Trailer Analysis - Thriller (x2)

Trailer Analysis

The Boy Next Door

The trailer has slightly saddened music at the beginning, it is the dialogue which is key as it sets the scene, introduces the characters and their backgrounds and gives the audience a quick overview of the characters lives and how it got to this point where something happens which changes their lives forever. The romantic relationship starts and ends very quickly - its not your ordinary love story, should have never seen him again but of course that wouldn't make an interesting film so in the next shot you see her shocked facial expression as she walks into her lounge to see the boy she slept with talking to her husband and son. The dialogue gives the audience the first clue that this guy is a bit weird before a short silence emphasises her un-comfort with the situation and we as the audience are pulled into this film as we start to wonder what we would do if we were in this situation. A change in music signals the fact things are going to start changing more and more as the guy becomes more and more obsessed with her, the music increases in tempo becoming more upbeat after a scene where it is made evident that the guy is in charge and holds all the cards, he could ruin this woman's life in an instant. The sounds of a gun clicking and being shot by the guy imply he is dangerous and not afraid of anyone, meaning bad news for the woman as he could try and kill her or her family if he doesn't get what he wants. The music dips as she finds photos and the tension builds as you wonder how she can hide this from her colleagues and students, the music then increases in tempo even more and volume,

and the dramatic dialogue adds even more drama and tension "I'm never letting you go". The sound of screeching tires (diegetic) as two cars race along and almost crash into a lorry adds more tension along with the dialogue of the woman screaming "stay away from me, and stay away from my son" which conforms to thriller conventions as the main lead nearly always have a family or someone to lose, someone who the antagonist can use against them. Conforming to conventions as the antagonist he's calm and cool - just like a psycho and it reinforces the idea that he's not scared of anyone. 

The first shot is a long shot of her alone, highlighting how she is an important character as she's the first to appear on screen but also suggests she is alone in life and that's why she seeks comfort later on with the boy next door, it could also suggest she cant trust anyone and has to solve her problems on her own. The flashback show the boy's past and give the audience a clearer idea of the dangers that come along with this new neighbour, the opening 50 seconds constantly cut between her running and her problems - shes running to escape but as soon as he asks her to stay you see a clip of her stop running almost as if she doesn't need to run to escape anymore now that she has him. As the trailer continues the editing becomes faster paced as he becomes more obsessed and is in control and able to manipulate the situation to get what he wants, after she walks into her classroom to see all the pictures of the two of them together the editing is slow to add suspense as the audience wonders what will happen and again puts themselves in her shoes wondering what they would do in this situation. Then a fast paced montage builds more tension as music the builds and the dramatic dialogue adds tension too.

A long shot of her running shows her alone and possible vulnerable - the dialogue reinforces this idea as the audience finds out her husband cheats on her whenever he goes out of town, it also establishes the setting, a rural town where you wouldn't expect very much to happen. Shot reverse shot is used when the guy first meets the woman suggesting their meeting is plain and nothing out of the ordinary,a close up shot of the boys suggests they're growing closer as they get to know each other better - this ends up having bad repercussions for the woman. A low angle shot of the guy shows how before they even slept together he was already towering over, manipulating the situation whilst a high angle shot of her implies she is easily led by him. Slightly later on another high angle shot of her low matched with a low angle shot of him shows that the dynamic of their relationship hasn't changed and he still holds all the power whilst she was just desperate to have someone in her life.

The plain forest she runs through suggests her life is very mundane - there's no green suggesting there's no good in her life, the boy wears a white t-shirt on their first meeting suggesting he may have had innocent thoughts to begin with but later on when he wears a white vest he has blood on his knuckles suggesting he's not so innocent. She wears burgundy vest connoting love and passion supporting the idea she's all alone and just wants somebody in her life, later on though she's wearing white implying a change in their relationship dynamic as now shes the innocent one whereas he becomes over obsessive. In another shot he's stood, leaning over her son and standing taller than her husband suggesting he has a hold over her son and is above her husband as he has the power now after their night together. In the classroom she's sat whilst he stands - which is particularly un-normal as it's usually teaches who stand and students who sit but this is used to highlight how he has the power and is above her. This is a recurring theme as in another scene she's sat again whilst he stands reinforcing his dominance, he looks down from his window to her house whilst she looks up to his window. There is a lot more low key lighting as the trailer goes on suggesting he brings darker times for her and her life gets darker and darker after her night with him - the final shot of her looking up to his house could symbolise how he will always be looming over her and always have power over her, alternatively it could symbolise how her actions could always be looming over her as they change her life forever. The trailer conforms to conventions as it makes it feel very real and something that could happen to any on of us in real life, causing us to personally invest in the film as we wonder what we would do in that situation.