Halloween Trailer Analysis

How does the Halloween trailer adhere to the codes and conventions of the slasher horror sub-genre?

The trailer for the film Halloween presents many paradigms to the audience through the use of iconography, structure and theme. Many of the conventions seen in the trailer are shown through the use of the character, props, settings and music used. Through these mediums the audience is exposed to the typical paradigms seen in many slasher horror films.

One area of iconography is the props used. Props are extremely important in horror films as they can add to the reality of the setting and, more often than not provide the protagonist with a weapon of defence. Perhaps maybe the biggest convention that the Halloween trailer shows in terms of prop usage is the butchers knife which the killer has chosen as his weapon of choice. This particular weapon conveys a sense of savagery due to the size and purple of which the weapon is normally used. We see this very early on in the trailer through the use of a mid-body shot. However this shot cuts off the bottom of the weapon which allows the audience to exaggerate the actual size of the object. This sense of the exaggerated weapon is also seen in other slasher films such as Friday the 13th  in which the killer uses and machete, and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, where the killer uses a chainsaw. The killers using weapons such as these add to the horror and gore of the movie. Maybe the most important prop in the horror genre, excluding the murder weapon, is the mask the killer chooses to hide his true face. The first time the audience clearly sees the mask in the trailer is through the use of a wide shot in which the killer's face appears next to the protagonists. The colour of the mask, which is white, contrasts against the black surroundings and therefore allows it to look more frightening to the audience. Many other films in the horror genre chose to give their killers masks such as My Bloody Valentine, whose killer wears a gas/breathing mask and I still Know What You Did Last Summer, which chooses to give it's killer a yellow slicker instead of a mask.

Another area of iconography is setting. Although the settings in horror films are relatively similar they still create both an intense and suspenseful feeling within the audience. The presence of a large house in darkness is a very common paradigm seen in many slasher horror films. In the Halloween trailer this is scene in a tracking shot following the main character. The house is surrounded by darkness and is covered in shadows. This gives the illusion to the audience that the killer is lurking within them. This common setting gives the audience the idea that the killer is always watching their victim, this could also be viewer as voyeurism.

Also seen in many slasher films is the idealistic American house in the suburbs. This is seen in the opening shot of the trailer, using a wide camera angle. The fact that the makers decided to add a perfect looking house in a slasher is that so it gives the idea that evil can happen in even the most normal place. This trope can be applied to films such as A Nightmare On Elm Street as that also takes place in a quite American suburb.

Music is another area of iconography and is maybe one of the most important aspects to think about when creating any horror film as this it is what can leave the audience with a great sense of fear. Once again the opening shot of the trailer provides a common trope seen in many slasher horror films. The opening shot shows the audience an apparently idealistic house but is accompanied by very shrill, non-diegetic, music. This is used to create suspense but also to warn the audience that something bad is about to happen. This idea of music being used to warn the audience is also seen later in the trailer through the use of a full body shot of the killer about to attack his victim whilst deep, sharp, segmented music lets the audience know that the killer is about to strike. This is also seen in other slasher films as the killer has their own soundtrack to make the audience aware of their presence, which could be seen as a motif.
The use of creaky doors are also very common and is accompanied by a wide shot of the killer in the door in question. The creaky sound of a door opening is used widely in horror films as it makes the audience weary of what is coming through the door, adding to the suspense.

The final area of iconography is character. Like in the majority of other horror films the main character is female. This is determined in the Halloween trailer as the majority of shots, mostly tracking, show the same woman. However, Halloween differs from the paradigm of character as protagonist, Laurie, has blonde hair which is quite rare for the female protagonist of a horror film as protagonists in other slasher horrors like Scream and Urban Legend have female protagonists with dark hair. So by Halloween having a light haired protagonist it is trying to defeat the stigma that blonde girls are less intelligent than darker haired girls as Laurie does outsmart the killer multiple times. However she is still classically portrayed as being extremely hysterical and as being portrayed as weak when she breaks down in tears after finding that her friends have been murdered.
Another character trope seen in the majority of horror genre is that the killer moves at a relatively slow pace. The audience sees this through the use of a shot reverse shot in which the protagonist looks over her shoulder to see the killer. This is where we see him walking at an almost leisurely pace across the pavement. Although this does set up quite a slow pace for the film compared to the fast moving 'Ghost face' in Scream, it does at least give the victim a chance to escape,which therefore allows the audience to identify and get behind the character and wish them to escape and survive.

The Halloween trailer also shows that it follows codes and conventions through the use of structure. All horror films are split into sections such as of equilibrium and moment of disequilibrium. There is a strong sense of the equilibrium towards the start of the trailer. There is a tracking shot of three characters, including the main protagonist, talking and laughing together in the sunshine. This shows the characters before the moment of disequilibrium.

Halloween also adheres to the trope of dramatic irony at some point in the film. The dramatic irony occurs when next victim is unknowingly facing the killer. This is shown in the trailer through the use of a short reverse shot sequence, showing the reveal of the killer, looking back to the calm, unknowing character, and back to the advancing killer. The use of this dramatic irony increases the suspense of the scene as the audience does not know when the killer is going to strike. This trait is similar to that of Scream as a character is also, unsuspectingly, face to face with the killer. However the difference between these two films in this area is that whilst one character comes to realise their mistake, the other does not.

A structural convention that is present in the majority of, if not all, slasher films is the re-telling of the killers past and therefore the origin of their motives. However Halloween somewhat differs from the conventional way in which this is shared, which is through a monologue by the killer towards the climactic scene of the film, but the trailer actually shows us what happens. The audience is shown this through a long tracking shot, which is being shown through the eyes of the killer as it is happening. This gives the audience a more visual, and therefore more detailed, telling of the killer's past. However Halloween is not the only film to show the origin of the killer in a visual way as Urban Legend also shows this visually.

One of the main themes in the Halloween trailer is isolation. This is shown through the many tracking shots that are following the protagonist as she is running away from the killer. This sense of isolation may also be due to the fact that the majority of the film is set at night which already suggests a lack of human presence. However the audience is shown a greater sense of isolation through mid-body shots of the protagonist knocking on neighbouring doors begging for help. The fact that there is no answer and also that nobody turns their lights on to see what is causing all the noise adds to the idea that the protagonist is alone in their own nightmare. This sense of isolation is present in many slasher horror films to give the audience the idea that no one can help the protagonist in their struggle.

One way that the trailer for Halloween follows the structuralist theory of Focault and Lacan is by showing the presence of the evident 'final girl'. This is evident in the trailer as the majority of the shots in the trailer feature the blonde female protagonist running from the persistent killer. This is also shown by mid shots showing the dead bodies of other characters, emphasising to the audience how the protagonist is the lone survivor of this massacre. Another area that can be applied to the structuralist theory is the spiralling shot that shows the protagonist falling down s flight of stairs. This is immediately followed by a low angled wide shot of the killer at the top of the stairs. This is a trope seen in most slasher horror films as it makes the audience ask the question of, will she get away from the killer? This therefore makes the audience feel a sense of anxiety for the victim, but as this is seen in the majority of slasher films, structuralist theory dictates that she will just about escape from the grip of the killer.

The Halloween trailer conforms to slasher horror codes and conventions by supporting certain paradigms including props, setting, music and character. In a way the trailer shows us the ingredients needed for a slasher horror film, in the way of character, a slow walking serial killer wearing a mask, setting, a quite American suburb,and props, in the way of an exaggerated murder weapon. The trailer for Halloween also shows evidence of Focault and Lacan's structuralist theory as it shows scenes that we as viewers expect to see in the slasher horror sub-genre.