Trailer of The Shining

I chose this trailer because i like the aspect of the main character played by Jack Nicholson and the way his madness plays a key role in the film. There are elements of humour added to the horror film which improve his character.
The use of low key lighting in the setting of a hotel emphasises the genre of the film as a horror. Multiple number of levels within a building gives more exploration of ideas, as you don't know what could be happening above and below where the character at the time is. I thought the idea of a past event coming back to haunt another person was very interesting, and the way his psychotic mind becomes unleashed through his temper and things he sees works well, up to trying to kill his own family.



This trailer for The Shining demonstrates some of the key conventions of a horror trailer. The most apparent convention is the music as it is eary and builds up suspense. Whilst the trailer builds up towards the main action there are low pitch instruments used but as we get closer the music speeds up and becomes more high pitched. Looking at lighting, this trailer doesn't follow the convention of having low key lighting and having the light come from different angles and positions. The name of the movie isn't mentioned until the end of the trailer, most likely so we pay all our attention on the text and not on the visual aspect. The character of Jack portrays pyschotic characteristics as the film unfolds. These are apparent through his evil smile and possessiveness over his family. Also he doesn't seem to care at all about his appearance from the moment his state of mind changes and is self indulged in his own thoughts of what he is going to do.