Deconstruction of 'Sinister' trailer:

Deconstruction of the trailer for Sinister, how is it appropriate to the genre? 

~ Although Sinister is considered a horror film, I thought that a lot of aspects in the trailer were similar to those seen in slasher films. 

~ The trailer opens with a flashback from nine months earlier, with a montage of pictures with a news report playing over the top, describing the murder of a family. So within the first few seconds you know it’s going to be a horror movie and that the deaths will be described and explained in some detail. 

~ Another aspect is the mysterious character who appears to be connected to the murders as he is seen in the film footage of them but is never seen actually killing them. There are a few moments where the noise level goes from extremely quiet to a sudden bang or scream which is intended to make the audience jump and feel scared. This is a main trait of horror films, to scare the audience, make them jump and almost get inside their head so they imagine it’s real. 

~ The trailer uses a lot of flickering imagery as most shots are a lot scarier when only seen for a millisecond, especially when it’s a gruesome bloody image of a death or a shrill loud scream after silence. It also mentions that “children exposed to the images were especially vulnerable” which makes it even more frightening as children are seen as innocent and it seems worse when it’s happening to children. 

~ During the credits, it mentions that the film has been produced by the same people who made “Paranormal Activity” and “Insidious”, which are well known, successful horror films, to raise the expectations of the people going to watch it, so they know it should be as good as the other films.  Towards the end, there is a shot of an axe being dragged across the floor to show the deaths are going to be slow, painful and very bloody, confirming the horror genre. 

An alternative movie poster for Sinister.

Deconstruction of the Sinister Trailer- How it is Appropriate to Genre

With the very first glimpse of the sinister trailer, it tells the viewer that it is a horror with the quick change in shots, the loud, harsh sounds that are aimed to make the viewer jump, the subject of murder in the non-diegetic, off screen news report covering the changing images and the contrasting sound, immediately builds up tension.

With the text "9 Months Later" displayed across a black screen, the scene changes to show an introduction into the main story within the movie. A family moving into this house, ready to start a "new beginning", hoping that because they have moved, their lives are going to get better- this is a convention of some horror films, having the victims move away, or go on a trip to be able to have a "fresh start".

However, when the father, the main character, goes up into the attic- a cliché location for horror movies- he finds a box holding old, homemade films from the previous owners. After watching them though, the father finds that the films are recordings of murders of families that had previously lived in the house the man is living in now with his family. This twist in events is where the camera angles, editing and non-diegetic sound starts getting frantic, speeding up along with the intensity of the situation on screen, where previously, it had been slower, creating a calming effect to the viewer.

Clips and photographs of these serial murders, along with scenes of death, fire and destruction are shown, as a reference to the old recordings, building the tension that had originally started to build, but was lost with the "lighter" introduction to the story- stopping the trailer being emotionally draining for the viewer.

A clip of the scene where the father notices the same symbol within each of the home films is then shown, which develops into the realisation that the symbol is linked to this supernatural pagan deity that “consumes the souls of young children”, and that he is the one that has committed these murders- adding a supernatural aspect to the already marked horror genre.

Throughout the rest of the trailer are short, quick scene of strange occurrences, violence and weapons being dragged along the floor with each change in scene relating to the sound of one of the homemade tapes going around the wheel, making a repeating slapping sound, making the editing of each scene not smooth and unnoticed but disjointed and harsh, adding to the effect that it gives the audience of tension rising. All the while, a constant single sound is building, increasing suspense, until sudden silence is introduced, and all in view is a horrific sight of the fathers two children sitting next to two other, seemingly dead (from their appearance), children, to which the face of the pagan deity who is tormenting the family moves into the screen all of a sudden, making the final view of the trailer a “jump” that would leave the audience with the impression that it is extremely scary, but worth watching.
 

Everything within the trailer shows common conventions within the supernatural-horror genre such as “jumps”, supernatural occurrences and the revealing of a threat that together brings violence and destruction.

Below is the trailer being discussed: