Evaluation Screening

Dawn Of The Dead 2004 Monica Chainsaw Scene

The first scene from Dawn Of The Dead 2004 is when Monica gets chainsawed to death whilst trying to escape the shopping mall and fending off the zombies. This scene uses body horror/gore which is an institutional context as loads of gore in horror films is popular in the 2000's as gore is used in other areas such as video games and the News so everyone is used to the gore. It also uses Cinematography as it uses Close ups and Expressionist Angles get across the panic in the scene and the claustrophobic it makes the audience feel.

This scene proves Thomas Schatz Theory Hollywood Genres 1979 as the gore in the film highlights the film is a gory horror film so the right audiences watch the film and appeal to their target audiences.

The scene uses creepy locations and Low key lighting to make the gore more scary as emphasises it as is the only thing you can see in the film.

Friday The 13th Trailer Review

Name of Film: Friday The 13th

Year Released: 1980

Genre Of Trailer: Horror/Mystery

The plot of the trailer is that it goes through all of the murders in the film counting each one dies, until the thirteenth one when it ends with the name of the film Friday the 13th and telling you to go watch the film in the cinemas.

The good points of the trailer is that the music used in the trailer adds emphasis to the trailer itself building up the tension and adding a bit of mystery to how and why the thirteen murders occur during the plot of the film. It also doesn't give away much of the plot of the film which allows you to watch the trailer and get enticed to watch the film but unsure of what is going to actually happen throughout the film.

The bad aspects of the trailer is that it lacks any sort of horror in the trailer and is more like a mystery trailer so when people watch the trailer they will think  that it is a mystery trailer where in fact it will contain horror aspects that the audience may not enjoy. It also gives away who dies in the film so when the characters get introduced in the film you immediately know that they are about to die which kind of ruins the tense of seeing who dies in the film. There is also bad editing used at the end of the trailer which looks amateurish so  makes people think that the film is going to be amateurish overall which may lead to less people wanting to watch the film when it is shown in the cinemas or on DVD.

The score i would give this trailer is a four out of ten as it doesn't have any horror aspects in it what so ever and also looks like it was made by amateurs so isn't going to be as good as the other horror films like halloween or dawn of the dead.

Focus Group Screening

Good Aspects Of Trailer

Good Acting x 5
Use Of Lighting
Narrative x 9
Gore Effects x 6
Dialogue x 6
Music & Sound Effects x 12
Locations x 7
Mise-en-scene x 5
Inter titles x 3
Ending x 2
Cinematography x 13
Tense

Bad Aspects Of Trailer

Jump Scare x 2
Vary In Pace x 7
Background Sound
Louder Screams
More Blood
To Light
Inter titles x 9
Sound Effects x 9

Average Score - 7.5

Halloween Trailer Review

Name Of Film: Halloween

Year Released: 2007

Genre Of Trailer: Horror

The plot of the trailer is it shows what has happened since the last film whilst the murderer in the first film is prison and has just got out, it also briefly tells the plot of the new film and what the murderer is planning to do when he has got out of prison.

The good points of the film is that it uses collision cutting really well to get across the tense moments happening in the trailer. It also uses quick slow montage well to get across the jump scares and more horror moments in the trailer to get across the fact it is a pure horror film to attract fans of the genre and also fans of the previous film. It also uses the iconic music from the first film at the end of the film so if people watching the film will remember the first film by the iconic music.

The bad points of the film was again the lack of gore as there was only a few restricted narration shots to get across of it being a horror film but without those shots taken out wouldn't look anything like a horror trailer and like an action thriller trailer instead which doesn't reflect the genre of the trailer at all.

The score i would give this trailer is a 7/10 because it is a good trailer but lacks on the gore so does not portray as a modern horror film a bit like it's first one made in the 1980's which is understandable because it wants to attract the same audience who liked the original one.

Shaun Of The Dead Trailer Review

Name Of Film: Shaun Of The Dead

Year Released: 2004

Genre Of Trailer: Horror/Comedy

The plot of the trailer builds up the story of what happens in the movie by showing some of the best bits of the movie to entice the audience to watch the film in the cinema. It mainly shows comedic shots from the film as is mainly a comedy film but does show some horror aspects to get across to the audience that is also a horror film.

Good aspects of the trailer is it uses collision cutting well as the comedic shots in the film are slow to get across the comedy, straight into a fast paced horror shot to get across to the audience that is a Horror and Comedy film. It also produces well on the comedy aspects unlike most other horror/comedy films, such as the Toxic Avenger which if done badly can make the trailer cheesy and may get the people that watch it think the film is bad based on the trailer.

Bad aspects of the trailer is that the ending of the trailer isn't that great as has nothing to do with the main story of the film, just to add a final comedic scene to the trailer, where in my opinion should have been a jump scare or gore to get across to the audience that it's a horror film and not a comedy film. It also doesn't deliver on gore as it is a horror film, the only notable gore in the trailer is the slight shot of a zombie being impaled in a tree meaning there is gore in the movie but not a lot of it was shown in the trailer so if people viewing the trailer like it and go and watch the movie and be suprised off the gore which they don't like will be disappointed whilst watching the film.

I give this trailer an eight out of ten because it is a good trailer that reflects both horror and comedy aspects of the film well so the audience know exactly what type of film it is about.

Toxic Avenger Trailer Review

Name Of Film : Toxic Avenger

Year Released: 1985

Genre Of Trailer: Horror/Comedy

The trailer is a highlights trailer showing the best bits of the film and the plot of the film with a narrator promoting the film.

The good aspects of the trailer was it got across the comedy aspects of the film well which is difficult to do in a Horror Comedy as most of them usually forget the Comedy in them and don't sell as well as other types of the Horror Genre.

The negative aspects of the trailer that it was too long nearly 2:30 mins long where as most trailers are about 1-1:30 mins long as people watching this trailer may get bored of it after 2 mins so wont remember it so wont want to go see the film in the cinema. It may have got the comedy aspect of the trailer right but hasn't got many horror aspects in the film at all and the ones it has got look weird and not very realistic so looks like the film is made on a cheap budget unlike other horror films like Dawn Of The Dead and Evil Dead. The lack of gore may also be because of the era of the film as was set in the mid 80's it wont be as gory as films from today as we see a lot worse gore in other media such as the News and video games.

The class average score for this trailer was a 3.5 as Horror Comedy's are risky to make as it is difficult to make a film have lots of horror and gore but make it funny as well only a few films have managed to make a good comedy/horror movie such as Shaun Of The Dead which manages to do this very well unlike the Toxic Aveneger.

Dawn Of The Dead 2004 Trailer Review

Name of Film: Dawn of the Dead

Year Released: 2004

Genre Of Trailer : Horror

The trailer shows what is about to happen in the film with a calm evening in a small American town and then when the sun rises, the world has been taken over by zombies and only a few humans have survived. The trailer shows the main characters in the film and also loads of shots of the zombies to emphasise how important the zombies are in the movie.

The positive aspects about this trailer is that it starts with a slow build up to get across to the audience who the final girl is in the film. Quick montage is also used to emphasise the panic of the zombies attacking. The trailer also shows most of the main characters in the film, but doesn’t reveal much about them so the audience has to watch the film to find out more about the characters.

The negative aspects about this trailer is that too much of the plot is given away, so when people watch the film they will know roughly what is about to happen during the film. There was also not enough gore used in the trailer and too much action so when people watch the trailer they’ll think it is an action film and not a horror. There were also too many fades and the font used wasn’t that great which may put off horror fans as the font may not be horror enough to suit the target audience of the film.

The overall class average of the film was 6.5 because it was a decent trailer but It didn’t use enough horror in the trailer so it doesn’t come across as a horror film and it attracts the wrong sort of audience for the film.

Cloverfield Trailer Review

Name of Film: Cloverfield

Year Released: 2008

Genre of Trailer: Horror

The trailer is a scene trailer meaning it shows 1 scene from the film in the trailer to give the audience a clear idea on what the film is about. The scene shows a party in an apartment in New York City, then an earthquake happens and everyone looks outside to see what is going on, in the distance there is a massive explosion with debris falling down on the city of New York, ending with the statue of liberty’s head rolling down the street.

The positive aspects of this trailer is that it doesn’t give too much of the plot away, so the people who watch the trailer will want to watch the film to see what happens next after the end of the scene shown in the trailer. It also uses collision cutting as it shows from the jolly party in the apartment to jagged shots of explosions to the head rolling down the street, this emphasises the dramatic change in the plot line of the film. It also is ideal for the target audience of the film as it is aimed at 15-25 year olds as the film is only a 15 certificate.

The negative aspects of the trailer is that it was a risky move showing a scene from the trailer as if a scene that gives away a lot of the plot of the film but attracts the audience to watch your film but Cloverfield got it right as it doesn’t give a lot of the plot away but does keep the audience intrigued in what happens next in the trailer. It also has no scary moments in the trailer despite it being a horror film, this may target the wrong type of audience as by the trailer it looks like a disaster movie and not a horror trailer.

The overall score the class gave on this trailer is 8 because it was a clever made trailer as it uses handheld camera to make the film more realistic and it also include other shots like canted angles to emphasise that the film is a horror trailer.

Class Research: Favourite Type of Horror

My personal favorite type of horror film is an action horror because i also like to watch action films, so watching a film with 2 genres i like is the ideal film for me to watch.

Class Poster Idea

Stereotypical Fan

Our stereotypical horror fan is a male called Gary Knights (left). His day job is being an a electrician but once he gets in from a hard day of fixing plugs and wiring sockets he likes to sit down and immerse himself in classic horror films like Night of the Living Dead, Psycho and The Shining. Apart from horror films Gary likes playing video games, either by himself or online with other people, playing guitar, going bowling or spending time with his girlfriend Liz Mendoza, pictured centre. He met Liz at a special screening of Troll 2 and after both disliking the film thought dating each other might be better. Gary dislikes few things as he is a hardened man from the levels of horror he’s watched but he most definitely dislikes romantic comedy films and broccoli along with having an up and down relationship with his clingy younger brother Keith who sometimes doesn’t get the hint he isn’t wanted.

Gary’s demographic profile concludes that he is a 28 year old, white British male at the upper end of the working class living in London. His psychographic is reformer as he tries to change the mainstream in an attempt to make the world a more positive place.

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