Film trailer analysis

The diegesis of this trailer of this movie Tormented(2009) is based on the attack of a group of teenagers who taunt an asthmatic student Darren Mullet. Little do they know in his death, he returns the favour....

The trailer opens within the mise en scene of a house party. A low angle shot mid close up of a group of teenagers shows their amusement of playing pranks on each other, looking dominant and establishing their role as the protagonists of the trailer.  Presumably, this shot already show the audience that the protagonists are the popular "it" crowd whom like to make fun of others, even within their own group. An equilibrium is established.

An over the shoulder shot succeeding this shows the same group of teen protagonists in a school, surrounding a chubby, boy. This is presumably to bully him as his stooped body position suggests he has just been pushed. The target audience will recognise this stereotypical character as the victim and under the Audience and Gratifications sub section of personal relationships, the target audience may learn to identify and sympathise with the victim character.

This shot is a hint to the disequilibrium as the victim in close up shot is clutching his throat choking whilst the protagonists in the background are looking amused. This shot shows the target audience the explicit nature of the trailer, and indicates the group of protagonists' downfall will be their excessive pride in thinking they will get away with bullying the victim.

 The disequilibrium is established, as the shot succeeding the previous shows a funeral gathering  presumably the victim's family come to pay their respects. The low angle camera angle indicates how, even in death, everyone looks down on the victim. An ironic representation.

 The next shot particularly pinpoints the disequilibrium ; the protagonists are being taunted by an unknown force. This is shown by the close up shot display the frightened facial expression of one of the protagonist receiving a sinister text message. This shot is a long take, which creates a greater climate of fear among the audience.

This close up shot is shown as a match cut from the previous shot to show the protagonist reaction, and intensify the irrational climate of fear. An futile attempt to solve the disequilibrium is shown in this extreme close up high angle shot. The protagonist who received the text message assuming the person who sent the message in someone in her class, breaks her phone on the floor with her foot.

This last close up shot shows with little focus a close up shot of said victim staring sinisterly in the direction of the camera. This technique otherwise known as Breaking of the 4th Wall, makes the audience feel  like their being watched. This intensifies the climate of fear and the 'unknown factor' as the victim is meant to be dead! Notably, this is the first time in the trailer that the mysterious figure attacking the protagonists is shown, which is a generic convention of horror trailers as the unknown factor behind who is attacking whom in the trailer intensifies the climate of fear, inadvertently creating the horror appeal to viewers and encouraging them to find out more.