2. Drag Me To Hell
Narrative:
• The Drag Me To Hell trailer uses Todorov’s theory. It starts with the period of equilibrium where Christine wants to achieve the
assistant manager position at her work place, and can be said to be a happy a cheerful period. As a result of Christine wanting to
achieve this, she is told she has to be brutal, and consequently turns an old woman down for an extension on her mortgage. This
is the beginning of the moment of disequilibrium, as the old lady casts a spell over her. The trailer then shows a series of events
leading up to her being sent to hell, and is the period of disequilibrium.
Characters and Setting:
• Characters are an essential part of the horror ‘iconography’ in displaying paradigms. An attractive blonde female is used as what
we can only assume as the main character. This is a common convention and stereotype used within the horror genre, as the
audience can easily relate to it, and are able to easily identify the genre of the film. However the villain is displayed as an elderly
woman who we know the identity of. This could be the films way of swaying away from all of the conventions of a typical horror,
as you would normally expect it to be of a masked man, who you do not know the identity of until the very end. Although this film
does conform to horror film codes and conventions it go against it by setting the film in a city. Making it easy for the victim to
escape and run to freedom. This is very rare in the horror genre as you would normally expect the setting to be dark, isolated and
cut off from the outside world.
Props:
• Towards the end of the trailer lots of religious imagery is used. This is starting to become a convention supernatural films in the
horror genre, and could connote the idea of spirits and devils within the film it could also be said it’s used to portray the fear of
dying.
Sound:
• The non diegetic sound of the piano at there beginning of the trailer creates tension and is a build up to what the audience is
about to see. The non diegetic sound of the slow paced music which comes across quite eerie, as you are waiting for something
to happen as it is building up suspense. After the moment of disequilibrium there is a small period of silence to show the fear of
the character, the music then speeds up to match the viewers heart rate as the trailer gets scarier because of the action on scene.
Non diegetic sounds of screams are used after the small period of silence.
Camera Shots and Editing:
• The trailer begins by using several fade to black shots to show the transition of time passing. As the moment of disequilibrium
strikes, fast paced editing is used as well as the use of jump cuts and very short shots. This shows how the atmosphere has
changed and the tension building up. This is when the editing becomes more rapid and the action is shown.
3. Jennifer’s Body
Narrative:
• Jennifer’s Body is directed by Karyn Kusama and follows the feminist film theory and Laura Mulvey’s male gaze theory where the camera
lingers on women’s bodies as evidence in that women were being viewed as sexual objects for the gratification of men. Women in the
audience are also positioned by the narrative to identify with the male gaze and see the world through a male perspective. and the
feminist theory.
Characters and Setting:
• An establishing shot sets the tone of what is to come later in the film. The image is dark and isolated and immediately creates a sinister
tone. However the camera shows a slight glimmer of sunlight on the lake which could represent light moments in the film which could
come in the form of humour. A mid shot showing the flesh of a woman swimming in a lake is shown. From this we can infer that she is
the main character.
Props:
• Candles are used towards the end of the trailer, during and after the protagonist has murdered her victims. This is because it is in near
enough darkness and creates fear of the unknown.
Sound:
• The non diegetic sound of music that is played at the beginning is very peaceful and tranquil. This will make the audience feel anxious as
tension builds up as if something bad is going to happen. The diegetic sound of the protagonist is seen to be sexually suggestive. We can
tell this from the tone of her voice and body language. We see the protagonist say to a male character "Do you want it“ this is followed
by the actions of Jennifer unzipping her top. She also says "I go both ways". This portrays Jennifer as sexually open as well as sexually
active. The diegetic sounds of screams helps with the audiences familiarity of the horror genre.
Camera Shots and Editing:
• The first shot used to open the trailer is an establishing shot of Jennifer swimming in the lake naked. The camera shots and editing in the
trailer for Jennifer’s Body starts with fade shots and slow pace editing, these shots portray Jennifer the protagonist as a sexual and
desirable object, attracting a male audience. We are see Jennifer as a sexual object through the various close up and mid shots used to
display her expression and emotions. The shots used help to support Laura Mulvey’s theory of the male gaze. There is a link used through
the editing and the lighting. These two techniques work together as the editing is slow and there is a lot of natural light during the
equilibrium it then begins to pick up pace and the lighting becomes very dull as soon as there is a disruption and it has been recognised.
