Comparison of Two Film Trailers

 THE DESCENT

"A caving expedition goes horribly wrong, as the explorers become trapped and ultimately pursued by a strange breed of predators."

• Large use of shouting and screaming
• Frequent use of dialogue
• Gruesome shots
• Brief shots of monster/creaturea
• Pace increases as the trailer progresses
• Use of text to show reviews but also feelings - adds tension

PARANORMAL ACTIVITY

"After moving into a suburban home, a couple becomes increasingly disturbed by a nightly demonic presence."

• Centered around audience reaction shots - creates fear
• Text used as narrative
• Screaming
• Voice over
• Edited to sound track
• Succession of shots speeds up throughout
• Jerky handheld camerawork
• Ordinary people used to make you relate

There are various similarities and differences which both conform and challenge the typical conventions of this genre, the most obvious being the build up in pace of both the editing and the music which both fit together perfectly. This is something found in both of these trailers as well as most other horror movie trailers. Another similarity would be the short flashes of scary instances for example a glance at a creature or someone in a horrific state. This is another feature commonly found in horror movie trailers, it creates a lot of fear in the audience and leaves them with a great feeling of suspense. Also, you often find very similair sound effects in most trailers. There are also some major differences, the first main one being that the Paranormal Activity trailer focuses more on audience reaction which helps to intensify the fear created in the viewers. Also Paranormal Activity uses a completely different camera style, which contrasts completely with The Descent.