Film Trailer Analysis: The Woman In Black

The film trailer begins with the production companies logo ‘Momentum pictures’ and ‘Hammer’ The logo is in black and white and covered by a mist and shadows reflecting that the production is from the horror genre. The first scene is idyllic is a sunset as a old fashioned railway train steams ahead reflecting the Victorian era the film is set in. The music is gentle piano playing however it has an eerie tone. Daniel Radcliffe is dressed in a classic black suit reflecting the film is from the gothic genre. The audience first glimpse of eel marsh house conforms to horror conventions the house seems isolated abandoned and neglected as the outside of the house seems worn and surrounding by dense forestry. When Daniel Radcliffe informs the man that he is trying to sell eel marsh house the man replies “he won’t find a local buyer” hinting that there is an unpleasant history to the house. This gives the audience some minimal background information without revealing the plot as to why no one wishes to live there. The series of following shots put further emphasis on how isolated the house is as there are no surrounding houses only the water, the setting is extremely dark and grey foreshadowing that what lurks ahead at eel marsh is dark. There is also a shot of a cross another convention of horror films religious imagery is often used to ward off evil. The man further informs Radcliffe “the sooner the house is sold, the sooner that people can move on” reflecting that whatever has occurred at this house has left a considerable mark amongst the local community. A medium long shot of Daniel Radcliffe walking up the path of eel marsh house shows that he is perhaps the first to enter this house in a long time as the outside of the house is neglected and surrounded by overgrown shrubbery the tall iron gates have also fallen aside.

When Radcliffe enters the house the music becomes more intense resonating that entering this house is a pivotal moment and that something sinister is ahead. He spins a child’s toy a prop used within horrors although it seems innocent the object is often linked to evil. Through the toy there appears a pale face reflecting that a spirit occupies eel marsh house. This then cuts to a woman pouring him a glass of whisky she begs him “please don’t go back to that house” warning the audience that the house is evil. Daniel Radcliffe is shown within eel marsh house again the music has quickened in pace like a beat of a heart showing his anxiety in the foreground the audience can make out the woman in black however her full face is not revealed.

A voice over whispers “she’s there” showing that Radcliffe is unaware of the danger he is putting himself in. The following shot is of a crow sweeping down onto a desk, black crows are linked to being a bad omen. Indicating that there is a bad omen on eel marsh.

A series of shots of the villagers are used horrified as a house is on fire a woman is screaming terrorized hinting to the audience that perhaps there is link between eel marsh house and the villagers. Daniel Radcliffe says “He can’t leave yet” showing that there is something drawing him towards eel marsh house.

The title ‘The most chilling ghost story of our time appears’ this links to the context of the film as it is an adaptation of a book, the woman in black is a gothic novel/ ghost story written by British author Susan Hill.

The following shot shows a young girl stepping on the head of a china doll, behaviour which is unusual and foreshadows the girls own death. The three girls look expressionless as they walk towards the window, inferring to the audience that perhaps they are trying to commit suicide through jumping from the window.

The villagers seem angry as a man argues “You should have gone when we told you to” showing that Radcliffes deviant behaviour to go against the wishes of the people within the village has had unpleasant consequences for them.

Daniel Radcliffe is standing in the rain by eel marsh house, rains and storms are conventions of horror as they act as a pathetic fallacy which reflect the stormy plots. Following this we see a child rise from what appears to be a grave as it is marked by a cross this links back to the storyline of how the woman in black haunts the towns people because she is grieving for her son. Moreover in my trailer overview I noticed that religious imagery and the use of children as an evil force were a common convention of supernatural horrors.

A townswoman warns Radcliffe “you said you had a son go home to him” indicating that perhaps the woman in blacks next target would be his son. Radcliffe then tears down wall paper in the eel marsh house revealing a message scrawled in blood ‘you could have saved him’.

The shots then become more rapid a shot of the woman in black’s son popping up in front of Daniel Radcliffe is shown he is covered in mud and screams in his face this is an effective stab as it is likely to make the audience jump sharing the awe and terror of the character In his morbid discoveries.

There is a whisper of a woman a voice over which has been placed of the trailer stating ‘Never Forgive’ emphasising the message of the storyline that the woman In black is bitter with a grudge over her childs life therefore she is willing to take over children’s lives in revenge for her son.

A close up of Daniel Radcliffe is used and his name appears a sub-title this is significant as he is most famous for his role as Harry Potter his role as Arthur Kipps is extremely different this shows  his talent in a new light moreover fans of his work may take an interest in this role as some elements of Harry Potter are dark fantasy.

The following shots become more rapid as we see Arthur Kipps move further away from eel marsh house. The following sub-titles read ‘Fear’ ‘Her’ ‘curse’ emphasising the woman in black is evil and someone to be cautious of as she carries this curse. We then see images of Arthur struggling in a fire, fire can be linked to hell showing that the woman in black has a demonic spirit.

The title of the film then appears, followed by a stab of the woman in black appearing at the window were Arthur places his hand leaving audiences with that final image of the woman in black. A subtitle with the release date and film website is left to give the audience time to plan their visit to see the film the website is a way of the audience to obtain more information before the film is released.