Trailer Analysis: Gothika

In this analysis, I will be exploring the way in which the trailer for psychological horror film, Gothika, is effective in promoting the movie. Gothika is about a psychologist who works in a mental hospital, who wakes up one day in the mental hospital that she works in, as a patient, to the news that she has ‘killed her husband’, however, she has no recollection of this.

The trailer follows general trailer conventions from the start; it begins with film logos/institutional information displayed to the audience. The slow, piano-like, non-diegetic music sets the mood for the trailer's equilibrium. The use of straps then follows - the straps, however, are transparent, showing action happening on screen behind the text. The first strap, therefore, labels Miranda, as she is placed in the centre of the frame holding a collection of papers in her hands. She walks with determination and control, which proves that the strap labelling her is correct - she is an expert at her career. This paves the way for the narrative to follow, making sure it is clear and easy to understand for the audience. The straps also appear to transition; although they are see through, eventually, a black background forms behind them. The slow transition to black could reflect when a human mind is disturbed, reflecting Grey's transition from an alltogether, confident woman to a vulnerable girl on the edge of lunacy. When progressing further into the trailer, the audience witness a car crash; following the car crash, the screen fades to black, just like the screen does after the transparent straps. The link between the straps and the car crash suggest that Miranda is decending into a dark place when it comes to her sanity, with the car crash being a key turning point within the trailer. The black screen could reflect the transition from her sanity to her insanity, since after the black flash when she crashes her car, everything changes in the narrative. 

It is key that a trailer signals the sub-genre that the film is, otherwise it will attract the wrong target audience, and therefore won’t be successful. It is clear from the start that this movie is a psychological horror, as Penelope Cruz’s character (Chloe) states that Halle Berry’s character (Dr Miranda Grey) thinks she is “crazy”. As well as this, mise-en-scene elements such as costume and hair/make up make her look dishevelled and emotional compared to Miranda (she has a pale complexion with red eyes as if she has been crying,  messy stands of loose hair; as well as this she is wearing a blue type uniform, which is often seen in hospitals/medical environments). The costume, as mentioned above, is also key, as it signals the environment that the characters are in – a mental hospital, whilst also signalling that Chloe is the patient and Miranda is the doctor. The camera then zooms in on Miranda’s eye. The eyes are said to be the ‘window to the soul’; eyes are also connected to the brain, which is why this subtle feature hints to the audience that the film’s narrative is focused on what happens in Miranda’s mind, and is thus likely to be a psychological horror. In this way, the trailer starts off immediately trying to connect with it’s intellectual target audience, who will see the hints, and piece together the subgenre of the film.

The narrative structure of the trailer is conventional for horror trailers; we see the equilibrium, disruption and then reaction. It begins with events happening in chronological order, and being quite slow in pace, but gradually picking up pace-wise. However, closer to, during and after the montage there isn’t generally a chronological order, however the audience is still able to make sense of this through it’s conventional structure (they know that what they are seeing is part of the reaction to the disruption, and know that it doesn’t matter what order the events are shown in, as the events themselves are what is key to connoting the narrative; the order of the events isn’t). The non-chronological order of events in the film towards the end could also be providing a sense of mystery and intrigue, as the person will want to see them in order and see what happens as a result of them (they are clearly a key part of the narrative, as they are shown in the middle of the trailer rather than the start or the end). The repair and new equilibrium parts of the trailer have been purposely left out of the trailer for the audience, as this is conventional; if the trailer featured the reaction and repair, the audience wouldn’t be enticed to see the film as they know what already happens.

There are various different settings that feature within the trailer, however, it is evident that the stock location within the trailer is the mental hospital. Generally, the colours that feature throughout the whole trailer are dark; greys, navy blues and blacks. Through body language and dialogue, we are able to see the protagonist, Miranda, transition from being an intelligent, strong minded woman, into an allegedly ‘mentally ill’ patient – at the start of the trailer, we see Chloe lean forward as she is speaking to Miranda; she almost looks as if she is pleading with her, and says in a shaky, gritty voice “how can you trust someone who thinks you’re crazy?” . Towards the end of the trailer, we see Miranda looking pale and shaken, much like Chloe, as well as wearing the blue uniform with messy hair saying “you can’t trust somebody when they think you’re crazy”.

Camera is used to create effect and meaning throughout this trailer, by shot, angle and movement. Unusual shots reflect the sub-genre and also highlight pivotal moments within the trailer, for example, when Miranda wakes up in a room where patients stay, there is a tracking shot which zooms outwards, from outside her room. This is an unusual shot, and is the only kind which features in the trailer – this moment is pivotal to the narrative. The camera helps entice the audience into seeing the movie by the use of other unusual shots, reflecting Miranda’s manic mind; we see a 180 degree shot after the tracking shot which zooms out. The fact unusual shots only occur when the camera is on Miranda connotes her emotions of anxiety and panic to the audience, however, when Miranda is speaking to Dr Graham, more basic shots such as medium close-ups, long shots and medium shots. The trailer starts off with slower, longer camera shots, but once the trailer is halfway through it is clear that a wider variety of shots are used and these shots only appear for a few seconds, helping the audience understand the structure of the trailer (slower, longer shots represent to them that the equilibrium is occurring onscreen, whilst the montage and quicker shots leading up to the montage signal that the disruption and reaction are occurring).

Mise-en-scene elements which feature within the trailer, such as camera, also help in communicating the narrative to the audience. The trailer starts off with Miranda in the centre of the frame - a key focal point. Later into the trailer, a strap saying "until the day" appears and she is again in the centre of the frame. Even though the shots are extremely similar to each other, they reflect the complete change in her character as the mise-en-scene elements, specifically hair, make-up and costume, look dishevelled and depressing compared to the first centre shot of Miranda. The strap is then followed with another strap, saying "until she woke up on the other side", with the camera moving backwards until the words are positioned on the side that she is now, not on - a literal reflection of what has happened within the trailer. The setting appears to have significantly changed; it has gone from a warm, hospital corridor to a dark and dreary tunnel - this could reflect her perception of life and the building, and how it has changed. When Miranda is in her cell, it is almost as if she blends in with the cold background. This could represent that, to the doctors, she is just thought of as 'another number' and reflects the dehumanization of a once confident and beautiful woman, and could also be said to reflect the idea that society ignores people with mental health issues by simply putting them in hospitals, out of the way.

Use of non-diegetic sound is extremely effective within this trailer; it starts off with plain, slow-ish music, similar to a piano. Further into the trailer, fast paced music, with a ticking beat is played, again reflecting how manic she is and that her mind is pacing. Stabs of sound also feature (at 1:25), putting the audience on edge. It’s as if the sound building reflects the tension that builds up throughout the trailer. However, rather than finishing with a sting involving a stab of sound, it finishes with a softer, quieter piece of sound, which almost resembles someone’s breath being taken away. Other non-diegetic sound which features is the faint sound of high-pitched, off-key screeching, which helps to signal that things have taken a sinister turn. Diegetic sound which is prominent within the trailer also includes the sound of lightning - a conventionally 'scary' weather condition. The sound of lightning is used in the moments after the crash, when the blonde girl grabs Miranda, and so it adds to the scariness. There is also a build up of sound as the trailer gets closer to the crash scene, and subsequent scream, building tension and excitement, and gripping the audience. 

As stated earlier, straps are also a key part of this trailer; rather than using a shot for a strap, the straps are integrated within shots (the background, characters, action within the scene is visible behind them). The first strap appears at 0:16, and it confirms the audience’s suspicions that Miranda is some sort of psychologist/therapist in an institute. During the first part of the trailer, we see many rapid straps, all confirming to the audience the equilibrium of the film – in the middle of the trailer, we see one strap which follows on from the earlier straps, and which states the disruption of the film, whilst we see Miranda in a state of panic, realising the disruption that has occurred. After this, there is minimal use of straps, other than for when the actors names are credited. These aren’t integrated within the action going on on-screen; there is a black background behind these. The minimal use of straps towards the end half of the trailer adds to the audience’s sense of curiousity – how will she react and repair to the situation? Enticing them, yet again, to go out and watch the film.

The trailer is wholly conventional, including the speed of editing. The trailer begins by starting off slow, and building up speed until a series of rapid shots are shown (the montage) and then the editing keeps up a relatively medium pace until the end.  The pace within the trailer is identical to a normal trailer, however, the speed picks up dramatically after the car crash (a big transition). The pace is therefore extremely fitting considering the sub-genre of the film is psychological horror. The quick nature of the editing after the crash also helps to replicate/mimick the quickness and panic of the crash. The trailer is conventional in the sense that it features a sting, although, the sting itself is rather unconventional; it doesn't feature a jumpy/particularly scary moment, even though it appears to encourage the audience to brace themselves. This anti-climax when it comes to the sting could be said to intrigue audiences through going against conventions, making them much more likely to want to go and watch the film. The name of the film, followed by institutional information is the last thing that they see, which ensures that not only does the film stay fresh in the audience's mind, but it also ensures that the audience know this is a professional media text, which follows conventions.