Nightmare on Elm Street trailer analysis

Sound: The first 15 seconds of the trailer show the sound of heavy breathing, which gives the trailer a sense of panic and suspense. There is a loud crash just as the action sets in, this is stereotypical of horror film. There is also very fast paced music and the sound of a car. This gives the trailer an action-packed feel. The dialogue heightens the sense of panic as the central actors shout their words rather than speaking them. Also, one character is adressed as "krueger", this means that the audience can immediatley identify him as the victim. As the captions appear on screen there is a series of short, sharp beats in time with them which heightens the suspense. The dialogue suggests what the plot is about. The singing of the children is unconventional because usually this would be something innocent, however as it has an echo effect it sounds distorted and sinister. There is a regular beat in time with the childrens singing that sounds like footsteps, this gives the impression that something bad is coming. Inbetween the singing there is the sound of screams and loud crashes and bangs. This all comes to a silence before the child sings the line "never sleep again", as this is the most important line, relating to the plot. Afterwards there is a series of short sharp screeching noises that can be see as reflecting a heart beat, this shows the panic of the central characters. There is then a series of screams before it goes into silence as the title appears on the screen, this is very conventional of horror films. It then ends with dialogue of the villain which is quite a lasting effect.

Editing: The editing is fairly normal in this trailer. It involves the conventional start with slow shots fading into one another creating an eerie feel, but then goes into a series of short ones to convey a sense of panic. The interesting this is that the editing varies. One minute there will be a slow, short shot, and then it will immediatley go into a fast one which suprises the audience. The editing is often in time with the music which makes it more easy to comprehend and highly effective.

Mise en scene: Conventional of horror film, the beginning starts in a dark secluded place. It is set at night time. This fits in with the plot of the film in that all the action happens while the central characters are asleep. The protagonists are shown to be dressed in light colours, as opposed to the villain who is dressed in black and appears to have blades for a hand. This immediatley makes the audience aware of who the characters are. The idea of having children present in the trailer juxtaposes their innocence with the harsh realities of what happens to the victims. The disturbing images shown are stereotypical of horror. There is a woman syringing herself, and the villains arm appearing in the shot at several times to frighten the audience. The expression on the characters faces also gives alot away about their reactions to the events that occur in the film.