The Strangers Theatrical Trailer

This poster for The Strangers is different to others I thought because of the way it also involves a subtitle 'Because you were home' this is effective as it is direct to the audience and already puts you on edge without watching the film, or even looking at the rest of the poster. Also I like the way the film name 'the strangers' is presented, how the words have a shadowed, blurred effect on the jet black background, this makes it stand out and eye catching to the on-looker. The main image tells a story within itself, and the prop of using masks adds to the horror genre, as masks could be linked to suspicion and also the aspect of you cant see the face, gives the audience a sense of insecurity. This poster is very effective in the way that it brings in the audience with the subtitle and the use of the masks as you don't see masks generally used in horror genre of films/posters.

This is the trailer that links with poster. The beginning of the film gives the effect of innocence with the added sound effect of the piano playing as well as the voice over. The first section of the trailer introduces the main two characters clearly, making the viewer know that the film is based on these two characters, this leads the viewer awaiting what is going to happen to them. then all changes for the worst, this is shown by the use of sound effects and voice overs. The use of the editing technique of fading to a blank black screen and being kept like that for 3 seconds makes the viewer on edge, especially as from how it is repeated through out the trailer, then from the first time it fades back into scene of the women looking fragile and scared. The use of silence within this trailer really makes the viewer on edge and in a sense holding their breath as to what is to happen next, using the silence is a good technique something I want to carry on into my own work. The use of jump cuts in editing adds the tension of the film, this is used like most others at the end of the trailer, bring mixed emotions towards the trailer. What I like about this trailer over all though is how when you think its all over announcing names that created the film, it fades back to the film, on a still image from the scene focusing on the little girl masked, this is effect as you find yourself focusing on her expecting her to do something but it fades straight back into darkness, therefore that still image scene was just used to scare you and in a way look closely to the girl.