Cabin in the woods trailer time/analysis

By Lisa Begum

Introduction

• In this slide share I will present images of a timeline I created for The Cabin in the Woods trailer and will be explaining which shots I believe are the most effective in the trailer and why.

At the start of the trailer most of the powerful shots are the ones of all the characters in the car as this is a typical convention in a horror film as they show a group of friends travelling in a car which then usually leads to the death of them. In particular this medium close-up is take from a side angle is strong as it gives us an idea of what the relationship is between these characters and what type of characters they are. For instance the driver could be the alpha-male and the girl near him could be his girlfriend or the typical girl that tends to be the first one that dies.

The Ariel shot used shows us that the characters are travelling to a deserted area/ forest and they are the only car travelling there, which immediately implies they are driving themselves to danger and they are unaware of this.

The low angle shot of the cabin gives the audience an idea that this place has some suspense to it, as the camera slowly pans across the floor this makes the cabin look big, bold and dangerous suggesting it has a lot inside it that can cause harm.

This mid-shot of the group of friends swimming in the lake shows that they are trying to enjoy themselves. This is a typical convention in a horror film as friends normally believe they are having a great time until evil. Harm is unleashed towards them. After this shot the titles begin to appear this implies that in the main the film story may develop after this point as well as the trailer.

I believe this title is effective as it is the first title and it makes audience feel uncertain about what's going to happen when it says ‘YOU THINK YOU KNOW THE STORY’ this is there to make audience watch the whole trailer and try and solve this puzzle that they are confused about, and to grab there attention to go and watch the film as it involves the audience by saying ‘you’

This is a long shot of a corridor that looks very dark and lonesome with a few lights, this is a typical convention of horror. As there is usually quite hotels, forests, houses, cabins and so on. This shot is effective as it makes us wonder if anything will creep up on us.

This is a shot of a figure appearing from a lake, this figure looks very mysterious and unknown as we are unable to see clearly who it is/what it is, this is also another feature that makes it clear that this trailer is of a horror genre as there is normally a weird, mental serial killer in some slasher horror films.

This mid-shot is a very strong shot as it allows us to understand who the main characters are. As we could see three males and one female character we could presume that she would either be the first to die or may be the last one alive as this is typical in a horror film, there is always a female protagonist who is the last one living.

This low angle shot of the male character gives the audience an idea that he is the alpha-male and is the character who keeps the group together as he is strong, his facial expression suggests he is surprised about something this may be all the events taking place in the film that leave him shocked and having to take the lead of taking care of everyone.

This point of view shot allows the viewers to see things from the characters viewpoints and lets them feel more involved in the movie as they can see the characters in the car attempting to drive off and there are several rocks falling on their car blocking there way.

This is a close-up shot of a man holding a sort of weapon to wrap around somebody's neck and pull it. This gives us a clue that the person holding this is the antagonist trying to kill everyone that enters the cabin; near the weapon you could see a body lying on the ground which implies the antagonist has caused this.

This mid-close-up of a mans hand grabbing the male character shows us that he is being attacked by a villain/zombie/serial killer as these are usual characters you would expect to see in a horror movie. Horror films usually include some action scenes and mostly fighting as the antagonists try to haunt or possess or kill the protagonist and in order to avoid being hurt and to defend themselves they have to fight. As the antagonist is breaking his hand through the glass window this shows he is not scared of being hurt and is dangerous to the group of friends that arrived to the Cabin.

I believe this high angle shot which shows the two characters going down in the elevator is very effective as it illustrates to the audience that they are entering a different location which could lead to them being under more danger or less. The way they are both positioned suggests that they do not want to be defeated by the antagonist and want to fight for their freedom.

This close-up of the teenage girl screaming and banging on the glass windows is very powerful as it signifies that they are trapped and are begging for help to be released from wherever they are.