Texas Chainsaw Massacre - Horror film trailer

Horror trailer conventions
- Scary music
- Fast paced scenes
- Screaming
- Running

Texas Chainsaw Massacre





There are some credits/intertitles throughout this trailer to explain part of the film as it is following on from the previous one. For example 'In 1974, a legend, was born' all in capitals on a black screen, in order to ensure the audience are reading it and taking in what it says. Further into the trailer it says 'This January' then 'it happened before.' 'This January' makes sure the audience know when it is out, so when to look out for it, and 'it happened before' reminds audience members of the previous 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre' so if they haven't seen it before, they have an opportunity too. Following on from 'it happened before' is 'it's happening again' which is frightening to see as it is in bold white writing on a black background. The use of many intertitles shows a kind of story, which gives a clue to the audience as to what they will be seeing and what the film will involve. Without the intertitles it may not be clear enough to the audience as to what is happening and the relevance of it all.

During this trailer there is a fair bit of dialogue talking about the house and the person who owned it, in order to give the audience an idea to why they are there in the first place and who the big house belongs too. After the intitle 'in 1974' the mood of the trailer changes due to the music and shots we are seeing. The dialogue after that is just of the girls screaming as they are hunted down by this sedistic killer.

The genre of this film is horror, as it involves lots of killing and screaming/running. As soon as we see the chainsaw and deserted house we realise that the film will be scary, and that many people are going to die.

The music at the beginning of the trailer is quite slow and deep, with a man singing along with it. After the last line of 'God help the beast in me' the music turns very dark and spooky, with the sound of someone starting a motorbike followed by a bang of a drum and a noise that sounds like some sort of creature. The music is very sinister and dark, and a sound of a chainsaw then appears. All throughout the trailer the music is made as creepy as possible until the sound of the chainsaw stops and just footsteps can be heard. A series of boom sounds that are reflective of gun shots can be heard, and almost the sound of helicopters etc make the sounds effective and busy.

The pace during this trailer is quite slow at first, the shots aren't amazingly quick, but still fairly quick. After most scenes they fade to black to keep certain areas a mystery to the audience. After the first intertitle the shots speed up a bit so that we can not fully make out what is happening in some shots, so that they are scary as they are unknown. After 'This January' we can see quite a rapid increase in pace, and as 'It happened before' fades away, the scenes are very fast paced so that we see quite a lot but do not know the order or relevance of it, so that we, the audience members are encouraged to go and see it to see how it all fits in.

The shot types/camera angles in this trailer vary. From the beginning they are quite basic long shots and mid shots, so that we understand who the main characters are and the location etc. The shot through the old, black spike gates give us the impression that where they are going to stay is spooky, and by the gates they are either trying to keep something out, or trying to keep something in, due to how high they are. As more important things happen, the shots change to close up's, which are for example, of the spooky old painting and the record player which is playing creepy music. We then see a close up of someone washing their hands in an old, rusty basin, but what they are washing off is unknown. It could be blood or dirt, which makes the audience question why he has such dirty hands, why his basin and room looks so dingy and dirty, and who is he and what relevance he has. As the close up's continue we see a box with something inside it, his mouth, and his fingers. We see many body parts of his except a full shot of his face and body, which keeps him as a mysterious character. Towards the end we see a high angle shot of someone wandering through the woods on their own which makes the audience think they are going to die and continue to watch it to find out what happens. There are many close up's of the chainsaw to help to explain the meaning of the name, and what relevance the name has.

For this film to be successful, the age rating should be 15 upwards, but due to the scenes shown I think an 18 may be more appropriate. As this film has not yet come out it does not have an age rating, so most likely it would probably be an 18. The issue with it being an 18 is a lot of younger people may not be able to see it, so the film company would miss out on the 15-24 year old's who would not be able to see it due to it's high rating. The reason it would probably be an 18 is due to all the gore and violence involved.

The unique selling point of this film could be that it is a remake of the old film from 1974 which was hugely successful, so the audience will want to see what has changed, and be encouraged to go and see the new film as the old one was so brilliant.

There is not really a voiceover to this film as what the characters are saying is so important, that any voiceover would distract you from listening to them. Also the music plays a very important role so the producers do not want any distraction from the audience focusing completely on the trailer and the scenes being shown.