Dream house horror analysis
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The trailer establishes genre conventions through its use of unsettling elements. It begins with poorly played piano music and dark lighting to create an ominous atmosphere. Daniel Craig's voiceover uses the phrase "once upon a time" in a twisted way to subvert childhood comfort. Key selling points are the star power of Daniel Craig and the psychological/supernatural elements that create suspense. The trailer effectively establishes mood through its ominous tone and unsettling images of children in potential danger. It uses generic horror codes like dark lighting and sudden jarring sounds. The trailer meets expectations by hinting at murders and challenging concepts of home and family safety.
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Dream house horror analysis
- 1. Dream house analysis How does it establishgenre? The trailerstarts forthe soundof someone playingthe pianopoorlyforexampleachild.This suggestsa lackof perfectioninthe pianopiece showssomethingbadisgoingtohappen.Alsoitadds to the sense of eerinessandthe threateningatmosphere.Alsothe factthatthe instrumentuse isa pianowhichisa soloinstrumentemphasisesthe factthat the audience andthe characterswithinthe filmare isolated.The Beginningof the trailergoesonto Daniel Craigsaying"once upona time" resemblingchildhoodnurseryrhymesandfilms.Thisgivesthe effectof darkhumouras though "once upona time"shouldmake youthinkof somethingcomfortinge.g.bedtime stories.However the creepinessoverallsit andtake the outsetof comfort.The firstshotis of a childthisgivesthe impressionof horror,asthe dark lightisusedwhichhasconnotationsof deathand nightmares. Furthermore aswe see that there are childreninthe film, due tothe fact thatthey are meantto be innocentandvulnerablemakesthe audience confused.Thisisbecause thiscertainstereotype isnow subvertedandistwistedmakingitmore creepyandunsettling. What are the keysellingpointsin this trailer? Daniel Craigisa USP as he isan unusual choice forthe main lead.Thisisbecause horrormovies conventionallypignotwell-knownactorsforparts, thisisbecause thenaudiencesdon'thave any expectationstowhatmayhappene.g.JenniferAndersonisstereotypicallyknownforromantic comedies,meaningwe will have asanaudience anideato whatwill happenatthe end.Therefore in horror as there isno tellingyoucoulddie,be the victimorthe villain etc. addingtothe suspense of horror. Therefore asDaniel Craigisusedthere isnocertaintytowhat may happentohimin the film makingthe audience more anxiousthroughoutthe wholeprocess.Anotherkeysellingpointisthe supernatural/psychological factor.Thisisintriguingtothe audience asthere isthatsense of confusiontowhatis happeningandwhoisthe victim/villain.Due tothe fact that itis humannature for usto findout the answer,the psychological elementmakesitharderforus to dothat therefore inthe endwe are enticed.AlsoDaniel Craig'svoice overstartingwith"once uponatime".This accompaniedbythe single nightpiano,whichiscontrolledbythe cutsof the shots.This suggeststhe familyisnotincontrol overanyof the situation,neitheristhe audience whichisthreatening. How does it establishthe mood? The use of the voice-overstartingwiththe Nurseryrhyme,immediatelymakesthe audience thinkof children. Alsoasitinvolvestwolittle girlsthe audienceare inshock,as girl stereotypicallyare more vulnerable due towesternideologieswhichare beingrepeatedoveryearsandyearsof media, therefore enhancingthisidea.The twogirlsmake the audiencewanttosympathise withthem,as we immediatelyassumethattheyare indangerand needhelp.Alsothe tone inthe voice overis slowandquiet.Thisimmediatelydoesnotscare the audience butmakesthemfeel depressed. Howeverasthe trailercontinuesthe moodchangesasmore informationisgivene.g.the murders. Thisgivesthe audience more understandinghoweverthe knowledge emitsfeartowardsthe audience.
- 2. How does it use genericcodes? The use of the dark lightingthroughoutthe wholetrailerisa geneticcode withinitself.Darknesshas connotationsof deathandevil,therefore are missingamoodof fear,whichisthreatening tothe audience.Alsoasthe lightingisdarkitisunclearfor the audience whattheyare watching,whichis more confusing,wheneditingtechniquessuchasjumpcutsare usedit ismore dramatisingand shocking.Alsothe darknesscouldbe asymbol withinthe trade up. A symbol of a feature or characteristicof one of the characters,for example asatrailergoeson we geta sense thatDaniel Craig hasa dark side tohischaracter. Moreoverthe symbol couldbe a signof destructionthatwill unfoldwithin the trailer.Furthermore the non- diabeticmusicisanothermaingenericcode.The suddensoundsare soundsthathave beenemphasisede.g.childrenlaughing,doorslamming.Thisis done to firstfrightenthe audiencebutalsothe pianomusicandthe nurseryrhyme music,relate to the childrenthissuggesttheycouldhave amajorpart withinthe film.Alsothe use of children laughingisanotherexampleof darkhumour.Forexample laughterhasconnotationsof happiness and familyhoweverwhenusedinthissituationitemphasisesonthe factthat thisfamilyisnot happy. What is the expectationsof the film? Due to the beginningstartwiththe nurseryrhyme,firstlyitsuggeststhatthe mainfocuswill be on the childrenthishighlightstheirvulnerabilityandisolationfromthe restof the characters. Secondly the ironyis emphasisedasthe conventionsof anurseryrhyme isa happyending.Howeverdue to the fact that it isis a horror thissuggeststhatit will be farfromhappyending.Alsorelatingto audience expectations,horrorshave codesandconventionsthataudiencesexpectandwill see when watchinga horror. Forexample,blood,gore,murders,psychological disturbancesetc. What ideologiesdoesthe trailerestablish? Ideologiesof childrenwhichare testedandmeasuringtheirvulnerability.Byhavingchildreninthis traileritplayswithaudiencesfearsespeciallytargetingparents.Thisisa wayto scare audiencesbut at the same time relate tothemforinstance havingthe childrenbeingmurdered isnotsomething that happenstoregularparentseveryday,howeverlotsof people withinthe audience will have childrenwhichisaway to communicate withthem.Alsohome andsafe touse challenge withinthis trailer.Thisisplayingwithfearsasyour home is meantto representasafe place howeverwhenthis isthe subvertedandtwisteditchallengescertainideologies.Thisshowsthe beautyof ideologiesand howtheylinkinwithgenresforexample horrorsare designedtochallenge ideologiesthistherefore isthe reasonwhywhenwatchingahorror you feel unsafe because all ideologiesare challengedand subverted. Whichelementsare particularly successful inthe trailer? The relationshipbetweenthe non-dieteticsoundandmusiccompare tothe use of editing.For example the beatof the pianonote isadjustedtothe cuts.This issuccessful because itaddstothe sense of creepinessandthatsense of a lack of control towardsthe audience,makingthemfeel unsafe andnot at ease.Alsothe narrative issuccessful,forinstance the familywhichcanbe generalisedtoeverybodybutaddingmurdersinwhichtherefore isplayingwithpeople'sfearsand ideologies.Whenlookingattrailersandthe purpose of traileritisto entice andscare audiencesbut alsomake it lookattractive sothat theywill come andwatch.Therefore whenlookingatthistrailer it hasin mostsensescompletedthat,thisisbecause ithasstar appeal e.g.Daniel Craigthe editingis done verywell e.g.dissolvesandfastcutsand the use of characters e.g.children.
- 3. Whichelementsare least successful? I foundthat the part that wasLeast successful wasinthe trailerwasthat there wastoomuch of the narrative whichwasshown.Whichmade the trailerlessof affective asitwasnotas scary as it could've been.Thisisbecause theycouldinventionof a horror isthe unknownandaddingto that sense of mystery.Thiswastherefore diminishedthroughthe narrative beingshowninthe trailer. Does the trailer meetexpectationsofthe target audience of this filmand how are they explicitly targeted? The target audience of thisfilmisfamilye.g.parentsoryoungadults.Therefore Ithinkthattheydid target them.Thishasbeendone throughtestingandchallengingideologiese.g.childrenindanger and safetyof the home.Therefore ashorrorsare meantto scare and threatenaudiencesthey manage to complete this.Alsoitcouldbe arguedthatanothertargetaudience isteenagers,strictly speakingandtechnicallytheyare the closesttochildren,therefore whensuchtechniquesare used as nurseryrhymesittriggersandemotionwithinthemastheyrememberthe comforttheyfeltwhen hearingbedtime stories.Bythisthenbeingtaintedwithmurdersandhorrorconventionisitthen ruinstheirchildhoodmemoriesandbecomesmore shockingandscarywhenwatchingthe trailer. Narrative structures Todorov withhistheoryof equilibriumanddisequilibriumworkswellwiththistrailer. Itstartswith equilibriumwithvisual imagesof A familye.g.childrenrunningaroundparentslaughing.This immediatelywill make the audience feelcalmandsafe andalso lookat theirownfamiliesandrelate to theirownmemories.Howeverthe state of equilibriumischangedwhenthe repetitive soundof the constant pianonote plays,givingthe impressionof aclocktickingas if time isabout to runout for the family.Thisimmediate whenwe asthe audience findoutthatthe childrenandfamilywere murderedandfromthenon itis a star of disequilibriumandunbalance withinthe trailer.