Film Trailer Analysis-Orphan (Pre June 2010)

Title of the film- Orphan

Director- Jaume Collet-Serra

Institution- Dark Castle Entertainment

Year of release-2009

The first psychological horror film that I am going to analyse is Orphan, which was distributed in 2009. The film was released theatrically in the United States on July 24, 2009. Kate and John are a married couple who have recently been having problems with their marriage. Kate and John already have a son and a daughter, however they decide to adopt a child to overcome problems that they have recently been having in their marriage. They go to St. Marina Orphanage and fall in love with 9 year old Russian girl, Esther, as she was 'different' to all the other girls in the orphanage. Further on throughout the movie, Esther's actions cause Kate to think that there is a problem and she is psychologically disturbed. Her husband refuses to believe what she is saying, but when Kate called up the orphanage to find out more about Esther and her background, Kate discovers that Esther isn't who she thinks she is. The trailer for 'Orphan' can be viewed below:

This trailer successfully follows the codes and conventions of all film trailers. As with all horror film trailers, the trailer opens with an establishing shot of the house, which gives the audience a clearer understanding of where the film is going to be set. The trailer opens by explaining the story as the family are happy as they are about to adopt a child. They go to the orphanage and decide to adopt 'Esther'. When they bring her home, there are shots that show her bonding with the other two children within the family. However from then on, everything starts to change as it starts to become obvious that there is something wrong with Esther, which means that the audience are presented with an enigma as soon as Esther is seen kicking the toilet door and being violent. In addition to this, when the enigma is presented, the writing appears in black to represent dark and danger and make her seem evil. This also started to show the sub-genre in the trailer as something is 'psychologically wrong' with her. In terms of setting; the main setting of the film is in the house or either in a park. However, the white snow makes Esther look more innocent and come across as an innocent girl, when in actual fact the mother is the main victim in the situation.

There is lots of contrapuntal sound used throughout the trailer, such as when 'Esther' screams at the end, which could attract the target audience as it gives them a clear idea of the sub-genre and whether or not they are interested and this also catches their attention right at the end of the film. Furthermore, many conversations take place throughout the trailer, many of them are discussing Esther. For example, when the nun and the mother are discussing her behaviour and how she thinks that there is something wrong with her, it is in a linear sequence to give the audience a clearer understanding of the film and what to expect from the real film, without giving too much away so that they wouldn't have to see the whole film. 

The mise-en-scene used throughout the trailer gives a clear understanding of what each characters role is. Esther’s dark, old-fashioned costume and the shape of her hat and her dark eye make-up, give her a witch-like and scary, evil appearance that immediately leads us to see her as evil and not the innocent child that everyone thinks she is. This leads on from the fact that the girls in her new school made a comment about her clothing. Whereas, the two other younger children wear normal clothes to represent the clear difference between the orphan and the other children who have been brought up in a happy family. However, her pale skin could make her come across as innocent but as an audience, we know that her dark hair has a massive impact on this as it can make her seem dangerous and evil. The lighting at the beginning is a lot brighter and more colourful as the family are happy about adopting another child. However, there is a complete contrast between the lighting seen at the beginning of the trailer from the lighting at the end of the trailer, signifying that the events that take place within the trailer have an impact on the lighting that should be used. When Esther starts to become more violent and angry, the ambient lighting becomes a lot darker, such as when she was in the toilet kicking the doors as this is the first time the audience start to see the 'psychological' sub-genre appear in the trailer.  In addition to this, the props used, such as knives and bricks are not props that you would expect an ordinary child to use to hurt others around them. Also, lighting is used when 'Esther' is standing over her sisters bed when she sleeps, the lighting allows the audience to see Esther, creating a sense of evil. However, we never see why she is standing next to her sister. This makes the audience want to see the film to see what does happen. 

The fact the orphanage was shown right at the beginning of the trailer has a massive effect on everything else you see throughout the trailer and makes everything easier to understand. As she was adopted from an orphanage, suggests that she may have had a very bad upbringing, which could be one of the main problems with her behaviour and suggests why she is so different to all the other children which are the main representation of the film. Furthermore, another conventional aspect of the trailer is the editing that is used, The scenes start out slowly as the family are happy however, as the trailer goes on, the editing and speed of the trailer starts to get faster as Esther becomes more violent and angry throughout the trailer and the mother starts to panic about the way she is behaving. Although, this does build up tension and excitement for the audience as the faster it gets, the more they are waiting to see what happens next. There is a clear difference between the representation of the two children within the family and 'Esther', making them binary opposites. Especially the difference in their behaviour. Overall, the film follows the codes and conventions of all film trailers and appeals to the target audience because they are always waiting for something to happen, which would excite them, especially with the enigma that they are presented with at the beginning of the film.

The closing of the film trailer would also make the audience want to see the film because although the trailer shows that there are many problems with Esther, it doesn't give the actual problem which would mean that if the audience want to know the answer, they have to see the film. This is the whole point of building up the tension.