Research of Horror Film

Sinister (2012)

Genre: Horror, Mystery

Time: 110 minutes long

Director: Scott Derrickson

Writers: Scott Derrickson & C. Robert Cargill

Plot Synopsis:

True-crime writer Ellison Oswald (Ethan Hawke) is in a slump; he hasn't had a best seller in more than 10 years and is becoming increasingly desperate for a hit. So, when he discovers the existence of a snuff film showing the deaths of a family, he vows to solve the mystery. He moves his own family into the victims' home and gets to work. However, when old film footage and other clues hint at the presence of a supernatural force, Ellison learns that living in the house may be fatal.

Budget: $3,000,000 (estimated)
Opening Weekend: $18,007,634 (USA) (12th October 2012)
Gross: $48,056,940 (USA) (28th December 2012)

Target Audience:

The target audience for Sinister would be people who enjoy horror/mystery films. This is due to the fact that it doesn't hold back with what it includes in the film with regards to the blood, gore, freakiness and violence. The film does contain quite a few typical conventions you would expect to see in any horror and what you do. Some of the target audience who like horrors may prefer niche independent films in this case, Sinister is not the right one for them. Whereas people who are into stereotypical horror's will love this film as it is full of it. Within this film they use different aspects such as using a foreign symbol which is now a common trait in horror films as it can represent hell/demon which is a popular aspect to add into a film. The whole storyline follows the path of crime  therefore this film will appeal to people who especially like this genre.

Methods of Marketing:

For marketing, the film did a number of different aspects. They created an official page for the film which was published on site and a site for Japan too. They also created an official Facebook page which kept them interactive and social with the audience. By creating their official page for the film they were able to give the target audience information and cliffhangers to the film which would help with promotion as people will want to go and see it more. The Facebook page mean't that people could interact directly with the film and post on the wall to ask questions and queries. This page also gave away spoilers and any links to new methods or marketing. As well as this, there were a number of pictures released which gave away parts of the storyline to the audience to make them want to go and watch the film more. An official poster was released to make people more aware of the film and as well as a poster, a teaser trailer was first released and then an official full length trailer was released, this would've built up the anticipation of the audience and help with reaching a goal with revenue and the Box Office.

The aim of the website was to provide as much information about the page without ruining the plot. The official site would contain links to new methods of marketing therefore would link it all up and make the audience aware of everything available to do with the trailer. This makes it an effective website and allows the audience to stay up to date. The aim of the Facebook page was to create a page where the audience can be interactive and ask questions about the film and providing they don't give away to much, the organisers of the page can reply. The posters aim was to make more people aware of the film, if they see a poster which looks appealing to them they're more likely to want to watch it or go and look into it more. The poster can also be displayed in a variety of good promotional places such as cinemas, side of buses and advert boards. The aim of the teaser trailer was to get people excited for the full trailer and build up tension, this would've created a bigger hype for the main trailer meaning it will be more successful. The trailer was also released first at a film festival in the USA which would've highlighted the release of the film and gained more attention from the audience and possibly people who did not intend on going to see the film.


The Main Cast:

Ethan Hawke

James Ransone

Nicolas King

Juliet Rylance