon her face. It would be very untypical to be presented with a villain who was attractive in looks. By the woman’s face being unpleasant to look at this gives the audience some repulsion and encourages them to see the character in a negative way. As no other kind of props or location is included within this main image this perhaps suggests to the audience that this person is the most central within this film and so therefor she must be focused on. Once again the most typical colours have been used within this horror magazine  and covers reds, blacks, yellows and whites. The red colours will indicate gore, violence and danger with the darker colours adding elements of mystery and the unknown. Text is often written in either white or yellow to ensure the wording stands out on the page and jumps out at the audience. Fonts can be used to suggest different connotations to the audience. The word scars has been written in a way to suggest it has been scratched onto the page and actually replicates the appearance of a scar. The individual letters within the cover line of the title page have very sharp points towards the ends, perhaps indicating knives or weapons of some sort which adds a sense of danger. The replication used within font can been seen once again at the bottom of the cover page in the text ‘Drag Me to Hell’ where the font has flames coming out from the tops of each letter. Target audience once again will be a male audience. The use of fire effects on font suggests some action, the red and darks suggest violence and excitement, darker colours adding mystery also. All these things are presumed to be of a male interest and therefor will attract this audience more than it would attract a female one.

"Horrorhound" Magazine Cover Analysis 2

This magazine contains all the typical features expected to be found within a horror magazine cover. Once again the main image which dominates the page is that of a villain or killer, which presents an unattractive and malformed face and body. However this time it appears that the killer is a female and goes against the stereotype that the bad guy is traditionally male in horror films. The victims are shown in a smaller image below with weapons with the female looking down over them showing her control. Behind this main image is a faded out crown of zombies showing the audience the type of horror which is being advertised to us. Colours of black, white and red fit in with the traditional horror colours reinforcing violence and darkness. The colour red stands out largely and will draw the attention of the audience to the magazine cover. This particular magazine cover has a title which is quite bold and blocky; this is given the illusion of a 3d effect with a background colour of red to make this appear more on the page. Behind this further is a black splattered effect which shows the gruesome aspect to horror. Next to the main title is a bloodied dog paw print showing the werewolf sub-genre which can also be used within the horror industry. The cover lines consist of catchy words and lines followed by new horror films being released to attract the audiences. Once again I feel this magazine is aimed at a young male audience as this the predominant audience which the horror genre aims their products towards. 

"Fangoria" Magazine Cover Analysis 1

This is a US film magazine which specializes in the horror genre. As you are able to see within this cover the main signifier consists of a dominant image of a villain/killer. We are able to see the killer’s deformed facial features or that they are wearing a mask and they also appear to be looking down, perhaps showing their power. As the face is disfigured in some kind of way these leads to a mystery as we are unable to see who the real person is and they have some kind of disguise. The image is able to suggest to its audience that the type of horror will contain some kind of gore and violence.  Dominant colours used within the cover are darker ones to support the genre and also red’s which connotes violence and danger, the main features of horror films.  The use of the colours orange and yellow stand out from the darker backgrounds and could also suggest energy and excitement. The font of the main title is this yet sharp with pointed edges almost replicating knives. The text ‘H2’ contains an eroded effect showing an acidic and dangerous substance. Other cover lines used on the cover are predominantly names of other well-known horror films again supporting the genre in which this magazine covers. Audiences which will be drawn towards this magazine will most probably be male dominated as the cover contains hints of danger violence and excitement which stereotypically would be appealing to a young male audience. 

Horror Poster Analysis 3: "Eden Lake"

This is an English Horror Film which was released in 2008. The key signifier consists of a young, attractive female victim who is hiding from the three killers behind a tree. This suggests she is in danger and is vulnerable. She is wearing a feminine dress which connotes her sexual appeal. The three killers seen in this image are hidden in the background of this poster in shadows so we are unable to see their identities. Considering this they still have a powerful presence due to their stance within their body language and the sense of mystery about them. The setting which can obviously be seen within the poster is the woods, a secluded and isolated location adding a more tense and eerie atmosphere. Many darker colours have been used within this poster, behind the female, on the setting and on the killers. However lighter colours have been used on the female perhaps to show her innocence and femininity and also behind the killers at the back of the forest to maybe imply that there is some hope for the victim. The main title is almost red stained which draws the audience’s eyes instantly towards it and shows us that this film will involve violence or gore. The title also is placed towards the bottom right of the poster showing us that the image of the victim and killers are important to notice. Obviously the title is the largest size as this is the film title but then the sizing of the quotation at the top is also noticeable, this will try and draw the into the film and what it is about. The font type itself it bold and dominant on the page adding an essence of seriousness and giving the poster overall more initial impact. The tagline within this poster is ‘They wanted to get away from it all instead they found Eden Lake’. This hints to the audience that the setting in which this film is set has negative connotations and that in fact they will not be ‘getting away from it all’. Based on the things discussed above I feel that the aimed target audience is males, this can be seen through the use of an attractive female, dark colours and the overall impact and dominance of the poster.

Horror Sub-Genre Pie-Chart

Stereotypical Fans

History of Horror (with videos): Alfred Hitchcock

History of Horror

A dominant figure within the history of horror is Alfred Hitchcock who was a very famous film director and producer who was a pioneer of techniques within the horror and thriller genre. Using lots of techniques he took from watching films in the 1920s (particularly from Soviet Montage directors like Sergei Eisenstein and Lev Kuleshov) he was the master of using Kuleshov Effect and Collision Cutting to create maximum emotional effect. Because of all this, he became known as the "Master of Suspense."

 

He first began as a film director in the mid 1920’s, and his most famous early thriller is The Lodger (1927). His most notable films where in the 1940’s and in 50’s these were in his peak years and had a diverse range of films one of his darker ones from the 1940’s being Shadow of a Doubt (1943) this was one of his personal favourites. Some of his other films such as Stranger on a Train (1951) and Rear Window (1953) were increasingly thriller/horror based films, due to the inclusion of murderers. In the late 1950's Alfred Hitchcock's career was waining but he brought his career back to life with his most famous film Psycho (1960), a black and white film with his tv crew (from Alfred Hitchcock Presents) on a low budget.

This was Hitchcock's second chance and he changed drastically from thriller to horror films, following it up with gorier films such as the serial killer film Frenzy (1972). This film was considered one of the first horror films and was a big shock to the audience at the time. It made horror real by basing its story line on the historical context of the serial killer Ed Gein. It was there for very controversial for Hitchcock to base his film upon. This enabled him to maximise shock by the context of linking the film to real life events.

In Psycho, Hitchcock was able to demonstrate his mastery of montage which can be clearly seen within the famous shower scene where Marion entering into the shower is slow, the attack on her is quick and then it returns to being slow. Once again, there is a heavy influence here by Soviet montage films in the 20’s which relied largely on editing. This technique is also seen to be used within Hitchcock’s Odessa Steps Sequence from Battleship Potemkin (1924).  It is important to consider that at the time Psycho was being made Hitchcock was limited by the Hays Code and consequently restricted to the extent of gore, language and nudity within the film.

 

Hitchcock is considered to be the main auteur of films. As mentioned before one of his main influences is in the use of editing, he relied on techniques such as montage and collision cutting in order to create emotion. Within his real life Hitchcock was sexually repressed, often dominated by his wife however having a kinky side to him and a sick sense of humour. An example of this would be his amusement in placing the actress (who plays Marion in the film Psycho in a freezing cold shower). He had an obsession with young blonde women and almost tries to torment them in his films. This is also clear in the film The Birds which was made after the 1960’s. The last main influence is that he is highly considered as "The Master of Suspense"; he likes to drag out tension, making people tense and then eventually producing a shocking payoff. An example of this personal style of his can be seen in Sabotage (1936) where the tension is dragged out and then built up.

 Hitchcock’s last film was Family Plot (1976) which had a lighter more comical tone to it. But his main skill was the way he created suspense and shock, pushing the film industry forwards and still being remembered today because of that. It is clear to see that Alfred Hitchcock had a heavy influence on the horror genre and film industry and is widely credited on his unique methods used.

Favourite Image Analysis: "Let The Right One In"

Within this image from Let The Right One In (2008) we are able to see the stereotypical character of a quick moving monster and the use of body horror on her to reinforce the horror genre. This suggests to us that the villain of this film is the female, which would go against the stereotypical character types. A mid to close up shot shows us the face making the audience feel slightly uncomfortable as we are forced to look at the blood seeping out of her but also being able to see the emotion on her face.

The age of the girl would also be quite surprising as she should stereotypically be vulnerable and innocent. We can see her dominant character as she is at the forefront of the camera shot with the young boy sat behind her in the background. There is also clever use of lighting within this shot with the background being lighter than the front, this perhaps connotes that there is a mix of good and evil within the shot. This represents the young girl as being dark and mysterious clue. However, a bigger clue to their characters could be through the connotations of their hair. On the surface, Eli's black hair could connote she is evil, however I think it connotes she is the "final girl" as she becomes a likeable character who punishes bullies. Meanwhile Oskar has blonde hair, to connote his innocence throughout the film.

The presence of blood will play on the audience’s fear of violence and come across in a creepy way. This image suggests that the villain here is outside of the CDI and is a character that does not fit in and therefore will lead to them to safety and away from their threatening normal lives, filmed with bullies. This slightly pushes the conventional boundaries and so will shock a more modern audience. This difference of switching the character stereotypes with Eli helped Let The Right One In become a worldwide hit that is in the top 250 on imdb.com. .

"The Crazies": Personal Film Review

The Crazies (2010) Film Review

Brief Plot Outline:

The film is about a residence of an American Town which is plagued by insanity and death after a toxin contaminates their water supply.

Which two scenes impressed you the most and why?

I found that the scene in which the car was attacked was very impressive. There is a use of quick montage to create a sense of panic and speeds up the audience’s heart rate. There is also a really good scene within the baby’s nursery. Here we can see body horror where we see the knife going through the person's hand and neck, this makes you feel unsettled. Similar to body horror used in Evil Dead (2013) Canted angles are shown on the male and female who have contracted the virus and this connotes to us their weirdness.

How has watching this film helped you understand this genre of film-making? Which features on the genre checklist did you spot in the film? When and How?

There were many features that I spotted which are shown on the genre checklist. Restricted narration is used in the morgue when the rotating blade enters into the infected man. We don’t actually see this happen but as we see blood splatter across the wall. This keeps the violence off-screen and implies to the audience what is happening. This technique was also used in Blade Runner: The Director's Cut (1991) during the murder of Tyrell by Roy Batty, where there is no on-screen violence but sound effects and other features makes you imagine what could be happening. The film presents themes such as fear of death and violence, especially in the scene with the pitchfork however it also incorporates the theme of being trapped as Bill traps his wife and son in the cupboard and sets the house on fire at the beginning of the film.

Which aspects of the film would you like to include in your own trailer and why?

Aspects that I wish to include within my own horror trailer from this particular film consists of collision cutting, this is seen in the film when David and his partner were looking at Bills ‘dead’ body. The editing is slow and quiet. Bill then jumps up and begins screaming causing it to be contrastingly loud. We do not like this as it makes up jump. Slow montage would also be an effective aspect to add to my own horror trailer as this is a clever technique to make the audience feel uncomfortable.  An example of this in the film is as a bloody pitchfork is being dragged along the floor and creates suspense.

Which aspects of the film would you like to avoid in your own trailer and why?

I perhaps would not include as much body horror within my own trailer, this is because I would be making a more psychological horror but may include a small amount as it is an effective horror feature. Another reason i feel using body horror would be a bad idea is because you must be careful when using it, so that it is used in an effective way and will not make the audience laugh. An example of this happening is in the film Basket Case (1981).

What was the best aspect or more enjoyable moment in the film, why? Can you recreate this in your own film and how?

The most enjoyable moment for me was the fight and escape of David and Judy against the people with the virus in the car was scene. It uses so many horror techniques successfully to create both suspense and the final shock where the young girl is hung by the hose. I could recreate this by using quick montage, parallel music, close ups and an enclosed creepy location.

How does the film reflect its institutional or historical context? Analyse scenes/events that reflect the time which the film was made?

The film may reflect some historical context in the fact that it involves the military and an extermination mission and this could be aimed at the wars that have occurred in recent years. This may also be incorporating the public’s modern fear of terrorism. The fact that the film involves a wide-spread virus could relate to mass disease that has occurred such as swine and bird flu. This demonstrates peoples fear of contracting a virus. This has a very similar and common theme regards to the historical context as Dawn of the Dead (2004).

"Sinister": Personal Film Review

Sinister (2012) Film Review

Brief Plot Outline:

Within this film a crime writer discovers a collection of videotapes showing several brutal murders that took place in the house he just bought and is currently living in with his family. Each videotape contains a curse which causes the child to murder its family and after to enter into the videotape itself with a mysterious masked man.

Which two scenes impressed you the most and why?

A particularly impressive scene I found was when the young girl is sat on her bed facing a dead female child. Here close up shots are used to show the fear and emotion on the girls face. The use of low key lighting creates deep shadows and an eerie atmosphere for the audience. Body horror on the dead girl makes you feel uncomfortable and uneasy and this also ties in with the theme of feeling trapped and being isolated. The beginning scene establishes a shot with a family hanging from a tree in a back garden; this is a very long take and is used to force you to watch what is happening. There is use of video camera and point of view shots; this helps the audience to feel like they are part of the scene and perhaps witnessing something that they shouldn't be  seeing.

                                                                                                                       

This technique is also used quite successfully in the film Cloverfield as it really draws you into the action and makes you feel present. 

How has watching this film helped you understand this genre of film making? Which features on the genre checklist did you spot in the film? When? How?

One of the features I spotted was parallel music which occurred as the father enters the loft, this creates suspense as he is climbing the ladders and fits the mood of the scene. There is low key lighting within the house at night time to give a creepier setting. Pathetic Fallacy can be seen as there is wind and rain to show a dampened mood. Close-ups are used cleverly on the father's face as he is being tied up and about to be killed allows us to see the emotion on his face, this makes you feel uneasy and you know what is about to happen to him and therefore you want to sympathise with the character. A similar scene to this is in Henry's Portrait of a Serial Killer which is a lengthy scene dragging out the death and forces the audience to watch it. We are also able to see the stereotypical male hero in that of the dad (Elliion) of the family. He invests his time trying to figure out and resolve the crimes he has witnessed but dies as a consequence of this while trying to protect his family. Other archetypal features of Ellision are being strong, attractive and masculine help him with fitting in with this particular character stereotype. Another powerful feature used in order to set the genre of the film is collision cutting, as the father is looking at an image with the man wearing a mask there is silence. As he removes the image away from his face the same masked man appears and there is loud screeching music. The cutting between these two opposites maximises the emotional effect of the shot. This contrast gains the desired reaction from the audience jumping.

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Which aspects of the film would you like to include in your own trailer and why?
I was impressed with the use of montage in this film and feel it would be an effective feature to use within my own trailer. As the father is walking down a corridor he sees a moving box and slow editing is used as the audience is forced to follow the box and open up very slowly this drags out tension and making the audience wait. The box finally opens to reveal the son who is having a fit and climbing out of the box backwards, this shock surprises the audience. This is used effectively in Psycho (1960) where the switch from slow to quick to slow montage again such as in the shower scene really grabs the audiences attention. I would also perhaps include slight body horror and this works well with making the audience feel uncomfortable, such as when the children have dead like faces within this film. I would not use an excessive amount of body horror as I feel this would take away from the psychological genre which my trailer would be. I am inclined to replicate the enclosed location such as the house used in Sinister in order to create an isolated and claustrophobic feel typical for the horror genre. One of my favourite techniques to try and use as I feel it would have the most impact is restricted narration. An example of this within the film is the young girl attacking her father with an axe. We do not actually see any contact of the axe with the father but the use of shadows and blood allows the audience to create an image within their mind of what is happening. This is a good way of keeping the violence off screen but giving an implication of it.

Which aspects of the film would you like to avoid in your own trailer and why?

It would be a better idea for me to remove the character of the slow moving monster from my trailer and replace it with a fast moving monster or serial killer as I feel this is a more modern character type and would receive a better response from the audience. There is a lot of use of hand held camera in this film with the recording of the murders. This is a useful technique is used in small amounts as it puts you in the killers shoes, feeling like you are in their position making you feel quite uncomfortable as it’s a realistic feeling. However overusing it would create a quick, jerky and amateur like trailer which I would like to try and avoid.  

What was the best aspect or more enjoyable moment of the film, why? Can you recreate this in your own trailer and how?

As the children are following their father around the house it is very fast paced and jumpy. This is a good use of quick montage which I would like to include in my own trailer. This would also be accompanied well be collision cutting and cutting between opposites to maximise emotional effect by the contrast, really giving the audience a frightening and memorable experience of my trailer.