Alien
Year: 1979
Genre: Horror
Personal Mark: 7
The Alien trailer
utilizes several of the horror genres key conventions to establish genre and
appeal to their target audience. The
first of which is cinematography. Throughout the trailer broad establishing
shots of planets are used to establish the film as a hybrid Sifi-horor film.
This is once again echoed by the mise-en-scene of the entire trailer. The use
of props and costume clearly defines this as a hybrid. (I.e. The space suits,
Alien eggs, flashing red lights) Another
good use of horror conventions is the mise-en-scene. The body language and the facial
expressions of the actors connote fear well and helps establish the genre. A
really iconic convention used in the establishment of the horror genre is the
use of diegetic and non-diegetic sound. The use of silence cannot be underrated.
It is this silence that helps to establish an air of looming threat and total
isolation; both key conventions/ building blocks of the horror genre. However
it is also used to create action and add potency to the more gory scenes. This
is evident in the gut scene and the music once built up adds to the tension of
the scene.
However there is room
for improvement. While the sweeping establishing shots boast the features
budget and give it wide scope, very little of the narrative is divulged. That’s
not to say the narrative isn’t explored, but the audience sees very little in
the way of sustenance, instead relying on special effects to intrigue the
audience to watch. This also allows for very little character development,
meaning very little investment from the audience in the characters.
Overall I gave the
trailer a 7. It’s a relatively good trailer that shows its budget of well, but
could use more character development for audience investment and intrigue.
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