Horror Trailer Analysis - Scream

Scream is a very opposite type of horror movie to Paranormal Activity, throughout the trailer there was a voice over, telling you different parts of the story but within this trailer it didn’t give you the full plot it just gave teasers throughout the clips with the voice over telling you what’s happening or what is about to happen. Although you would think in a stereo typical horror trailer, they start with the good life and everything is normal but the difference between that and the scream trailer is that as soon as the trailer starts the horror kicks in with a mysterious voice which the is used as the voice over throughout of the horror movie showing that it’s the villain telling the story and not the victim like a stereo typical horror trailer would usually do.

From the trailer we see the characters that we expect to see the young blonde pretty girl who usually plays the victim that needs saving also the killer who will look scary or in a mask of some sort to scare you. From this trailer by showing us who the actually demon is, is very different to paranormal activity because there is no villain therefore showing you the different types of horror movies. The trailer imminently highlights who the main character will probably be based on by the first clip, being about and around her also putting the suspense on the audience why this creepy voice has rung her at this time of night. Also showing how deserted and alone she is because she is I this massive house on her own in the middle of nowhere, setting the séance within the trailer.

The stereo typical horror movie trailer kicks in after the scène has been set by one line said by the voice on the phone “because I want to know who I’m looking at”. As soon as the line is said showing how the transition changes to the main plot of the story where the scary clips are added. By these been added it brings the audience in because they want to know what is going to happen at the end, building up the tension giving them the feeling that they would like to watch the movie. The difference between this trailer to paranormal activity is that the paranormal trailer follow the codes and conventions of a horror trailer starting with normal house life usually with a family or someone on their own in a house, then switching to clips of the scare throughout the film ending with the big scare at the end. But on scream there are just clips of quotes throughout the movie at the end of the trailer showing the difference between the types of movies because they did not end with how we expect showing the difference between the two trailers. Making us and the audience think that they are two totally different films.