Analysis of (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre)

This is the analysis of one of the horror trailers. I decided to analyse the film trailer for The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. We will analyse the characters, the mise-en-scene, editing and the sound.

Setting
This film is set in the American South and the house is set in a classic American country style complete with porch and swing. In contrast to the outside, the inside is well covered with human, animal skins and bones.

Cast/Characters

The killer face mask is made from human skin and also wears a butcher’s apron. The style of the butcher's clothing makes the character relatable, however, the dirty style of the clothing shows vile and brutal things that he has done. This tells the audience that he is not afraid to deface his victims and has also done this in the past. The killer's choice of weapon consists of knives, chainsaws and hammers. The connotation of these weapons is death and mutilation. This is established with furniture made from human/animal bones, for example, chicken's feet on the table.
The male characters are shown to be wearing smart clothing such as shirts and black trousers. The female characters are dressed as if they were going for a night out. These characters are victims that are normal teenagers dressed in summer 70’s fashion. They are all represented as teenagers would react in those situations.


Editing
In the editing, we can only see the build up to the killing blow and then the cut to the effect. We never see the actual action of the knife or hammer going into the victim. The editing effect tricks our mind into thinking that we have seen something that we haven’t. This did affect the age rating of the film as the Board of Film Classification classified the film as 18 and they also made an unclassified version of the film. Lots of cut scenes within the house which consists of decomposing bodies and this increasing the tempo of the film. The effect of lights going out, emphasises that people have died in that house before.

Sound

The Diegetic sound of the teenage girl screaming is showed multiple times during the trailer, which gives a feeling of terror. Lots of crashing of furniture as the victims is rushing around the house gives a quick pace to the film.
The voiceover is one of the Non Diegetic elements of the trailer. This sets the scene and also allows the audience to understand the story. The voice is a deep, calm, male voice which guides the audience through the trailer. The chicken noises as the viewer focuses on the bones, this represents as if it was a slaughter house.
The music is the trailer is mostly atmospheric and it is a slow pace and a low horror inspired tone. There were no sounds on the cut scenes to the corpse, this puts emphasis on the visuals.
Analysis of a scene

This table scene is based on a family sitting around a table eating dinner. Except the family are killers. The dead father still at the head of the table who is dressed in a suit which is similar to the sons. The camera shot is from the point of view of the victim strapped to the chair. The family then taunt her, of her impending death. This is a situation that the viewers would be used to, eating together at the table. However, this scene is quite unsettling and creepy, the viewers would feel a sense of unease.

Source of historic and background info IMDB