The Strangers Analysis

The representation of the killers and the victims in the film "The Strangers" are very different to one another. The female victim is shown in the trailer as alone, and hardly seen with her husband. This shows me that she is being portrayed as the inferior of the couple and will be the one who is more vulnerable of the victims. This is conventional as the woman is normally viewed as the victim in horror films. An example of the vulnerability of the woman is with one of the first shots in the trailer where we see her naked in the bath. this shows her innocence and we see her with no protection which gives us an idea that she is going to be attacked. The male victim is shown as masculine, and wearing a suit. The choice of clothing connotes wealth and power, which we know he has over the woman. We also see the man going to take on the killers, and try and protect the woman from them. This shows his masculinity and we also see how he is the more powerful of the couple. The three killers are shown as calculated, and quite clever and logical. We see them following the couple, and leaving clues around the house to where they are. The swings moving, ande then the music player starting are some parts of this. We also see them as cold hearted, and quite quiet. We see them attacking the couple, and they only talk once in the trailer, which helps to keep their mystery and keep us in suspense.

The narrative in the trailer shows the happenings of the film in chronological order. This is used to help the audience create a story in their minds of the happenings in the film. We see the man and woman as a normal couple at the beginning to help us get a sense of what the couple are like, and what they are doing in the house they are in. We then see a series of events culminating in the killers coming into the house and attacking the couple. From the shots we see in the trailer, we can create our own storyline to whats happening to the couple and the struggles they are enduring with the killers.

The mise-en-scene is carefully selected for the film to help create a sense of suspense and envolvment within the audience. The masks are used on the killers to create mystery and suspense, and when the masks are removed, we only see the hair and not the faces of the killers to continue with the suspense. Also used are props that you would find in an everyday setting in a house, which helps the audience interact with the family as it is easy to relate to. Also, low key lighting is used on the killers, and outside, to help create a sense of mystery. This helps us realise that the killers are there and still a threat to the couple inside, and outside, the house. The objects that the killers also use to threaten the couple are very important in the teaser trailer. The axe and the knife are both show in full view to the camera, which creates a sense of danger and death, which is what the audience want to see from a horror movie.

The camerawork used in The strangers trailer is varied, but helps us interact with the characters in the film. We see the distance between the victims and the killers in terms of knowledge of the whereabouts of each other. A long shot is used to show the woman in her kitchen, oblivious that one of the killers is in the room with her, which we can see both, and see that the killer has control of the situation.