Trailer Analysis- Insidious

Film Magazine Analysis

Creep Analysis

Creep is a British horror film that was directed by Christopher Smith in 2004 and was set in an underground station in Charing Cross underground station. Underground stations are not exactly considered to be safe however they are a very familiar as they are passed through by a number of people on a daily basis and the familiarity could possibly make them feel safe. However the underground is a transient location and no one remains there for too long, but in the film Kate is trapped there for longer than she should be after missing the last train, this suddenly makes a familiar place a dangerous place to be in. The looming danger became clear when she tried to leave but is met by closed gates this makes the viewer realise that she is now imprisoned. The abandoned station gives an eerie and intense atmosphere as it leaves you wondering what will happen next.

Another location we are introduced to is the killer's lair which we associate with where he brings all his human pets. One of the rooms in his hideout resembles that of an operation room, however it looks nothing like an operation room in terms of the up-keep. This is because it is covered in blood and dirt but an operation room is meant to be very clean and sterilised. This environment makes the viewer feel uncomfortable and also the babies in large test tubes contribute to the unsettling feeling the viewers have. Other images that strongly reinforces the genre is the killer ripping out organs from his victims and feeding them to rats.

In the first scene we are shown a close up of a woman with her face covered in blood, then there's a quick cross cut to a party scene. This create an immediate sense of suspense and has the viewers hooked and wondering what's going on. As Kate looks for an exit there is  point of view shot looking at Kate. This suggests that she is being watched or followed by an unknown person or thing which is supposedly the antagonist. Another area in which close up was used was in the peep hole looking through the drivers door. This led to a reverse close up shot of the drivers bloody face with a surgical implement on it. From Kate's point of view it was a case of her looking in but not being able to see anything.

As Kate runs through the tube the camera angle on her is appointed from three different positions that are all hand held. It was held by running behind her, in front of her and a point of view angle of the camera coming towards her. This choice of angling is very interesting as it makes the viewers feel apart of the chase. As the camera runs towards her, she stops and we get a point of view of her face which allows us to read the connotation that she is stuck and has nowhere to run to. This feeling is further assured as the camera circles around her and we watch her ponder about what direction to run in.

The female lead is Kate. A false killer is set up through Guy who was on the tube with her and sexually attacked her. This leads the audience to wonder if he was the one watching her all along. The killer is not seen until 45 mins into the movie and it was not made obvious if he was human or not, however the film tries to sway the audience into thinking that it's a creature not a man. The villain in this film was dehumanized and given an unnatural look as his nose was disfigured, he had no eyebrows,which made him look very odd and he has plenty scars on his body which added to his deformity. We get a sense that he like a 'normal' human being as he acts in ways that can be seen as unusual. An example would be in the delivery room where he pretends to wash his hand before performing surgery on one of his female victims bu the tap is not running. This leads us to believe that he is somewhat psychotic.


The film uses a lot of graphic imagery to represent horror. An example of this is at the start of the film where blood is viewed on the floor along with this is a subdue scream from a female, this gives an instant feeling of danger and raises awareness from the beginning. Other images strongly relate to the horror genre and are not seen until the killer is revealed to the audience. We are witness to him pounding the chest of one of his victims with a grotesque bloody outcome, this is shown when he takes out a body part and appears to feed it to his rats. This reflects the insanity that can be related to the killer.

Lighting is also another factor that has been used to add to the horror. This is shown in the beginning of the film where a torch light is used to brighten up the tunnel, this limits what the audience see due to the minimal light that comes from the torch light. This also encourages the audience to fucus their attention on the mise-en-scene, away from the characters, as they are focusing their attention on what is in the background to see what may be lurking in the shadows. The use of dramatic irony is also another factor that contributes to the horror as it allows the audience to know that there is something/someone in the background and that the two characters are not alone. Torchlight and shadows are used again when the lights go off in the tube, this adds to the effect of hiding the identity of the person the person holding it as it is shone i the direction of Kate making her unable to see the person properly. Another successful use of a simple instrument like the torchlight is when Kate is in the storeroom and switches it off and on, however when it comes on we see the killers' face. This makes the audience jump as they were not expecting that image to be so abrupt and the killers face is revealed for the first time.

The use of sound in Creep is often used to create a sense of premature terror. This is because the audience obviously know it's a horror but they are left in terror awaiting what is to come next a they know it is likely to make them jump, however some moments are put there to keep them on their toes. An example of this is when the workmen are clearing the tunnel and one of them head down a tunnel alone, in the background was a menacing soundtrack which indicates that he may be heading for danger. This fits the convention of a character going off on their own and makes us think something bad is about to happen. The music used signifies danger and aids the narrative instead of leading it. During the first attack of Guy we see hi dragged from the tube accompanied by the use of diagetic sound wit no images. This allows the audience to imagine what is taking place which adds to the power of suggestion encouraged by sound.

Changes In Horror

Comparing Halloween And Scream

Through out the years Horror films have been able to evolve due to the development of technology. Due to the changes in technology it is possible to see a change in the way in which horror movie have been produced an example would be between Halloween which was released in 1978 and was directed by John Carpenter and Scream which was released in 1996 and was directed by Wes Craven. Scream makes some references to Halloween as they are both similar in the sense that they are both 'slasher' films as both the killers wear masks and carry knives.

Since the release of Halloween it is noted that a lot of directors have copied the conventions used in the making of the horror film. This has made a lot of horrors become similar and repetitive in a sense as they are faded and continue to present a parallel structure to their audience. Horror films have declined in recent years due to their unrealistic themes and their over excessive use of violence, this has made the audience disconnect from it as they see it as promoting crime for young people. 

However Wes Craven the director of Scream has tried to challenge the outworn conventions used in previous horror films. He has done so by trying to avoid the some of the cliched conventions of a horror film, for example not using and steady cam in most scenes like Halloween does. Halloween on the other hand wasn't as violence based as the traditional horror movie. This because the film focuses on the stalking aspect of Michael Myers on his victims than him actually putting the knife in them. the antagonist is mainly shown choking and stabbing his victims however we are not shown any blood. moreover it does follow a typical convention of horror movies where the victims are mainly female showing them as vulnerable victims.

In contrast to Halloween, Scream is more explicit in terms of violence and what they show their audience. This is due to the fact that they show frequent bloody deaths which are very gruesome. In Scream the victims are not just hunted down and murdered but are also sometimes tortured e.g. Cassie and Steve this showed a significant change from the typical killing structure. Also this shows that there was no discrimination in terms of gender regarding the victims.

Halloween uses very monotonous music throughout. This makes it very predictable as the audience are able to predict what is going to happen next. Scream on the other hand took a different approach and uses atmospheric music from tunes that are unpopular to the audience. This makes it unpredictable as the audience are waiting to see what happens next.

The typical horror conventions tend to portray their victims as wild and sex crazed teenagers, they are often made out to be victims in a horror movie and are often weak and are of no match in strength with the antagonist. However in Scream this convention was broken as the victims fought back and this challenged the conventions of a horror movie by making it unpredictable.

In Scream the audience is given a chance to see things from the victim and the killer's point of view this takes away voyeurism and allows the viewers to sympathies with the victims. This challenges the Stereotypical conventions as in Halloween and other horror films we are only shown the perspective of the killer and are not able to sympathizes with the victims.

Most horror films such as Halloween rarely use famous stars, this is because they are made on a low budget which explains why they use cheap unknown actors, usual everyday suburban locations, very obvious soundtrack and low tech equipment with very poor special effects. Scream on the other hand had a high budget and was able to feature a number of well known stars such as; Neve Campbell (Sydney), Courtney Cox (reporter), Henry Winkler (headmaster) and Drew Barrymore (1st victim). This is seen as one of the major reasons Scream succeeded than most horror movies. the use of recognizable actors was used a form of attracting the audience as they would be going to see someone they are used to watching on the big screen.