Genre
Nightmare on Elm Street is a hybrid film. In this case, it is a crime, drama and horror film, which is also a famous remake of the 1984 movie of the same name. Much like other horror trailers, it follows conventions to make the demographic interested in the movie, like how it begins with a scene that provides the audience with insight to how these people are affected in their dreams and then in real life too before proceeding to more fast shots and cuts as the tempo of the music rises.
Mise en Scene
Different settings are used, like a restaurant, a school and doctor's room, but they are all places where we trust to be safe and protected. The idea that people are getting attacked in these places, and their dreams no less, scares the audience as they usually trust these places and makes the demographic realise how vulnerable the victims are before and during the time the spirit attacks them.
All characters besides the killer wear the same typical clothing for their age, but all the clothes are in darker colours to emphasise the dark and scary tone of the trailer, because their clothing reflects on how they are feeling and if the clothes were bright and colourful it would take away some of the trailer's effectiveness as it would indicate the characters are happy and cheerful. The killer, however, is always seen wearing the same clothes: a full sleeved shirt, pants and a hat, this indicates that the killer is stuck in this idea of revenge and murder, much like he is stuck in the same wardrobe. It also makes him easier to recognise, aside from his burned features.
Many props are used to relay the story, like how one of the students finds a book with a drawing of the exact same hand with claws she dreams of, and other drawings or video blogs on one of the characters computers which help her understand that she is not the only one being haunted by the vengeful spirit. These props help the victims realise that they are not alone and are all being hunted in their dreams. The killer himself has a prop of his own: his claws, which help him harm the victims, its his very own murder weapon attached to his own body, meaning he's never without it or vulnerable, causing the audience to become more terrified for the lives of the main characters.
The NVC in moments of suspense directly relay how the characters truly feel, causing the audience themselves to feel what they are feeling and make them aware how vulnerable the characters really are. The NVC in some scenes depicts realisation, which allows the audience to realise how much trouble the characters are really in.
The lighting in all scenes is low key, even in those that are filmed in the day, have cloudy skies or just dim sunlight, suggesting an overall dark and morbid tone. Many of the shots have lighting which appears to be a greenish blue, depicting a cold and desolate atmosphere, which is perfect for shots portraying the dreams, or how the characters look when asleep, this is seen in some of the above photos. The trailer follows the convention for low key lighting in horror films as it sets the perfect backdrop and feeling to certain scenes, specifically the ones containing horror material.
The overall mise en scene is very typical for this genre as horror is defined by many of these conventions and films rely on them to create the perfect atmosphere and feeling of suspense from the audience when filming these scenes.
Narrative/ Voice-Over
Rather than narration the trailer relies on the conversations between characters to tell the story, some of the character's speech is overlaid on scenes that are relevant but quickly cut together, to summarise what the character means to the audience, this creates a bit of a voice over, but not really. The narrative is presented in a fragmented order to create a larger sense of chaos and terror in order to spook the audience, it also allows the audience's attention to be undivided from the trailer.
Characters
All characters who are victimized are seen as vulnerable, paranoid and frightened, this shows the audience how the spirit can terrify any type of person, demonstrating how truly powerless the characters can be against him. This representation accurately fits in the genre, as there is always someone who is paranoid i.e. the video blogger, usually girls seen helpless i.e. blonde haired student and girl patient and those who are brave enough to try to face the monster himself. The spirit is portrayed as someone ultimately powerful over the main characters, in control of the situation and who usually has some sort of vendetta or reason to be haunting these specific characters, here it is because their ancestors burned him alive. This is the general stereotype/ conventions for the monster or evil entity in horror films.
Rather than narration the trailer relies on the conversations between characters to tell the story, some of the character's speech is overlaid on scenes that are relevant but quickly cut together, to summarise what the character means to the audience, this creates a bit of a voice over, but not really. The narrative is presented in a fragmented order to create a larger sense of chaos and terror in order to spook the audience, it also allows the audience's attention to be undivided from the trailer.
Characters
All characters who are victimized are seen as vulnerable, paranoid and frightened, this shows the audience how the spirit can terrify any type of person, demonstrating how truly powerless the characters can be against him. This representation accurately fits in the genre, as there is always someone who is paranoid i.e. the video blogger, usually girls seen helpless i.e. blonde haired student and girl patient and those who are brave enough to try to face the monster himself. The spirit is portrayed as someone ultimately powerful over the main characters, in control of the situation and who usually has some sort of vendetta or reason to be haunting these specific characters, here it is because their ancestors burned him alive. This is the general stereotype/ conventions for the monster or evil entity in horror films.
On-screen Graphics/ Captions
All the vital information is revealed through the characters themselves, the onscreen captions merely add to the sense of fear through the use of the font and color mirroring the color of blood and the font being sharp and modern, reminding the audience of a weapon.
Editing and post production
The pace of the trailer increases rapidly much like the background music does, the pace is changed through the use of quick cuts between short scenes, which cause the shots to seem fragmented and scarier as the audience sometimes does not fully understand what is going on in them. Special effects like the black mist when the victims fall into their beds or when the blonde haired student suddenly begins dreaming it looks like the dream is taking over violently invoke feelings of terror in the demographic as it is clear there are supernatural forces, which we do not understand, at hand here.
Music and other sound effects
The music in the background of the trailer sets its pace and affects the heartbeats of the audience, causing them to become more scared when watching the trailer. Other sound effects like fragmented screams and the scraping of the claws against metal are emphasised to make these scenes more intense and frightening.
Camerawork
Many reaction shots are used, as the audience directly related to how the characters feel, especially when they are terrified. Dolly shots are used to track cautious movement and build up suspense for the demographic as well and are also used in scenes where the characters are running away, giving the effect that they are being chased as they look back behind the camera frequently whilst these shots occur. Some shots are also wide to show how alone the characters are in a setting like when the man walks across the restaurant, to make them seem vulnerable and build up tension and suspense. Some camera angles are taken from a high angle so it looks like the spirit is towering over the victims and others are from a low angle, like the shot at the end where the doctors hand becomes a claw, to show that the spirit is in control and has power.
All the vital information is revealed through the characters themselves, the onscreen captions merely add to the sense of fear through the use of the font and color mirroring the color of blood and the font being sharp and modern, reminding the audience of a weapon.
Editing and post production
The pace of the trailer increases rapidly much like the background music does, the pace is changed through the use of quick cuts between short scenes, which cause the shots to seem fragmented and scarier as the audience sometimes does not fully understand what is going on in them. Special effects like the black mist when the victims fall into their beds or when the blonde haired student suddenly begins dreaming it looks like the dream is taking over violently invoke feelings of terror in the demographic as it is clear there are supernatural forces, which we do not understand, at hand here.
Music and other sound effects
The music in the background of the trailer sets its pace and affects the heartbeats of the audience, causing them to become more scared when watching the trailer. Other sound effects like fragmented screams and the scraping of the claws against metal are emphasised to make these scenes more intense and frightening.
Camerawork
Many reaction shots are used, as the audience directly related to how the characters feel, especially when they are terrified. Dolly shots are used to track cautious movement and build up suspense for the demographic as well and are also used in scenes where the characters are running away, giving the effect that they are being chased as they look back behind the camera frequently whilst these shots occur. Some shots are also wide to show how alone the characters are in a setting like when the man walks across the restaurant, to make them seem vulnerable and build up tension and suspense. Some camera angles are taken from a high angle so it looks like the spirit is towering over the victims and others are from a low angle, like the shot at the end where the doctors hand becomes a claw, to show that the spirit is in control and has power.
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