Trailer Analysis - The Cabin in the Woods

The Cabin in the Woods trailer follows the conventions of a normal trailer as it is 2:25 mins long. This means it is not a teaser trailer, but a full length one. This trailer is different to other horror trailers as at the start of it, it is very misleading. There is a group of teenagers who are going camping together and although this may already seem like a typical horror movie, the non diegetic music which is added is very upbeat and happy which suggests at the start the film is a rom/com or comedy. However, as the trailer progresses, the sound changes to more sinister music which suggests that this is now a horror movie. From this already, I can tell that in order for a trailer to be successful and hit the right genre you want it to, you must make sure you add the right music/sounds in order to crate the right atmosphere, if this was wrong, the trailer would take a totally different direction. By the music changing, the viewer knows something bad is going to happen, making it a horror film.

To keep the viewer interested and occupied, a number of different shots have been used. As well as this, in the trailer 'own footage' is used for a part of it and this is effective as the viewer is more at risk and unaware of what is happening/going to happen to the characters which builds adrenaline for the viewer and that is what they want from a horror.  Long shots have been used to establish the scenes in which the teenagers face and also close up shots have been used. These are essential into showing how the characters feel and creating more of a tense atmosphere for the viewer. This trailer contains a lot of sub titles, which are mysterious and keep you guessing. They give hints into what the storyline could be but never reveal what happens and this is effective as after watching the trailer, the viewer will be more likely to want to go and watch the film to find out what happens. There is also editing included which would keep the viewers interest. It helps to show what one of the characters is seeing after something bad happens to them, which again makes the viewer want to see the film even more to find out what happens. The most common colours for this film are dark colours which sets the mood, there is also a lot of red which connotes blood, death and anger which is what people like to see in horror films therefore this film would be successful. At the end of the trailer, the title is shown, it is shown at the end rather than at the start to make the viewer more likely to remember the title of the film. From watching the trailer and getting an insight into what will happen, of course they will want to know what it is called so by having the title at the end, it makes it effective as they can relate what they've just saw to the title which will help them to remember.