The film trailer which I have chosen to analyse is called The Exorcist (1973), which is a psychological/slasher horror movie directed by William Friedkin and was released December 26th 1973. The narrative of the movie deals with a young girl who is possessed by a demonic force and whereby her mother tries her best to get her daughter back through an exorcism carried out by two priests. The film consists of famous actors and actresses who play the roles of; Reverend Father Lankester Merrin (Max Von Sydow), Christine McNeil (Ellen Burstyn), Damien Karras (Jason Miller) and Regan (Linda Blair). I have decided to analyse this psychological/slasher horror movie as it contains many codes and conventions which are identical and equivalent to many movies released within the same genre.
Codes and conventions/ shot types and angles:
- The main convention shown within the trailer is evident through the uses of conventional camera shots and angles
- For example, within the trailer the use of a zoom in feature highlighting a door to the audience connotes to the consumers that something on the other side of this door or within the room is of great significance. In relation to The Exorcist, the possessed daughter Regan is being kept within the room
- By having the girl being locked within a room and only showing to the audience one side of the door connotes a sign of danger and represents the daughter Regan as trapped. In relation to the plot of the film, Regan is trapped inside of the devil, she is possessed.
- Another conventional shot type used within The Exorcist trailer is the use of a close up shot on Ellen. By showing the audience this type of shot, the consumers were able to see the emotions being represented on Ellen’s face and by having Ellen represented in a shocked manner made the audience feel highly uncomfortable and leaving them in suspense as to what has made the mother of Regan so shocked at first glance
- An unconventional shot is used within the establishing of the trailer as the audience are merely showed a dark black screen with just the sounds of screaming
- By using this unconventional feature at the beginning of the trailer holds the audience in suspense. Also by introducing the audience immediately to the sounds of piercing screams shocks them and makes them want to find out why are screams being presented and what are the reasons for people screaming
- A conventional shot of a low angle is also showed within the trailer of Ellen, Regan’s mother
- By having this type of angle portrayed on Ellen represents her to the audience as being overshadowed and possibly in power. By having the theme of overshadowing conveyed to the audience through the usage of a low angle makes the audience draw to conclusions that possibly Ellen is being overshadowed by someone, that of course being the demonic figure imbedded within her daughter Regan
- Furthermore, by having Ellen conveyed within a low angle at the beginning of the trailer represents her as being in power and having some sort of authority as the audience have to look up to her. However during the scene in which the low angle is used, Ellen switches on a lantern which makes her jitter slightly. I believe that this element has been deliberately added by the director in order to take away all of the authority once felt by Ellen of which she had over her daughter as she is now being controlled by a demonic figure. Moreover this feature also draws out the stereotypical authoritative figure drawn up by many of the consumers previously
Editing:
- As this is an old trailer, there are not many forms of editing used and those used are very basic however the elements used are highly effective as portraying this trailer as coming from a horror genre
- For example, the majority of the trailer consists of quick jump cuts which heighten the tension built up within the trailer. For example, within the opening stages of the trailer there is a close up shot of Regan’s mother’s face where she is represented as shocked to the audience with the help of her facial expressions. Once this scene has passed there are a series of jump cuts which help to build up the tension in revealing the real reason as to why the shocked face was shown by Regan’s mother
- Another form of editing used within the trailer of The Exorcist is used with the use of the camera. By having the camera panning onto the door with screaming and eerie type of music being played in conjunction with it, emphasises to the audience that something behind this closed door is of some danger
- Through having the camera slowly panning builds up the tension as having it at a slow pace makes the audience wait longer in suspense which is a common convention within many horror movies today
Sound:
- The majority of the trailer consists of a voiceover and narration to the scenes which are being shown to the audience
- By having the use of a voiceover it allows a direct sound bridge to be implied which connects the different cut shots together along with building tension at the same time
- Also, by having a voiceover it also heightens the tension built up by the trailer as certain words and phrases are used to grab the audience’s attention such as, “no one could prepare for what happened”, “The daughter isn’t the demon but the devil himself”.
- The use of synchrous sound from the voiceover grabs the audience’s attention immediately as it feels as though they are also involved within the case of solving Regan’s exorcism. Moreover certain eye level shots used along with the actors staring directly down the camera lens makes the audience feel involved within the case and movie thus heightening the tension as a result and creating realism
- Sound effects also play a key role within The Exorcist trailer as within the opening scenes of the trailer there is blank screen with just the sounds of police sirens and loud screaming
- By introducing the audience immediately to sound of screaming it helps them to draw conclusions of the common conventions associated with the sound of screaming and police sirens. This being danger and or someone in serious need of help
- The main soundtrack used within the Exorcist consists of an eerie tone
- By the director’s deliberately using this eerie music it connotes the common conventions and codes symbolised within a horror movie such as enigma and danger. These themes are shown heavily within The Exorcist
Mis-en-scene:
- The mis-en-scene used within the Exorcist help to connote this movie as developed for the horror genre
- Firstly one brief close up shot used on Regan represent her as being the devil.
- The facial expressions used along with the blood and make up on the face represent her as being evil and the devil. The blood used on the face shows her connotes to the audience that this young girl is associated with danger. Moreover, due to the heavy connection to the devil, the red used from the blood connote her as having a direct link to the devil himself as red is a common feature seen with devils
- The costume used on Regan connotes her as being a stereotypical young and fragile girl as she is dressed in a bedtime dress which represents her as being a stereotypical female girl with no association with evil whatsoever. However the director’s of the Exorcist have gone against this stereotype and represent this young and innocent girl as actually evil through the make- up on her face along with the facial expressions. This helps represent her as being an antagonist as the blood on her face and evil look within her eyes shows her as being from the dark side.
- The dark lighting used on a figure wearing a hat at the end of the trailer helps to create enigma and suspense for the audience
- By having no lighting on this figure whatsoever represents him/her as of some significance within the film. The audience wish to know who hold the identity of this enigmatic individual but due to the cliff hanger at the end of the trailer leaves them in suspense
- The uses of dark colours such as black connote main themes and topics which will be seen within the film. For example the heavy uses of black connote darkness and danger. These are topics which are clearly evident within The Exorcist itself
- The décor and lighting used within the trailer consists of mainly low key lighting and dark colours at times where the people are seen running and rushing on the streets. By having the low key lighting within these specific scenes it connotes to the audience that something bad is about to occur and heightens the tension created within the scene. This is a common and reoccurring convention and signifier within horror movies.
- Within the trailer props such as glasses and objects are seen to be thrown around erratically and dangerously. This connotes to the audience that there is a battle or struggle within the film which connotes that the young girl Regan is having a battle with herself as the devil is inside of her. The fact that the target audience cannot see who is throwing these objects around helps to create enigma and tension within the trailer thus creating demand for the film upon its release.
