Horror film Analysis of "Insidious"

In this work I will be writing a review on the horror film ‘Insidious’, Trailer and comparing it with another trailer which my partner has evaluated. Horror film trailers always have the same layout; they start by telling the story. Then they show the main scary parts of the film, then the clips speed up and the music gets louder and then it goes silent. Then just as you think the trailer has finished, they end with a massive scare. While watching the ‘insidious’ trailer I could see that they had used the same layout and had kept the same codes and conventions of a horror film. At the start of the trailer it starts with the typical scary music, which is mysterious and starts to build tension. Then we are introduced to a main character and straight after the name of the film appears.

Then like many films we are told that the film is made by the same makers as some other popular similar films. In this case we are told “By the makers of Paranormal Activity and Saw”. This is shown so that people know what kind of standards it is, and if they have seen the example films they will know if they like the film makers or not. For example if a film is created by a director which the public likes they will go and see another film made by them because they like their movies. Next more of the story line is set as we go to a happy period and clips of this happy normal family moving into their new home. Then some more mysterious music starts and the words “Insidious is” pops up onto the screen with a red background and black text. These colours have been chosen to match the movie genre, for example the colour red can simple blood which relates to horror.

Then more of the story line is set when we find out that the child is in a coma. More creepy music starts. Then get dialogue from the mother who says “He’ not in a coma, they don’t know what to call it”. This starts to add mystery to the story as we all think that something not normal has happened to the child. Next in the advert is when all the main scary clips start to happen, this includes clips of a rocking horse rocking by itself. A shadow in the corner of her son’s room and lots of load screaming sounds to make you jump. I also noticed that they had used use of repetition by repeating the text “insidious is” throughout the trailer; this is done for effect and also to get the audience thinking ‘what is insidious?’ At the end of this trailer the clips are extremely fast and the music is getting faster and loader to build tension. Then just like most horror films it goes dead silent and ends with a big scream to scare the audience.