Research and Planning: Trailer Analysis

LET ME IN 2010

GENRE:

Although the film trailer does make the film appear to be a romance, as is mentioned by one of the viewers of this trailer on youtube, (see above) it is a horror about a twisted girl looking out for a boy who is bullied. This goes along with Steve Neale's theory that genre is a repetition with an underlying pattern of variations, i this case the variation is the romance mixed with the horror. It has a sweet sentiment, however it is dark and twisted, which the trailer shows, particularly in the mise en scene of the trailer; the dark colours, dimly lit alleys and night-time setting all add to an eerie, dark atmosphere which is typical of horror.
There is a lot of on-screen diegetic sound through dialogue, showing that there is complexity in the film as the male lead obviously is confused a lot by something, it is also clear the female lead knows this secret. Even tough this usually the opposite way around with the male sex having a secret, it still is a typical feature of a horror film, like in Seven with John Doe for example.

REPRESENTATION
The stereotype of males being more powerful than females is challenged here, although a main character is male getting picked on by other males and chasing a girl, the girl has power with her dark or mysterious secret. The girl here seems to have the most power and control, however she maintains the stereotypical mystery that women seem to have in films when a male is chasing after them.
The stereotype of a strange character that nobody knows much about is typical of a horror film. The girl in this film is strange, eerie and has a dark twist that must become clear when the film is watched. This is to entice an audience as they would already be horror fans and would recognise this, then go and watch the film to find out what the girl's secret is.

NARRATIVE
There is a slow build-up in the narrative where the setting is established slowly and pieces of the story are given away, though in very little detail, until the last few seconds establishes that the girl is possibly a villain, and the text tells that she wants the boy or has power over the boy.
It does not give away whether she is a hero or villain, however she does seem to have characteristics of an anti-hero. For example she appears to be involved in murders and attacks, though she has a sweetness about her and things are good when the male and female protagonists are together, for example close ups of either of them smiling in each others company.

AUDIENCE
The trailer here was approved for all audiences to watch, which is a bit of a surprise for a horror, however it does mean that the film can be marketed on daytime television slots, as many more people can see it, such as teenagers who would have younger siblings in the room and would not see it had it not been allowed on television until after the watershed.
This trailer also lets the audience be very passive, not much thought is needed when watching it, since it tells the audience all they need to know about the narrative of the film, as well as showing just enough of the film to let them know there will be action, violence, and quite a few scares, causing it to seem an appealing horror.

MEDIA LANGUAGE
Cut away shots are featured heavily in this trailer to make the fast-paced editing give the audience a thrill, it gets the adrenaline pumping and tension built very quickly, just like any good horror should do.
Long shots are very focused on showing what is seen by the characters in the film, they are cleverly used to show that it can be seen something is amiss and also creates the idea of mystery in the film, again enticing an audience. These shots can also be considered as point of view shots in some cases.
Pans make the scenes flow smoothly, particularly when things are calm, they give the audience a feel of experiencing what is happening as it happens, creating confusion and interesting them to discover more.
There are plenty of fades to black with text on the page, as there is with almost any other horror trailer. This again tells the audience what kind of film Let Me In is.
Lots of the diegetic sound is dialogue, yet there is also eerie non-diegetic music each time suspense needs building, like with the girl in the tunnel before she attacks the man, another typical trait of horror.
There is high key lighting at the start of the trailer, which sets a happy and cheerful tone, possibly making the trailer seem more like it is a romance, but gradually the colour seeps out and there is much more low-key lighting to show the dark gloominess of a horror film.