Hostel Trailer Analysis

Hostel trailer.




The horror film ‘Hostel’ is set in an abandoned location and at the beginning of the trailer we know very little about what is going on there. The setting is iconic of horror films because it’s mysterious and dark. Low key lighting is used to create this dark atmosphere.

Mise en Scene: The props in this trailer are significant because it gives us, as an audience, an insight to what is going on in this strange place. We see close ups of pipes, taps and running water. This shows us that the setting is dingy, gloomy, dirty and disgusting. This is again iconic of horror. We see rusty tools such as a drill and scissors, which look like they would used in a garden but this makes us suspicious as an audience because it is suggested in the trailer that they are being used for other things. We see shots of the location which appears to be some kind of abandoned warehouse and some of it looks underground because of the pipes. Flickering lights are used within the scene to make it seem more dingy and unwelcoming but also to build up the tension. We see a close up of a woman's toe in a clamp - about to be cut off, it fades to black to hear the loud noise it makes and the distant scream of the woman. Costumes of the characters include masks over the face, dark clothing, one man appears to be wearing heavy armour looking clothing. There is a close up of a victim tied in a chair striped down to just his underwear. This shows us the power of the antagonists in the film because they are taking away the victim's dignity.

The camera work is very important in this trailer. At the beginning we get an establishing shot of the main location, which as I've previously mentioned, is a warehouse looking building that could be underground. It's very abandoned and fairy dark. We are then shown close ups of running water and taps and pipes. Following this is a long shot of a man and some sort of pipe or tool. He is dressed in some kind of overalls and he is wearing protective gear over his face. He is also in a dingy, damp room. We see a close up of a victim's horrified face as he awakes to find he is tied to a chair and about to be tortured by a man he had previously met and befriended. There are various shots of medium close ups, close ups and extreme close ups of tools. We also see a long shot of the victim tied to a chair and we hear him whimpering in desperation. We can see from this shot that both his hands and his feet are tied to the chair. There is a medium close up of a man with what appears to be the sort of mask a doctor or nurse would hear in a hospital for hygiene matters, coming towards the camera with a drill in his hand. We then see a montage of shots of men with tools looking like they are going to attack and we also see a victim crawling across the floor and a man running away through a corridoor. We then see two men dragging a man who's struggling.

The editing in this trailer includes many fade to black transitions. At the beginning of the trailer the clips stay on the screen for longer and everything is much slower so the transitions are easy to see. As the trailer goes on we see a montage of clips instead. Other editing includes the text on the screen explaining parts of the plot to give the audience a taster of what the film is about. The text is yellow on a black background, this could be iconic of horror and night time - possibly symbolising street lights. The writing has been edited to flash onto the screen in various ways and fade to black once it's been read. All of the clips from the film have been put together in a montage of shots it make the trailer gripping and exciting. This makes clips seem faster than they would in the film to give the audience a quick idea of what's going on but not giving too much away, so that they still want to come and watch it. Towards the end of the trailer the text begins to follow the quick shots, because it flashes aggressively and it's larger than before.

The non digetic sound in the trailer includes what sounds like strings/a violin. At the beginning there are two notes played a few times and they are smooth/legato. At the trailer becomes more exciting the strings begin to play four notes in an ascending, repeated pattern, this to create suspense and mystery. Other non digetic sound includes loud crash noises as certain text or certain scenes appear on the screen.
Digetic sounds include: The sound of the lights flickering, screaming, shouting, crying, sounds of things being ripped off walls, heavy breathing, a drill being turned on, scissors cutting and footsteps as a victim runs away. All of this sound makes the trailer much more gripping and tense.