Todorov’s narrative structure does not strictly apply to
this trailer as the equilibrium is not of the average one that is seen. In “Devil
Inside”, the equilibrium is that of a woman with a possessed mother, and the
disruption is Isabella helping her. The
beginning of the trailer features a 911 phone call featuring “three people are dead” and “I killed them” in a creepy, disjointed
tone, thus establishing the genre of horror and sets the dark tone of the
trailer. Following this, piano music begins to sound as the narrative of the
film is established in a conversation between a woman, who states herself as
the obvious antagonist’s daughter, with a group of people, featuring a priest.
This is the first signifier of a supernatural movie, as priests and religious
imagery are a common convention, just as crucifixes are; these are shown throughout
the hospital on various doors as well as carved upon the antagonist’s arms in
both normal and inverted fashions. Clips of news reels are shown to add realism
to the plot, and to add depth to what the character, Isabella, is saying and to
show the audience what the antagonist looks like. Shots of police cars and medium
shots of reporters reflect clearly the overlaying narrative that the mother
committed a murder. As the mother turns and looks through the back of the
police car window with lifeless eyes, the horrific nature of this woman is
first shown. A photograph of Maria is shown with the camera zooming in upon her
face, displaying clearly that this character plays an important role.
By dressing and looking like an average mother, realism is
created for the audience; they can put themselves in Isabella’s shoes. Isabella
then sets the scene of the trailer by telling us that her mother is in a
hospital in Rome, long connotated with Christianity, religion and the Vatican,
and states that it is her goal to save her mother. The term exorcism is said,
linking in the religious imagery to the storyline that is featured throughout
the trailer as iconography of the paranormal genre as the music begins to grow
more tense. There is an establishing shot of a panning view of Vatican City,
emphasising the heavy religious aspects within this movie and the fight between
good and evil, before Isabella is seen walking through a bleak courtyard in
warm, winter clothing in a low angle shot, meant to make a character look
intimidating, but actually just portraying Isabella as a main character in the
plot, just as the zooming in of the picture did for the mother. The setting is
seen to be during winter, as it represents the death of nature, and within this
film: the death of a soul.
Isabella
is shown in a medium two shot with a doctor, as presumed by the white lab coat,
in a blank, white hallway. The colour scheme not only represents a lack of
life, but almost heavenly, as if her mother is already dead. Their reunion is
paired with eerie music of violins, and by preceding this scene with CCTV style
footage and providing a panic button; the feeling of danger is enhanced. Whilst Isabella is dressed in normal, average
clothing that the audience would recognise, the mother, Maria, in a zoomed in,
over-the-shoulder long shot, is dressed in a hospital gown, cardigan and socks,
contrasting Isabella and soon to become her key “look”, and is presented as
dazed and confused, bringing forth connotations of mental asylums and
illnesses. The bland colour scheme represents the theme of a lack of life that
was previously hinted at through the weather. Her messy hair reflects her crazed
state of mind, and her make-up is designed to make her look sallow, with sunken
eyes like that of a dead body. This and the genre of supernatural is confirmed
by the close up of crosses carved upon her arm and inner bottom lip, through
special effects make-up, and her innocent, child like beckoning as the soundtrack
goes silent before screaming. Eerie music begins again as the image then
flickers, as if on CCTV and flashes in and out of black, featuring the
antagonist screaming and gesticulating wildly.
This continues until
the series of shots ends with a close up of Isabella sobbing hysterically.
Religion is then once more brought into the film with the reappearance of the
priest from the beginning conversation who tells Isabella that she must watch
an exorcism to gain understanding. The scene then cuts from a small, enclosed
room with warm, peach coloured wallpaper and brick to a cold, blue tinted
tracking shot of the three walking into a house. The house that they are
welcomed into is very bland in colour that reflects the lifelessness of the
human inside. The group are led downstairs in a high angle shot and through a
series of hallways to where the victim lays, reflecting how deep down the
possession can reach, and just how much protection the house owners need from
the victim. A sheet is removed to see a long shot of a disfigured young woman
on a hospital-like bed. The
young woman is dressed in a seemingly innocent, white bed clothing, that is
used to highlight the grotesque positioning of her limbs and that her innocence
has been violated by the demons possessing her.
Her bones pop out of their sockets with amplified sound as
the shot cuts to a shocked and terrified Isabella, before cutting to a priest
turning on a machine of some sort and then flickering to an extreme close up of
an eye, which when the scene cuts back to the priest by the machine, turns out
to be from the camera the priest holds. The feature of science mixed with
religion is unconventional to supernatural films, but by pushing the rules of
conventions, the writers draw the audience further in. In a close up of the
victim, Isabella’s name is mentioned in a hoarse, demonic voice, and from the
subsequent reactions of Isabella, the priests and the victim, more intrigue is
created in the audience. Multiple angles, including a bird’s eye and worm’s eye
view, of the victim’s suddenly levitating body are shown with a stab of sound
before the first strap is shown, “This January”, to increase the audience’s
heart rate and to maintain their attention Distorted marks on this strap are
reminiscent of the shape of crucifixes, emphasising the religious imagery once
more. Close ups of the technology are used; however it is every day technology
that the audience may have used at home. Four voices are heard on the
recording, meaning that the antagonist is possessed by four spirits, deepening the
plot further. A quick cut of a time-lapse of a church is shown with a stab of
orchestral music, reminding the audience of the religious theme of the trailer.
A
hospital room is shown as they work on the antagonist, where she yet again has
a demonic fit. More conventions are shown by throwing a man against a wall with
inhuman strength and singing a lullaby to her daughter over eerie music; a
contrapuntal sound for this genre, and then holy water. “Between science and
religion” is shown, reaching out to atheists, spiritualists, Christians and all
faiths over a background with more defined inverted crosses; signs of the
anti-Christ. The straps are also used to tie the shots together into a more
cohesive narrative as well as increasing the fear in the audience. The
quick-cut montage is then featured with the contrapuntal lullaby being sung
over the top, with conventional images of possessed people hidden in the
shadows behind a character before a strap, “between hope and fear”, a medium
close up of a possessed man (the priest), the antagonist grabbing at someone in
another demonic fit, before another strap, “No soul is safe”, and then another
series of quick cuts; getting attacked in a car, running to a hospital room and
the young possessed woman having demonic fits, and climbing the wall.
The
quick cut montage is ended with Isabella leaning closely to her mother, telling
the demons to let her mother go. They respond; “You’ll burn” with multi-layered
voices, creating a demonic tone. A stab is then showed with the mother flying
across the room, then screaming in a close up before a dimly lit, quick cut
shot within a dark room of the young possessed woman grabbing for the camera,
adding further realism. The fast paced nature of the quick-cut montage is to
raise the audience’s heart rate and entice them to watch the movie, something
this trailer does masterfully. It is through the range of sounds played over the
shots of lullabies and eerie noises paired with the emphasised heavy breathing
and screams of the clips that the audience is pulled in. As the title
information plays, Maria is heard in a non-diegetic soundtrack, linking the end
of the trailer back to the beginning. The
editing for this trailer is effective as whilst is does stick to the convention
of slowing increasing to the fast cut montage, there are instances where the
trailer will slow down at seemingly random before a big scare in order to
recapture the audience’s attention. The quick cuts and those that seem to
flicker in the style of a VHS tape are conventional to this genre as it
enhances the distorted, possessed feel of the narrative, and is used in
congruence with the soundtrack and pace of the scenes. This trailer is, overall, very effective in
capturing and retaining the audience’s attention in a way that we hope to
replicate within our trailer. We plan to take much inspiration from this text
due to its successful execution.
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