Trailer Analysis - Thriller

Trailer Analysis

The Purge

The trailer starts with sad music as an idyllic family in a beautiful setting is shown - the calm before the storm but as this is a thriller film we know it can't last. Happy shots of family and relationships and neighbours in their big houses and lush neighbourhoods is contrasted by montage of violence and killing. A change in music gives the trailer a more panicked, tense feel as the audience start to worry what is going to happen to this family on this one night, a siren can be heard implying something bad is going to happen as sirens are associated with emergency services. The diegetic dialogue also adds to the tension with the boy asking "why don't you kill someone tonight" to which the parents don't answer suggesting they're more sinister and less innocent than the audience may have first thought.  The cliche "we'll be fine like always" indicates to the audience that something is bound to go wrong - the recurring sound motif of the sirens reinforces the idea that this family will not have a simple night. The "victim" as there nearly always is in thriller/horror films makes his appearance about half way through the trailer screaming for help as all the multiple sirens cut out and there's just one long one left that can be heard suggesting he will be the single cause of all their problems. As the titles appear on screen a doorbell can be heard signifying that they're wanted - the chain of events caused by this one man has started and the antagonist in his spooky mask (conforming to conventions - hiding his identity) makes an appearance. The continuation of the dramatic spooky dialogue causes more tension and brings the audience into the film as they start to wonder what they would do in this set situation. The music changes and it sounds like angels singing suggesting a church presence and that someones going to die, it builds in tempo and volume as a montage of shots showing blood, violence, revenge, death flash before the audiences eyes. The church singing continues as an image of the american flag with the films name appears on screen, this could show how the purge helps improve the country, it could also be to do with funerals where church singing is common- there will be lots of funerals after this night but it also could be more personal and signify someone in that house is going to die.

The first shot is a long shot of a family in a beautiful setting before it cuts indoor to the beautiful surroundings of the main families house, and close up shots are used to show their faces and the happy emotions they all have. This is contrasted by a montage of violent scenes, a compilation  of medium shots and high angle shots suggesting that although what they're doing is legal it doesn't make them any better or any more powerful and so are still looked down upon. A long shot of the families house shows how they should be safe in their "mansion" but as this is a thriller film they will have some sort of drama and are not as isolated as that shot may imply or they may hope. A long shot of the empty streets before the annual purge begins gives the film even more of an eerie feel as the streets are never normally empty, more close up shots (conforming to conventions) of the family are shown but this time they don't look anywhere near as happy, they seem anxious and worried. Another close up shot is used, this time to show the mother and son holding hands emphasising how they are the most scared out of the four of them. A low angle shot of the dad implies hes in charge, whilst the son and mother cower together on the floor reinforcing the idea that they're the most scared. It also implies in that moment the dad is still the most powerful, he's not been threatened yet as he's yet to meet the antagonist. A high angle shot of antagonist shows he's powerless as hes outside the house and so the family can look down on him as they think they're safe. Within the montage of shots at the end it repeatedly shows the family on floor in high angle shots showing how they have now become become powerless as these people have got into their house and are trying to kill them.

The trailer starts with several long shots and medium shots of the happy family as well as shots of a loving young couple (younger characters to draw in younger audiences), neighbours and nice houses  which is contrasted by violent montage of shots of people being shot, stabbed and murdered. This sets the scene for what the movie will be like, although at first it all seems all sunshine and rainbows it will quickly turn to a whole load of violence and death. The dialogue matches the violent scenes of more people being shot and stabbed which is inter cut with scenes of the dad talking suggesting the family are already starting to become involved in this purge more than they would have hoped for. A long shot of the deserted streets before cutting to the family suggests they hope there night will be isolated from the rest of the world and they wont be killed or have to kill anyone - but as the audience we know this is unlikely to happen otherwise it would make a very boring film. To reinforce this idea the "victim" of the story then turns up, followed by the antagonist - chain of events have started to happen with things likely to only get worse. The shots of the antagonists crew of fellow murderers wearing scary masks conforms to conventions that they just want to kill for fun and are very sinister people. Slow paced editing is effective in this trailer for building suspense before another violent fast paced montage, similar to the one at the beginning of the trailer, is shown but this time they're a part of it and it's inside their house making it feel very personal to them. More close up shots are used to show the characters emotions and hide their surroundings so we as the audience are unsure whether they get out alive or not.

An amber light creates a sense of calmness at the beginning of the trailer - the calm before the storm, the families house interior is all white implying their innocence and how they support the purge but don't intend to participate in it. As the mother is talking to the neighbours you see they have a black car which could suggest they are not as innocent as the other family and are likely to take part in the purge. The contrast of the bright, lush, neighbourhood to the black and white montage footage of the violent people shooting and killing people shows how dark and sinister it is, alternatively it could suggest how simple this purge is - people don't see it as murder they simply want to release they're anger. The young boy is wearing a white shirt which suggests how innocent he is in all this, the rest of the family also wear a white item of clothing (shirts, jumpers) suggesting they too are innocent and good people. The young boy though is also wearing white trousers meaning he's dressed in all white showing he may be the most innocent out of all of them which is proved in a following scene where he lets a man (victim) into their house as he just wants to help. The antagonist is wearing a smart suit which may seem conventional for an action villain but not a thriller one, yet it is a dark suit with no white which conforms to thriller conventions. At the starts of the trailer the lighting is fairly bright as nothing bad has happened yet but as the trailer goes on the trailer is almost entirely shot in low key lighting suggesting times are dark for the family and also to hide more of the house so it creates tension and suspense. The black SUVs parked outside the house connote darkness and are usually related to mobs and violence - two things present in the film. The woman in the antagonists "crew" wear white dresses which is ironic as the colour white usually suggest innocence but in this case it is simply a clear palette to make the red blood splattered on them stand out even more. The american fag that flashes up at the end is faded and is slightly darker in colours implying it may not be pure or that the purge makes america lose its patriotism as people are happily killing one another.