What genre is the film, and how does the trailer indicate this?
We can see from the trailer for this film that is is clearly part of the horror genre. It becomes strikingly obvious from about 40 seconds in, there are alot of different factors to consider when thinking about what makes it work. Sound plays a big role in creating the right atmosphere, we can here a heartbeat at the beginning which is in sync with the fade to black. It works really well as when someone is scared there heart beat is prominent so already its showing its audience that something scary/bad is going to happen. The fade to blacks work well too as they don't give to much away, they hide whats happening from the audience (as to not ruin the actual film) but it also helps the audience empathise with the characters as they don't know whats going on either which again gives it a creepy/scary feeling. The fade to blacks also make it seem quite fast paced which is a common feature seen within most trailers especially horror films. It keeps the trailer going as they only have about 2 minutes roughly to convey the story and capture the audiences attention. The trailer shows alot of clips from the film that involve questions for example;
'What is that?'
'What were they all doing here?'
'What the hell are you doing in my house?'
.
The trailer does not have a voice over as this can sometimes ruin the intense atmosphere a horror trailer is supposed to create, so the questions are things both the characters and the audience need/want to know. Again they also keep the trailer moving and provide the opportunity for more things to be revealed which is when the scarier things start to happen.The trailer also uses a really creepy effect that looks like a picture being taken which gives the trailer a weird voyeuristic feeling. The trailer gets really noisy towards the end and it fades to black for at least 15 seconds, the audience can only hear the sound of someone running, screaming and the sound of heavy breathing. This is a really good effect and works really well within the horror genre as its relying on the audiences imagination, the idea being the film is only as scary as you make it.
The lighting is a good representative of the horror genre. Alot of it is a golden colour, which looks a bit dusty and old. Its a good idea as it makes things look untouched and isolated, as though its been that way for a while, its the kind of colour u would associate with the country or the outback as its very natural, its also quite warm, the other colour primarily used is a blueish tint which is a big contrast to the golden colour, it gives more of a cold feeling. This colour is used towards the end when things begin to go wrong and is commonly used within horror films as it creates a really eerie feelings, it also shows loneliness. When put next to the first colour we see it indicates that something has changed, something is wrong, as its quite un-natural.
What do you learn of the story of the film from this trailer?
I think this trailer shows its audience the story really well with out giving to much away. From what i can tell a group of teenagers/young adults are traveling somewhere, they're either passing through Texas or its actually there destination as we are shown a state signpost which establishes the setting and it is also given an onscreen credit. They pick up a hitch hiker who tells them 'they're all dead', obviously they find out some worrying information. Something happens that causes a problem, (we are not shown this but it is implied) they try to find help. They cannot find help, and something/someone pursues them/chases them. We assume that people are hurt/killed but we are not shown this and we are only shown a small glimpse at the very end of the trailer of 'leather face' which keeps people guessing.
What social groups are represented in this film, and how? Are stereotypes and conventional values supported or subverted?
I think that one of the main social groups represented in the trailer is the stereotypical American teenager. In the first few shots we can see they are traveling somewhere, going on the usual kind of 'road trip' we often see within the particular age group. They are portrayed as young free and careless, the couple in the front are seen joking and kissing and there is also a couple in the backseat of the van 'making out'. The trailer is actually for a remake of the film The Texas Chainsaw Massacre from 1974. Obviously sex was not as open back then and there was no Internet, games consoles or sky/cable/digital television so teens had to make there own fun, the film is still set at the same time and i think that some of the values are represented well here. We see alot more shots of the women in the film in trouble and being chased and so on than we do of the men. I think that this is because obviously women are usually portrayed as being 'vulnerable', and again the film had quite a voyeuristic feel to it and obviously women can be seen as desired beings and quite sexual despite the fact that this is a horror film i think that they are playing off this.
I also think that this is again due to the time that the original(and new) film was set as the Vietnam war was ongoing until 1975, so men are going to be portrayed as the stronger sex as they were the ones going to war. I think police are represented in a bad light. Although we do not see much of it in the trailer. We can see that the authority is corrupt as we here them say they need to contact the police and yet towards the end we get flashes of the 'sheriff' with the family (that we assume) is bad, and we also see him with one of the girls who's trying to tell him whats going on, and he doesn't seem eager to help. I think that the trailer also touches on 'redneck' America, the small group of people we see that aren't with the teenagers, seem quite strange and un-educated which i think is quite a stereotypical view of Southerners in America, obviously they are an example of what people assume are 'hillbillies'.
What do you think the target audience for this film is?
I think the target audience for this film is older teenagers. It is R rated in America and rated 18 in Europe as it is quite a violent film. I think much like the remake of A nightmare on Elm street the people who had previously been to see the original film would like to see the remake even if its just to say, 'its not as good as the original'. I think that the horror genre has quite a large fan base/target audience that ranges through alot of age groups and involves both men and women. But generally i think that as the main characters are teenagers, the target audience is also going to be primarily teenagers as well.
