Analyses of Horror Movie Trailer: Last Exorcist

The trailer for this analysis is the supernatural “Last Exorcist”. As our film trailer is of this sub-genre and also deals with possession, I have decided to analyse this trailer.

The trailer tells the tale of Reverend Cotton Marcus and a documentary crew visiting a man and his daughter in Louisiana, 2009, to exorcise the devil from the man’s daughter; however the demon proves to be much stronger than he anticipated. The trailer begins with the Reverend and his companion driving through a derelict town, soon named Ivanwood, Louisiana in 2009. The characters stop to ask for directions but the man purposely directs them away from the area and then attacks their car by throwing mud as they frantically drive away. The dilapidated nature of the area is shown again and then the audience see the cause for the characters’ travels. In an interview, the man they meet, Louis Sweetzer, tells them of his wife’s death and how his daughter, Nell, has struggled to cope and has “the devil” within her. The Reverend then decides to try and exorcise the demon from Nell, however something goes wrong and the demon takes over Nell’s body. The audience then see Nell kill a white cat, and then stand at the end of a darkly lit hallway before approaching the crew. The scene changes to the crew filming in a pitch black room and the Reverend tells them to turn their lights off. Nell is sitting on top of a wardrobe and staring down at them, straight into the camera. The scene cuts to black, and then, presumably Nell’s, feet are seen walking along hardwood floors, the boards creaking under her and chains around her ankles. Nell is then suddenly outside of the house and the crew are filming her and she watches as she walks, watching them like prey. The editing gets quicker and the scene cuts to the Reverend and the girl in the barn as he slowly walks to her, then quickly cuts to her breaking her own neck. Louis then decides to “save his daughter’s soul” by shooting her, and the scene cuts to Nell on the porch steps and she launches at the camera, making the audience believe that she attacked her father. The quick cut montage shows the reverend trying to help a flailing Nell, the crew running frantically from something into the safety of the house, Nell crawling across the ceiling, the Reverend in the ceremony of exorcism with the reactions to the process from Louis, Cotton and Nell, her father trying to save her, a cross being raised, Nell screaming, the barn being set on fire, more religious imagery and crosses, and then Nell bending backwards with the sound of bones crunching. The movie title then fades onto screen with an edited image of Nell standing in the hallway, the image distorted and the layer of it moving around before institutional information is shown.

 The trailer hasn’t got a set structure, and the beginning isn’t even tranquil. The start of the trailer is unsettling for the audience, who can tell that something bad is going to happen through the foreshadowing of the man throwing mud at the car and warning them and the neglected house and bus featured. The disruption occurs after the Reverend tries to exorcise the demon from her, and then the scenes following jump time periods back and forth within the time line of the film to give a frenzied sense to the events after the exorcism. The editing speeds up from the fades at the beginning of the trailer eventually to the quick cut montage at the end.

Sound

This is a vital element to horror films as it creates a tone for the film and enhances the fear through silence or loud noises. The first scene has the non-diegetic soundtrack of eerie choir music with a ghostly gasp as Rev. Cotton turns the page of The Bible. This music continues until the scene cuts to him in a car, driving, and ends with a slight boom from a drum before an unnatural electrical sound occurs after the character mentions the devil to scare the audience by using a sound then sounds like metal upon metal, and makes the hair stand up on the backs of the audience’s necks. A drum sounds as the first strap appears to mimic a heart beat before the soundtrack cuts back to the eerie choir music. Another unnatural electrical noise is used after the man threatens the Reverend and the crew and then the sound of the mud hitting the car is emphasised to again mimic the heavy beat of a heart and scare the audience. The electrical sound is then used again as the scene transitions to institutional information and repeats as the scene moves between each company, and then again as the next strap appears. A new soundtrack of non-diegetic sound appears now with an electrical sound to it and a ghostly inhale mixed with a roar as exorcisms are mentioned. This stops with the effect of the sound being ‘sucked away’ to tense music for the meeting with Louis Sweetzer. As the scene is inverted with a red colouring, the electrical sound is repeated to show danger to the audience. A beat and a light wind howl are heard over the strap and continuing on very faintly into Louis’ interview and then the interview with Nell. Towards the end of Nell’s scene, a crescendo in orchestral music sounds, ending with the electrical noise and a strong drum beat. Nell’s heavy breathing and a ringing noise is heard as the reverend begins to perform the exorcism and gets louder until it ends with the same electrical noise that gets ‘sucked away’. Another boom and eerie orchestral music is heard as a strap is shown and continues as the demon takes over Nell’s body. The soundtrack cuts out as the scene cuts to black and returns loudly as the scene returns and Nell’s neck snaps and persists until the scene cuts to black again. The sound of heavy breathing is emphasised as Cotton talks to the girl and orchestral music begins to swell again before ceasing as Nell responds; “In the fire”. A different electrical sound is heard, like the sound of helicopter blades, to match the quick cutting of the scene to show the destruction of the Nell the audience met towards the start of the trailer. Creepy orchestral music is played in a diminuendo as the camera moves closer to the house in a point of view shot as the possessed girl, and then closer to the white cat when the music ends and stabs of sound are heard along with the cat screeching. The music then is a crescendo again of tense music as Nell appears in the hallway and walks closer to the crew. The crescendo gets higher and higher to make the audience’s hearts beat faster and has an over laying unsettling electric sound until a stab of sound. The audience then hear the heavy breathing of Nell, the creak of her footsteps on the floor boards and the chains around her ankles before a stab of sound intended to scare the audience. Straps appear on stabs of sound as another crescendo is played until Louis says the he will save his daughter’s soul and cocks his gun. As Nell jumps at the camera another stab is heard and a scream to make the audience jump and emphasise the action. As the quick montage plays, unsettling sounds like a metal saw are heard as drums beat and this gets louder and faster, increasing the audience’s heart beat until it stops suddenly, and then returns in a stab with a roar to scare the audience. The only sounds heard are a light sound of crickets as heard in the southern states of America and the fade in of the text. The recurring use of metal upon metal and electrical sounds are used to set the audience’ teeth on edge and make them feel disconcerted. The drums and stabs of sound are to emphasise the action in a clip and the orchestral music gives fear to something that is supposed to be beautiful and calming.

Mise-en-scene

Nell and Louis Sweetzer are dressed conventionally for a southern family in old style farming clothes. Louis in worn jeans, a grubby undershirt and a denim button-up to show that they don’t have much money and he is an average man and Nell is first dressed in a plain, simple, childlike grey cardigan, grey shirt, pink below-knee skirt with frilled socks and basic shoes, and is the dressed in a white night gown. The white gown is usually connotated with virtue, but the nature of the character alters that, and as does the grimy look to it. Her clothing reflects her soul; it should be clean and virtuous, but is soiled with the devil. Rev. Cotton’s white suit also reflects this, but with him it says that his nature of work is virtuous, but those that he works with are not. By removing his shirt and rolling up his sleeves, the audience see that the line of work is hard and that this case is incredibly difficult. The costumes of the sub-characters are conventional to the setting and time-period with the man in the beginning in a worn tee and an equally worn camouflage cap and the barely seen crew members I conventional jeans and tees. The average, every-day nature of the clothing makes the film seem much more realistic to the audience as it may be what they wear.

 The hair styles for the males in this film fit societal conventions of short, or thinning in the case of Louis. Nell’s hair, however, makes a transition from the clean, neat hair of the beginning to the ratty, sweaty hair towards the end showing the alteration in her character from sweet, normal daughter to possessed by a demon. This is also the case in regards to make-up. The males all have make-up that isn’t noticeable on camera, just enough to make them seem more lively, such as foundation, in contrast to Nell. This character begins the trailer looking youthful, but slightly tired, possibly from the stress and lack of sleep from her mother’s death that still troubles her, but after that scene, there is a visible change in her appearance. As her clothes get messier and grimier, so does her hair and make-up. During the exorcism itself, she has a sheen of sweat coating her face which could be in relation to the pain of a demon within her or fear of forthcoming pain of the exorcism, but the audience would connotated her sweat with that of a fever and see her as sick.  Her bruising around the eyes also add to this, and that shadowing and the pale make-up used on her face creates a lifelessness, as if the demon has sucked it all out of her.

The setting for this trailer is contained in an isolated area of southern America in Louisiana. The majority of the trailer is filmed on the land of a farmhouse including the house and the barn. To begin with, the house is filmed in available lighting, but as the trailer goes on, there is only background and foreground lighting used to imitate the evil within Nell, as if the house is as possessed as she is. The barn is the location for the exorcism and is returned to multiple times in the trailer to emphasise its importance. Within the barn, it is almost as if there is a spotlight on the opening where they perform the ritual, like a performer would have. By focusing the light and camera on this area, it creates almost a stage for the exorcism. The land around the house, including the shack and the rusted bus at the very beginning of the trailer, is very barren to add to the effect of lifelessness that surrounds the Sweetzer family.

 The main props used in this trailer are that of a religious nature, and crop up during the quick cut montage towards the end. This could be so that it is the most memorable part, and the image of the Reverend raising the cross in front of a roaring fire is kept in their minds. Religious imagery is a popular convention in supernatural films as it is often the main way that people use to rid themselves of evil spirits and curses. In this trailer, there is a progression in the use of props as the first view of a cross is in the light, as if it is a saviour, and the second, it is in darkness against a fire. This could tell the audience that even God cannot save them.

 The only other prop used in this trailer is Louis’ gun that he intends to use in order to kill Nell and save her. Each prop featured in this trailer is intended to save her, but seems to not be able to.

Camera/editing/straps

The camera angles and shots in this trailer vary to make it more interesting for the audience. A wide assortment of angles and shots are used in order to create a certain atmosphere for the audience. For example, this shot has been used to focus on the religious imagery of praying by placing the character on the right hand side and within a single window pane. This is for two reasons: firstly, the window pane frames the character and contrasts against that of the left which is practically empty, and also it gives the sense that someone is watching him pray, and that it is something that is worth watching. Another type of shot used is a medium close-up to give the audience a full view of the action and thus increasing the terror. This is also true in regards to a close-up.

This type of shot is used frequently for the red filter/contrast effect on the short cut scenes. This is to not only scare the audience, but let them see the evil right up close. During the quick cut montage, long shots, high angle shots, and medium shots are used to make the audience feel like a bystander and that they have no control over the scene. When Nell is clutching her head and screaming, a push in is used to make the audience feel that loss of control and to also make them feel as if she is screaming at them. Closer shots are used to make the audience feel as if they are in the action, and long shots are used to make the viewer feel like the problem is large and insurmountable.

The editing used in this trailer evolves as the clip continues. When the trailer is being established in the opening scene, fades are used often to show the calm before the storm, but contains flashes of inverted colours or the red filter/contrast effect to foreshadow the danger to come. The editing technique used makes it look as if the video tape they are filming on is faulty or broken, thus enhancing the fear factor because it makes the audience believe that all of their filming equipment, and possibly other electrical items, is faulty and that the protagonists aren’t safe. As the trailer moves forward, the filter/contrast effect is used more often to make it seem as if the demon is infecting the video as well as Nell, and the cuts become faster and faster. In the quick cut montage, the cuts are joined with something that sounds like a shutter and a strong beat to make the audience’s hearts race and increase their fear. By suddenly stopping the montage with a cut to black, the audience feel safe that it is over, but the use of a sting with quick cuts makes the audience scared all over again.

The straps change in this trailer due to their relevancy and meaning. To begin with, the straps “Ivanwood, Louisiana 2009”,  “Reverend Cotton Marcus has performed over 47 exorcisms” and “This will be his last” all are in the same font and with the same fade in effect as they are all narrative establishing straps. These ones need to draw the audience in and make them curious about the film by using a worn font and a simple colour scheme. The strap lines change after Louis says “the devil got in her” to a white, formal serif font with a red glow that contrasts the simple white typeface font of the previous straps. This change represents the importance of the strap by making it bolder. Eli Roth is a big name in the horror industry, as is the movie “Dawn of the Dead”, so the mention of them in bold writing is to add credibility to the story and make the audience intrigued to see it. After this, the straps all relate to the title and release of the movie with “Coming Soon”, “He Preys”, “On The Flesh”, “Of The Innocent”, “The Last Exorcism”, “Written by Huck Botko & Andrew Gurland, Directed by Daniel Stamm” , and “Coming Soon”. By splitting up the strap, the creator makes it more memorable and striking within the audience’s mind.  The repetition of “Coming Soon” does this also and convinces the audience to keep a look out for it. The mention of the writers also adds an element of credibility to it as the audience may be horror film buffs and know the names.

Lighting

The purpose of lighting is to create or improve the atmosphere and tone of a scene whether that is using natural lighting to create a realistic feel, or low lighting to make it seem scary or mysterious. The beginning of this trailer uses natural lighting until we reach the disruption scene; the exorcism. From then on out, the lighting is much darker creating a scarier scene for the audience. When in the barn, there is light coming from above Nell and the Reverend, leaving a pitch black shadow underneath them whenever they move suggesting a darkness that is close to them, that is within, or will touch, each of them. By using lighting from above, the sweat on Nell’s face is highlighted, and also it makes her brown eyes look almost completely black, so that even before the exorcism has begun, the audience can see something lying under the surface. There is a very short cut to a long shot of the house, and the only lighting used is available lighting on the porch or indoors, leaving the rest of the scene in darkness. This creates a haunting, foreboding feel for the house, and makes it look almost like a face, the whiteness of the porch being teeth. What seems like a cracked pot in the foreground of the scene gives an ominous feel for the destruction and chaos that is to come. In a stab of light, the colour of the scene is decreased in saturation leaving only the harsh white and black of the scene, and done so quickly that the flash makes the audience’s hearts jump slightly. The viewers are returned back to the barn as Nell looks to 

her right asking “what is that?” and as the character leans up, a shadow is created underneath her and it seems as if she is looking at the darkness and she believes it is coming for her. There is a quick cut to a close up of Nell in profile lighting that has a red filter on it to symbolise blood and danger that will follow the ceremony. By using profile lighting, it seems as if the darkness has taken over Nell, and her human side is losing as the next quick cut is of a close-up of her face in bright light with a scared expression. The scene cuts back to the barn where she is on the floor and feels something crawling up her arm and then to another red filtered clip of Nell presumably on her back, with lighting from the foreground that puts emphasis on the red of the filter, the effect that it has on her skin and eyes, looking as if she is coated in blood.

 The barn is then shown again, the quick changes in lighting and scene made to look as if the demon is fighting its way through her. The father and Reverend are then seen further away from the girl, both in profile lighting. This has been used to emphasise the expressions of their faces. Grief for Louis, and shock and fear for Cotton. This may also have been used to foreshadow the demon encroaching upon them as well. The profile lighting on the Reverend is much harsher than that on Louis, however, possibly because he is a religious figure, and this demon is much worse than he has ever dealt with, thus attacking his religious nature worse than that of her father’s.

We then see a close up of the Reverend cloaked in shadow that emphasised the features of his face and shows that he is still human after the exorcism. By following this with a clip of Nell kneeling over, and her hair covering her face, the audience are aware that this girl is no longer the sweet but troubled daughter, she is something different entirely. This idea is continued by using the red filtered scene again but with Nell looking straight into the camera, the red filter and high contrast making her eyes seem pitch black, and making her seem, for the first time, properly possessed.

The barn is then shown in a long shot with available lighting from the security lights, but in a red tint, linking back to previous scene signalling that there is danger in this barn. The white cat is shown in bright high angle to make her white fur seem even more so, and then the quick cuts with the same tint but with red filter continues the theme of the quick cuts and shows the girl attacking the cat without actual gore, another convention of supernatural horror. The contrast between white and red shows the murder of innocence and reflects that of Nell. The hallway scene is a use of background lighting to leave Nell in shadow, adding a frightening, ominous atmosphere. There is a slight light from available lighting behind the Reverend to show him walking towards darkness, towards the demon. The rapid flashing of lights is to disorientate the audience slightly and to add an extra element of fear to scene when paired with the drum beat and electrical sound.

By using a very bright light in the foreground, showing Cotton and his film crew, the entire background is left in complete obscurity, and by telling the camera man to turn off the light, the Reverend is seen to want to go into complete darkness, making the audience fear for his safety against the demon.

When in the room, however, the technique of foreground lighting is continued and paired with high angle lighting as Nell is atop the wardrobe to make the girl seem imposing even though she is in the foetal position. The flash cut of another scene before returning to the original is effective as it uses the same technique as that of the red filter scene, red filter and high contrast, but removes the red filter to make the girl seem lifeless. Even without the red signalling danger, this seems even scarier as there is no foreshadow, and it could come at any time.

The next scene, of Nell walking with a chain around her ankle, is presumably available lighting that highlights the worn floorboards and the simplicity of her dress and shoes. The following scene uses available lighting also from inside the house to create profile lighting as Nell walks predatorily outside and this adds to the demonic look of Nell. The trailer then goes back to barn scene with low angle lighting shining down upon Nell and then profile lighting on the Reverend to emphasise the interpretations created before of fear on both people’s parts, and an inhuman like nature on Nell’s. The repeated lighting and blurred filter adds to the creepiness of the scene and Nell breaking her own neck, and by keeping the wheat in the foreground in focus, it emphasises the inhuman action of the scene although it is blurred.

 Louis is then seen in available, almost profile, lighting to add fear to the scene as he says that he will kill his daughter to save her. It reflects the darkness he sees within her, and the darkness her must face within himself to do the deed. It also highlights the tears in his eyes over the notion that must kill Nell, and pulls on the emotional link between the character and the audience.The following scene emphasised Louis’ point as there is low angle lighting to emphasise Nell’s human nature which, as she gets closer and attacks the crew, engulfs her whole face to take that away.

The strong contrast and red filtered effect is then used again to see, who is seemingly, the Reverend tearing Nell away from the porch and across the lawn as she screams, showing the terror and brutality that comes with an exorcism. This effect is then repeated as the crew members run into the house, the camera following them as if they are being chased and then again as Nell crawls across the ceiling. The strong uses of red and black in this scene accentuate the notion that she is possessed, as does her crawling across the ceiling.

The trailer once again cuts back to Cotton performing the exorcism in profile lighting, Nell in available lighting, the contrast/filter effect and then Louis in profile lighting before it cuts to black. This is used to constantly remind the audience of the reason these events are happening so that they don’t get lost in the action of the film. Again, it cuts between the barn scene, a contrast filter scene and back to the barn, but it then followed by a new one of Louis carrying a violent Nell away from the crew in foreground lighting that highlights the anger in her face. This effect continues as the Reverend holds up a cross and then when Nell is writhing on a makeshift bed.

 However, when the Reverend is holding a cross up to Nell in the quick cut montage, there is high angle lighting and high angle camera to make him feel dominating, as if he has the power of God on his side and is taking control of the situation. Although, the scene is followed by a close-up of Louis with tears in his eyes in profile lighting which suggests that none of them have control. More red filter effects are used as the quick cut montage continues and fire is now present, so the connotations include danger, blood and hell. The final scene of this montage however is a seemingly normal image of the camera crew screwing on a lens, however it is cracked, symbolising the crack the demon has created in their simple, rural life and how what at first seemed like a simple exorcism has turned into something so much more.

The final scene of the trailer is in the same contrast/red filter effect, continuing that theme, and emphasises the blood on her white dress, the awkward, disjointed stance that she is in, and the deep, dark shadow that is beneath her. The film title strap also contains this effect, thus ending the trailer with a creepy, but familiar scene.

This teaser trailer is very successful in attracting the target audience as it practically ticks off the conventions of exorcism movies from a list. They create enough tension and fear to intrigue the audience to see more, but managed to tell the entire storyline whilst doing so.