Film theory trailer analysis - Prom Night

Prom Night trailer in light of film theories

The trailer for Prom Night (2008) follows the main protagonist, Donna, preparing for her senior prom, attending it and then running from a crazed killer that has an undisclosed obsession with her. The trailer shows signs of all the film theories, including Todorov’s and Propp’s.

The most noticeable film theory is Todorov’s narrative theory that states that all horror films follow a similar theory, therefore making all horror films predictable. This theory is split into four different sections. Three of which are shown in the Prom Night. The equilibrium is shown in the very beginning of the trailer by the locations in very light settings with pastel colours. The equilibrium is also shown by the completion of everyday tasks by the characters, such as going to a hair salon and laughing with friends. This then transitions to the moment of disequilibrium, introduced by the sudden turning off of the lights, and reinforced by the ambiguous killing of a secondary character, with a close up shot of the murder weapon. This then continues to the period of disequilibrium by showing the quick cut shots of the killer stalking and killing the prom attendees. This is then met by the showing of the female protagonist trying to escape the killer and for the police to find the killer. The period of disequilibrium has been edited with extremely fast shots as to create tension and to make the film appear fast paced.

Another theory shown in the trailer is Strauss’s theory of binary opposites. There are many binary opposites presented in the trailer through themes. The most prominent is good and evil. This is portrayed through characters like innocent victim versus the dark serial killer. With these two characters the theme of beauty and violence is also shown as the protagonist is very attractive which contrasts with the close up shot of the murder weapon and the nature of the film altogether. There is also a prominent binary opposition of freedom and confinement. There is constant talk at the beginning of the trailer of leaving school and being set free, where in reality they are confined to the hotel where their prom is being held because the serial killer has locked all of the exits. There is also a very visual binary opposition of light and dark. This is shown in two different ways throughout the trailer. The first is the lighting, which often shows a large, light room, with a section of darkness in it, suggesting that the killer is lurking there. The other way the binary opposite of light and dark is visualized is by the characters costumes. The innocent protagonist is wearing a “champagne” dress which is a very light colour whilst the killer is always shown wearing black, also showing the contrast the motives of the two main protagonists.

Propp’s character theory states that in tales there are thirty-one separate story lines that keep repeating themselves with the same characters. Not many of these character types can be seen for the Prom Night trailer but there are three that stand out. The first being ‘the hero/victim’ who is the main source of rage for the killer and is the conventional blonde American teenager. The second being ‘the villain’, from watching this trailer it is obvious to see that the villain is the murder. However the camera never reveals the killers face, which adds to the mystery of who he or she is. The other, more ambiguous, character shown in the trailer is ‘the helper’ who appears to be the lieutenant chasing the killer down, his helper status is revealed by his monologue running through the majority of the trailer.

The final film theory is Bathes enigma code. This theory suggests that a text portrays an element of mystery to entice the audience. This theory is built up through the trailer by the fact that the camera never shows the killer’s face. This adds a certain ambiguity and mystery to the killer. Another way the enigma code is portrayed is in the final scene of the trailer. This scene is a close up of the protagonist hiding under the bed, the camera then shows a close up of the killer’s feet as he walks past the bed, we then see the camera go to a close up of the protagonists face while she is putting a hand over her mouth, to mask her breathing. This shot-reverse-shot sequence creates the question among the audience “Will the killer find her?” The sudden cut, leading to black at the end of the shot also leaves the audience hanging in suspense.