The Unborn was released in 2009 and was directed by David S. Goyer. Rouge Pictures distributed the film and helped it make a gross revenue of over $75 million. The storyline is based around a young lady who is being tormented by a unknown being or demon.
To start off the trailer begins with a fade in establishing shot of a house in the snow and a voice over is used which is a girl speaking on the phone. It cuts to inside the house and a medium shot is used to show a girl relaxing on the sofa whilst speaking on the phone. It cuts to the other side of the room enabling the audience to see the layout of the room. The camera pans very slowly which makes the audience feel uncomfortable straight away. A diegetic sound of a bang coming from upstairs is heard and it cuts to a close up of the girl looking distressed. At this point in the trailer the audience can recognize that it is of the horror genre. A close up is then used showing a baby monitor and a creepy voice can be heard. This effect used on the audience is clever because its not a sound that you would associate with a baby monitor. It then cuts to a tracking over the shoulder shot as the woman looks in on the child she is baby sitting. His back is turned and the tension and suspense is built up even more. It cuts to a low angle shot looking up at the boy who doesn't look normal and as she says 'Matty', and suddenly he hits out at her and states that ' he wants you'. At this point the audience aren't sure at who this person is and why the child is acting in such a weird way.
A montage of shots are then used of a weird looking boy whose costume suggests that he is from the past. The special effects used make him look freaky and very frightening. Rouge pictures titles flickers in the montage as well. Non diegetic music of a piano then starts. In the old horror films music from a piano would be heard to create suspense, so by using a piano to create tension is a typical horror genre indicator. An establishing shot of a city is then used to place the next scene. The woman from before is then shown running through a park with each shot fading out. This is good because we are deciding what shot transitions we should use for our trailer. She is then told there is something wrong with her eye and a doctor explains his diagnoses of what is wrong. She is told she may of had a twin and the next series of shots is of her walking around the city being haunted by this horrible looking child. Every time he appears sound effects are used to emphasize him which makes him more scary and sinister. Quick shot of her being told she did have a twin are used and the music picks up pace. As she plays a video the non diegetic music stops suggesting that something important could be explained.
As she watches the film she is shown to be surprised at what she she's and a montage is used again involving the small boy. This continues the trend of the trailer highlighting the boy as being a key part in the film and trailer. It then cuts to the most chilling scene. As the shot tilts up to look at her, no noise can be heard at all and she begins to scream but noise comes out of her mouth. As the camera pulls away a bed is shown and she is looking at her herself sleeping. Shot reverse is used to show her terror at watching herself sleeping. As she continues to scream the covers are pulled away the kid haunting looks up and high pitched scream is heard. The director's name flashes up and sound effects accompany it, signifying his importance. It cuts to the lady looking out of a window and then using eye line match it changes to a Point of View shot of the scary little kid in her garden. A quick conversation follows and they discuss her problems. She asks a question about being haunted to her friend which also sounds like she's asking the audience. This is clever because it makes the audience feel uncomfortable and want to know what it haunting her. The steady beat, non diegetic music, keeps the pace of the scene upbeat. Suddenly it the scene changes to a split second shot of the creepy kid again who smashes some glass. This will make most people jump and is a very good surprising shot. Also in that shot it cuts to something smashing through a window and trying to attack the young lady. With the sound of the girl screaming and smashing glass it mixes together and creates a dramatic scene.
The director David S. Goyer's name appears and is followed by some of other famous work showing that a the director has made other top quality films. The titles used fade in and out and the screen flashes away to reveal the lady consulting another person about her problem. At this point the audience know that she is being possessed or haunted by a small kid who may have been her twin, but is actually dead. Very confusing however this may make some people want to watch more so they can understand this difficult storyline. Quick shots are shown of dark houses with the lady saying its not safe to be around me and a Point Of View shot is used again to see this demented man crawling chillingly up the stairs. This makes people watching feel very uneasy. It then cuts to a man speaking into a camera stating that they are about to perform an exorcism. This confirms the audience suspicions about the lady be possessed. As the lights are turned on to kick off the ritual the shot changes to a Birds Eye View of the location and set design. A montage of shot are then used with each shot changing faster and faster making the scene very scary and top quality. Titles flash up in between the shots to add some narrative to this particular part. It then climaxes and the title appears. As the films name fades out the last shot is of the lady walking towards something which turns around and scares everyone watching.
Overall I think this trailer is good as finds the right amount of scary shots and scenes mixed in with narrative dialogue and titles. From this we can try to use the same non diegetic and diegetic sound and the clever shot transitions.
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