Sinister was released in October 2012, it is a supernatural horror film about a family moving into a new home.

• The poster for the film shows a young girl brushing the wall with her hand, leaving blood stains on the wall. It says “Once you see him, anything can see you”, which creates a fear of the unknown. It could suggest that this child is vulnerable and helpless and that she has been targeted by this anonymous being which is depicted in the blood smear. Coupled with this personal language, the face in the blood which seems to be staring at the audience creates an uncomfortable feeling.

• It states that this film was produced by the same person who made ‘Paranormal Activity’ and ‘Insidious’. It is this film’s unique selling point as both titles are popular and successful movies in the horror genre.

• The colour of the poster seems drained and bleak, creating a dark and eerie atmosphere.

The horror genre is identified through the diegetic sound, non diegetic sound, the narrative, costume/make-up and props. For example the audience hear a news reporter saying “Gruesomely murdered family” who used to live in the house shown in this establishing wide shot below.

Genre

Another example which identifies the genre is the character called Bagul . His make-up creates a clown-like face which is white with dark circles around his eyes. In the trailer the audience are told that this character can “Consume the souls of human children”. This dialogue combined with the image of Bagul injects fear into the audience because of the power this being holds. Stereotypically, children are scared of clowns which increases Bagul’s spine chilling nature. This character alone enhances the horror genre. He is noticeably the antagonist in the film by his image.

Audience Research

“The subject matter of the trailer established the genre”

I agree with this statement because throughout the trailer, the narrative of the film was made clear to the audience. Even though there was a fear of the unknown when the father discovers tapes, the audience see the fearful character that is spoken about in the trailer many times which heightens the fear for the audience. If Bagul is shown on camera, it makes the audience question what he is going to do. It makes the audience question what will happen creating a code of enigma.

“The dialogue said in the trailer strikes fear into the audience”

The dialogue goes hand in hand with the narrative in this trailer. When the father says “I’ve got a really good feeling about this”, the audience knows that something is bound to go wrong. People empathise with the character because they know they are going to watch the father and family fall into a horrible trap to break the positivity and equilibrium.

Target Audience

As the film is about a family with young children, I believe the film targets 25-30 year olds. This is because a lot of people aim to start a family between these ages, and it could reflect an audience’s personal life. For example: moving house, having young children and developing their career . This film is aimed at both male and females.

The BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) classed Sinister as a 15 and said it contains strong violence and horror.

Code of Enigma

The trailer lasts for two minutes and thirty one seconds. There were a lot of shots shown in the trailer and some were too fast to count, but I counted around one hundred and thirty five shots, it created a sense of disorder.

How are the family going to escape

this fearful being?

What happens to the children?

Why did the family have to

move house?

There are many questions that the audience would like to ask when watching the trailer. Such as: What happend to the family who were murdered? Other examples of questions the audience may ask are in the box to the right.

Transitions

• Fade to black

• Digital Effects

• Cuts

• Jump to

black

The trailer in the beginning used fade to black transitions to show a steady pace in the trailer. As the equilibrium was broken there were conventional jump cuts to increase the drama. Digital effects were used to enhance the horror, such as the flash of a camera creating a bright light with a warm glow afterwards. There were constant references to the video camera throughout and so intertwined it into the transitions. Towards the end of the trailer, there were jump to black cuts to show only sudden movements on screen, it created a powerful ending because of the immediate darkness on screen. Examples are shown above.

Camera Shots This wide shot shows pictures of the crime scene outside the family’s house. The body’s being laid next to each other shows that this being, Bagultargeted each member of the family, not just the child. This image could represent an identity parade because it looks like they have been lined up and Bagul identified how to target each and every one of them.

The medium wide shot is a very strong image. The bright light on the video camera shining could represent Bagul’spower over the people who live in this house. The father turns and shields his face showing he is afraid of what he has seen on the screen. The picture is slightly distorted on the left side because of the beam of light, it reflects the distortion the father feels after seeing a terrifying image.

The symbol of Bagul is shown throughout the trailer. This close up shows it painted on a wall next to a body. The colour seems drained and the wall looks dilapidated. It could reflect the walls of the house the family have moved into: scarred and fragile.

This medium wide close up on the fathers face is chilling because of Bagul’s face in the background moving in the computer screen showing he is watching him. The lighting in this image keeps the fathers face in darkness so that the audience focus on Bagul’s face. It inserts fear into the audience as he is looking straight into the camera, it makes them feel targeted.

The close up on the film tape in the fire reflects Bagul’s memories burning into hell. It represents the actions he has caused and shows the importance of the film tape in the movie.

Titles The titles are directed towards the audience using personal language such as ‘you’. They make the audience fear the being of Bagul as much as the family are on screen even though he is seen to be a fictional character.It says ‘Nothing can save you’, showing that there is no escape from his spirit.The font is ‘Sinister’ in itself as it gives the appearance that each letter is bleeding. Adding to this, the background could represent stone giving the impression they are grave stones adding to haunting feel.The trailer also includes a Facebook page at the end, showing its targeting it’s audience over different media platforms.

The first dialogue the audience hears is “Gruesomely murders of a local family”, showing the establishing shot of the house. This lets the audience know that death is associated with this house and to fear it as soon as they see it. The young girl says “I didn’t want to move here”, reflecting her feelings on the house showing it isn’t her fault she gets targeted by Bagul.

The father says “The only link between these cases is this symbol”, there are shots of the symbol throughout the trailer reminding the audience Bagul is always watching. It is associated with fear and death. Also the audience hear that pictures are “Gateways into his relm”, this strikes fear towards the audience because they may feel if they look at the picture too he will come after their child.

The young boy screaming is very disturbing because it shows that Bagul is trying to take over him and he sounds like he is in immense pain. It is hard for the audience to watch because it is uncomfortable. The father says “We have to leave here now” showing he knows it has all gone too far but the audiences questions whether they can escape.

Diegetic sound

The trailer opens with a powerful drum beat reflecting a heart beat, it makes the audience engaged as soon as it starts because it grabs their attention. The use of silence when it says “9 months later” shows that the new family who are moving to the house don’t know what they have gotten themselves into, they are unaware of the situation.

The non-diegetic music is quite soft and quiet during the beginning section of the trailer, this continues until the attic is seen. There is silence and then a deep sound, almost as if a man is singing which is intimidating.

The sound of the camera weaves in and out of the trailer but is heard predominately in the last couple of shots. It suggests that the camera plays a large role in the movie and it is eerie to see disturbing shots at the same time. It could suggest that their story is also being filmed like other families were.

There were stereotypical drum beats throughout the trailer, with high pitched sounds making the audience feel tense. The non-diegetic music crescendos throughout the piece, ending with a loud manly scream which terrifies the audience and makes them jump. It is effective as it shows the action in the film gets more dark as it goes on.

Non-diegetic sound

Narrative & Plot

Sinister is a film about a crime writer who moves house with his family. In this new home he finds home movies of a past family who lived there and he uncovers dark secrets.The trailer creates a sense of narrative mostly though dialogue, props, titles and mise-en-scene. An example of this is the title saying “9 months later”, showing the story travels through a period of time.

Characters

The main characters shown in the trailer are: the family who previously lived in the house, the new family and Bagul. The family who’s lives were taken away from them seemed like a close unit in the home movies before Bagul became involved. Their youngest daughter who is circled in the image above is very similar to the young girl in the family who now live in the house. We see in the trailer that she gets targeted too. The crime writer and his wife are very happy together and believe they are starting a new chapter in their life, it is questionable whether there is a break down in their relationship as Bagul enters their life.

Make Up

The young girl has blood on her forehead running down her face and she also has marks on her nose and neck. It is a haunting image because the audience don’t know where that blood has come from, it doesn’t seem to phase her. The young boy bending out of the box has cloudy eyes, which are contact lenses. It reflects that he is getting possessed by Bagul, and his positioning of his body is uncomfortable to look at. The character of Bagul has a white face with dark black circles around his eyes and a black mouth, it is scary to look at.

Mise-en-Scene

There are two establishing shots of the house, but there is a difference in lighting. In the light it looks like a stereotypical American suburban family house, but in the dark it is misty, eerie and mystical making the audience fear it more.

The props used are what the audience expect to see in a horror film. The axe and knife reflect there is a battle. The axe is being dragged across the floor suggesting that the child may be carrying it because its too heavy for her to lift.

Expectations Mood

The audience expect to see:

• Blood

• Death

• Struggle

• Children

• Symbolism

The mood of the film is very

dark. It is ‘Sinister’ for the

audience and they feel

targeted. It is jumpy,

psychological and eerie.

Conventions

Used

The title appearing at the end

of the trailer.

A montage of scenes.

The trailer builds to a

climax where it ends.

The main characters are

shown.

Dramatic non-diegetic music

to create an atmosphere.

The Film

Critic Reviews “ Sinister delivers a surprising number of fresh, diabolical twists” –

rottentomatoes.com

- The film was directed by Scott Derrikson and it was released in 2012.- It lasts 110 minutes, the trailer only last 2:31 and therefore the montage

shown had to sell the movie with only a glimpse of what goes on.

Trailer Overall

• The trailer is used as a promotional device and I believe it is successful because when I was given audience feedback 100% said they would like to see or have seen this movie.

• The trailer follows a non-linear structure and therefore creates a sense of distortion for the audience, making them question what will happen in the actual film.

• Personally, the trailer to me is engrossing and eye-catching whilst building the suspense throughout. It is supported by a strong plot line with a mixture of classic aspects of horror and also innovative techniques, which overall together successfully make the audience want to watch the film.