The Last Exorcism (2010) - Plot Summary And Trailer Analysis

Director-Daniel Stamm
Certificate 15
Lionsgate

PLOT SUMMARY.
A reverend and his film crew are making a documentary about exorcisms and he agrees to carry out one final job. They go to Louisiana to visit a farm where the family believe that their daughter is possessed by demons. The reverend performs a fake exorcism because he doesn't believe that the daughter is actually possessed. The crew and the reverend then leave. That night, the reverend discovers the daugther in his motel room where she is in a catatonic state. The reverend tells her father that she needs psychiatric help. The reverend and the crew discover that the daughter is pregnant and that the father is a local teenage boy. They visit the boy who confirms that he is not the father. The crew and the reverend return to the farm where the daughter gives birth to a demonic baby and the camera crew get killed.


THE LAST EXORCISM TRAILER.




TRAILER ANALYSIS.
At the beginning of the trailer, the camera flickers and makes a crackling sound, this immediately creates disturbance and suspense for the audience. The non-diegetic sound track sounds like church music and is high pitched to create tension. The fact that the music sounds like it is from a church contrasts with the anti-Christianity theme. We then see a man who is an expert on exorcisms (we can tell this by the way he is speaking) This creates a sense of realism to the film because it seems like a documentary rather than a horror film.

The text which appears is factual and also gives a sense of realism to the film. I think that this makes the film seem more frightening because it looks as if it is actually happening in real life. The text also lets us get to know the characters, such as the reverend and where abouts this is taking place (Louisiana).

The camerawork is shaky and is hand-held, this again creates a mood. For instance, if there is a lot of action, the camerawork will become fast moving and shaky to emphasise how the crew are feeling.

There are lots of point of view shots which means that the audience can experience the same kind of emotions the characters are going through and they can create their own opinion of each of the characters. The films structure is set out like an interview this also creates a realistic effect.

Red filters are used over the top of some bits of the film, this could emphasise the panic of the situation and the characters, or it could imply blood and gore. In the middle of the trailer there are fades to black which confuses the audience and makes them wonder what is going to happen next. Also, there is a fast montage of clips with loud, sudden music accompaning it which emphasises the panic and horror.

Finally, at the end of the trailer, the camera is laying on the floor facing upwards with the crew members trying to turn it off, this engages the audience because they are confused to what has actually happened. It also leaves the audience to their own imagination.

I think that this trailer is really effective because it engages the audience and i like the way that it is filmed like a documentary, i think that it makes the film look more scary because its not the typical bloody horror and it makes the audience wonder after the trailer has ended. I think that this element could be a possible idea for my groups horror trailer.