Scream Trailer Analysis

Credits/ Intertitles

The main intertitles used in the trailer for Scream are ‘Don’t answer the phone’, ‘Don’t answer the door’ and ‘Don’t try to hide’. These statements give clear commands to the audience which makes them feel like they are in danger as well as the characters. This causes them to believe that they are involved in the story. The last command ‘Don’t try to hide’ suggests to the audience that they cannot get away from the scary villain. 

Dialogue

The voice on the phone says “I want to know who I’m looking at” shows the audience that the villain is close to his victim and may attack at any moment. This puts the audience on edge as they are not sure when the villain may do something to the innocent victim.

At the end of the film there are lots of piercing screams as the victims run from the villain. This is a characteristic of a horror film and shows that the victims are scared. This noise is unsettling for the audience and may make them feel uneasy.

Genre

This film is of the horror genre as it may frighten the audience and creates an eerie atmosphere. From the trailer the audience can tell that it is of the horror genre firstly because of its title, Scream which is usually associated with scary situations and vulnerable characters. The trailer also includes night time settings and creepy villains.

Narrative

The trailer for this film shows the plot line of the main character Sidney Prescott, a teenage girl who is the target of a scary and unexpected killer known as Ghostface. He is first introduced when he kills his first victim, an innocent blonde teenager played by Drew Barrymore. This shows the audience that he will attack anyone even if they are vulnerable and innocent.

Pace

The beginning of this trailer seems quite slow paced as it shows different characters introduction to the villain in the film. However as the trailer unfolds the shots begin to become shorter as they are entwined with the scary intertitles which makes the audience relate the frightening events with the words. This causes them to believe that the characters are in that much danger and are unable to get away from it this adds tension.

Shot types/ camera angles

Throughout the beginning of the trailer a mid-shot is used to show the female character in a normal environment suggesting to the audience that this could happen to anyone. A close up is then used to show the terror on her face which causes the audience to become scared and worried for her.
A mid shot is then used again with a different female character to suggest that she is in the same situation and it is leading up to the same fate. 

Target audience

The target audience for this film is young adults as the main characters targeted are all teenagers. This means that they would more likely put themselves in the position of the characters as they can relate to the events that are happening to them now as they grow up.

Unique selling point

The film uses comedy to illustrate clichés of horror films taking typical aspects from films such as Halloween and Nightmare on Elm Street. The film consists of characters that are aware of real life horror films and showing characters subverting the cliché. 

Voiceover

The voiceover in Scream is a deep male voice who talks to the audience. He first says “Someone is playing a deadly game” which suggests to the audience that no one knows who this villain is but it is causing death. He also read the intertitles to the audience: ‘Don’t answer the phone’, ‘Don’t answer the door’ and ‘Don’t try to hide’ which makes it seem intense and more gripping as the voiceover makes the commandments.