C O M P A R I N G C A N TATA T O S U C C E S S F U L H O R R O R F I L M S

SCREENSHOTS COMPARISON

The Conjuring (2013)

In the Cantata trailer, the final girl character finds a bracelet that belonged to the friend that had died before the film and has come back to haunt them. This particular shot starts off the sequence of her feeling guilty for not helping the dead friend. This is one of the more emotionally shot in the trailer and is purely focused on the bracelet and the girls reaction.

This shot of Lorraine Warren looking into one of the possessed toys is very powerful in the trailer as it comes across to the audience how potent and deadly the spirit is through the expression and emotion shown in her face. The light shining on her face compares to the Cantata trailer as they both have a similar direction of light but The Conjuring has used a darker background which brings a more tense atmosphere.

The Unborn (2009)

At this point of the trailer, the girl is not possessed at this point but it starts to hint that something is going on surrounding this character. Through the use of a slow motion zoom onto the eye, it breaks up the normal pace f the film which adds tension and starts to build up the pace through the contrasting slow motion and quick shots.

The extreme close up of the eye in The Unborn trailer shows the tension building up throughout the trailer as it acts as the break before the short, quick shots as well as showing a scared and worried reaction. Both films use of the theme of possession which can be effectively demonstrated through the eyes while also showing the fear the character is feeling.

Halloween (1978)

By using the church graveyard as a external setting, showing the scene at night uses contrasting tones that add a sense of mystery and being unknown to the audience as they can’t see what's hiding in the darkness. Using this in the trailer helps set the location for the audience quickly as well as starting to build up the tension.

In this exterior shot of the house in Halloween, it helps the audience understand it is a suburban landscape and it is unusually eerie for the normal atmosphere of a safe neighbourhood. The long shot almost looks like a spotlight effect which covers the surrounding areas in darkness, making it harder for the audience to decipher what could be in the background.

Halloween (1978)

In the Cantata trailer, we included a long shot of the friends to see them as a group and quickly establish the main characters of the film. Having one of the main settings in the background also helps the audience understand why they’re there and starts to build up the tension in the trailer as the viewer knows something soon is going to happen to them.

In Halloween, the 3 main friends are established through the shots of them together a group coming home from school which also helps the audience see how different the friends are compared to Laurie, who possesses the qualities of the final girl. In also indicates that they live in a safe suburban neighbourhood which differs from the average horror film location.

Hollow (2011)

With the phone box scene in Cantata, we wanted the audience to feel that the character was trapped inside and had no way of escape, which I think comes across quite well. The audience can’t really see through the window so the person is quite distorted with the blood running down the glass.

In the scene from Hollow, it shows a shaky point of view shot held by one of the characters as they run up the phone box and see the blooded cross while the camera pans to them surrounding it. I think this shot is very effective as the only thing highlighted in the picture is the phone box window and the red cross which the audience can quickly notice, in addition to contrasting well with the black surroundings.

The Cabin in the Woods (2012)

At just over half way through our trailer, we show the 3 surviving friends left in the graveyard after the possession of the other friend. Having a wide shot is very similar to one below as it shows the location where they are trapped and also shows their reactions and body language that suggests they are scared about what is going to happen.

At this point in The Cabin in the Woods, the 3 friends are trapped by the tunnel and are thought to be the only survivors. The colours of the shot are also quite similar to the one in Canasta as they use dark tones to tell the audience it’s night-time. The positioning of the characters is similar as it has the final girl in the middle with the two most alpha males beside her.

Orphan (2009)

By adding titles to the Cantata trailer, it was broke down to make it into more comprehendible pieces for the audience to understand easily and not get too bored while also helping get across the plot of the story. Titles also help with the pace of the trailer and help speed it up slowly without the audience being too aware of it until the end.

With the Orphan trailer, the speed is built up quite slowly until just before half way through when the titles first appear and there is a close up shot of the swinging chain which is then built up at a quicker pace with the quick black shots. These accompanied with the voice overs help the audience pick up the story quickly as well as being frightening.

The Omen (1976)

Towards the end of the trailer before the credits we included a shot where one of the victims comes face-to-face with the possessed friend by looking over his shoulder. This shot with the backdrop of the church and the dark background works well as a closing shot along with the special effect of the electricity bolt running around her, reaffirming the identity as a possession film to the audience.

In this shot from The Omen, the boy Damien is stood behind the woman lurking in the dark background to give the appearance to the audience that something is going to happen which adds a sense of tense feeling to the scene. With Cantata and The Omen both being about possession/The Devil, they both build up throughout by focusing on the victims rather than having too many shots of the ‘villain’ which could give away the plot.