Analysis of 'My Bloody Valentine 3D' teaser trailer

The teaser trailer for My Bloody Valentine 3D is very quick to establish the film’s genre as horror. Through the mise-en-scene the first setting introduced is a dark tunnel/sewer. The dark lighting and the use of motivated lighting from the torches are very conventional of the horror genre. Through the use of props we get a close-up of an axe falling to the ground. Weapons are very common in horror as they are usually used by a killer to murder the characters. A Very brief close-up of the killer is shown. The killer is wearing a mask which is something horror employs to hide the identity of the killers. This keeps the killer mysterious. Only a brief shot was used to have the most “shock” impact and to not over expose the killer. An extreme close-up of an eye is used to disorientate the audience. From this shot they have no idea what the situation is and have no other idea as to what is causing the shot. This provides an enigma to want to find out what is going on. He lighting in this shot is also note worthy as the shot is saturated in a bright white leaving the pupil to stand out and have the most impact. The depth of frame is well utilised – a key convention of the horror genre – with the female character in the foreground and the killer in the background. After several shots there are flashes to red which connotes blood. Several close-ups of character with knifes being put to their faces created a real sense of danger.

The title of the movie is not given until the final moments of the teaser. An intertitle with “My Bloody Valentine 3D” written on it is displayed. The text is red on a black background. This is very typical for a horror teaser as red contains connotations of blood, danger and fear with black being very dark and scary. The title really stands out against the black background. The texture of the font is also very blood-like. No other intertitles are used to so there isn’t as much build up to the title as other teasers do.
Production value of the film is displayed in various ways. The production company/distributor is used in a way that implies that a film from that studio will be big budget. The teaser does not show any star names or director implying that the cast isn’t very well known and the director is also not. The teaser does not show a lot of special effects however various crane and aerial shots give a sense of the film having a decent budget.
The target audience familiar with the horror genre will likely respond well to the shots of the killer along with many of the more scary parts of the teaser. Shots involving weaponry is also likely to excite the target audience.
The music in the trailer is sinister creating a dark mood for the teaser. Sound effects are very prominent throughout witch knife like sounds “whooshing” sounds and other “booms”. These create excitement and when used well with certain shots can really make the spectator jump. A heart sound effect is used during a very fast paced sequence of shots. This is effective as it represents the characters sense of panic and makes the audience emote for them. A crescendo is used to leave the audience wanting more.

Dialogue is used in the teaser and is key to giving the audience important narrative information. “Something was following us” an asynchronous diegetic piece of dialogue is used to tell the audience that something is after the characters and to keep the killer mysterious. This then has more impact for when he is finally introduced. A piece of dialogue is used referring to a “valentines day massacre” and is made to sound as though it were coming from radio or television. This makes the audience realise how dangerous the events are and how much terror the characters are feeling. Voice over takes a very important role stating that something unexplainable is happening. The sentence is broken up with clips in between. Breaking up clauses keeps the audience guessing and wanting to find out what is going to happen.