Analysing Sinister Trailer
“True-crime writer Ellison Oswalt moves house with his family into a house where a horrific crime took place earlier in the past, however he doesn’t share this information with his family. His failing career needs saving so attempts to write a book about it. He uses some “snuff” film footage he finds in the house to help in his research, but he soon finds more than he bargained for. There is a figure in each of the films, but who or what is it? As a result, his family start to suffer (as does he), and things take a turn for the worse. Will they survive?” – Written by Michael Hallows Eve
The start of the trailer is very powerful as it is a news report of what had happened in the house 9 months before Ellison and his family move in. It is powerful because the report is very shot, concise and doesn’t give out too much information.
The first shot is of the house; this is an establishing shot with connotations that the house has importance. The report works hand in hand with what is being shown which is a picture of the family that died; this is very clever as it makes the audience aware that the families presence is no more. In general new reports where people die all you see is pictures of the people that have died.
There are jump cuts that correspond to eerie sound effects. The jump cuts are of a picture of a symbol which will have a significance as its one of the first things you see, a picture of the family with one of the younger girls having a red circle round their face, which could suggest she was important, a jump cut of a stick people drawn picture of the family and it looks like they are all hung, this could suggestion of their deaths or they committed suicide because they couldn’t cope with the house. All of these are rising questions that the director would have intended the viewers to also do as a tool to attract the audience to watch the full movie.
Ellison Oswalt’s response to his daughter saying she didn’t want to move there was “We couldn’t afford to live in the old house anymore” which sounds like a lie because he carries on saying “plus the new story I’m writing is here” which could suggest the move to the new house was a selfish move for himself and his own personal benefits.
As the trailer goes on a scene is shown where he goes up to the loft for the first time and in the centre of the loft is a box. This is significant as it centres all the focus on that one box and its content. It is set up as if it was made for him to find.
The storyline of this movie follows a conventional psychological thriller concept where it is set in a small community that is claustrophobic and everyone around knows one another. The trailer establishes the main characters of the film (which are a family), a haunted house is a conventional location for a thriller movie. The “snuff” Film Footage is found in a loft – which is where a lot of the plot revolves around. This is classic as it is an isolated place making the audience feel like they are in the loft with him as it is a lonely destination with minimal lighting. The fact that the loft is spacious and empty also adds to the audience feeling sympathetic for Ellison Oswalt. It is also clever that they use this as if you are watching the trailer in a cinema there is no lighting so again would illustrate the loft like feeling, It’s almost as if as the audience you are joining in on the quest to solve the myth.
The lighting for this trailer is stereotypical for this genre as it very minimal, it gives of a menacing feeling and a feeling that anything could jump out without being seen at any point. With there only being one main light it could represent there only being one exit and a place that is not regularly visited. It also symbolises no life form being there as to survive you need light.
Amos Mukombero 