A2 Media

1. ‘The Last Exorcism’
Teaser Trailer Deconstruction

2. Editing
Opens with the production companies title
shots; these are edited with a lined effect,
which is fast paced, and this produces a jumpy
effect which connotes hand held camera
footage which is typical of an exorcism film.
Zoom editing is used a lot during the trailer,
zooming in and out on particular shots.

3. The edits used are almost always cuts and the
pace of these edits increases as the drama and
music increase. There are static effects used
which are often use in a thriller/horror film.
These are used to blur the screen for tension
and to prepare them for the horror and
shocking shots.

4. Camera Angles
The angles used in this trailer are mainly neutral
angles; this gives it a clear balance which makes
it easy to read the expressions and emotions of
the characters shown. There are a few high
angles used mainly in shots with the girl who is
the main protagonist, for example a high angle is
used when the girl is lying down, and this shows
the superiority of the other characters and makes
the audience feel above her.

5. A dutch/canted angle has also been used with
a zoom; this gives an unnatural feeling to the
shot as it is not an edit that is often used.

6. Mise-En-Scéne
An extreme long shot has been used as a
surrounding shot to show a broken, abandoned
house. There are a lot of close ups and
medium close ups used in this trailer which
gives the audience an idea of the characters
profiles. It also allows you to observe their
emotions and facial expressions clearly. A
silhouette shot of the girl has been used. This
uses the typical psychological thrillers
convention of shadows; it gives a creepy and
dark feel to the trailer.

7. Distinctive exorcism facial
expressions have been used:
wide eyes, excessive sweating,
and possessed look in her eyes.
A red effect has been used on
some of the shots, this
connotes danger and horror.
Fire is an element in the
trailer, which is used to give a
feeling of overwhelming fear.

8. One of the shots used in
the trailer can be seen
as ambiguous: she is
either meant to be seen
as crawling on the
ceiling hanging down or
crawling on the floor
and the shot has just
been turned upside
down.

9. Sound
A male voice over has been used, voice overs in films are
typically male, with a quite deep tone and the way he is
pronouncing the words is monotonous. Dialogue has been
used from the film. The father character sounds
authoritative, especially in the shot where he says “if you
can’t save my daughter, I will”. Also, in this shot a
gunshot sound effect has been used to re-enforce the fact
that he is being serious and will kill his own daughter. The
reverend has a professional tone to his voice which is
quite calming as he knows what he is doing. The girl
sounds relatively young, maybe between the ages of 15-
19, however she has quite a deep voice for a girl, which
gets deeper as the possessed tone of voice takes over.

10. The music is slow at first which increases in
pace in time with the shots and edits
increasing. The use of choir voices at the start
is effective as it complements the eerie
sounding music. The sudden stops in the music
build tension; the music slows down at the
end so that the audience are able to relax
knowing that the clips and tension is over.

11. Title Clips
The use of white text on a black background on “Reverend
Cotton Marcus...” looks effective and fits well with the
colour scheme of dark colours, and the white is very
contrasting. “This will be his last” is used to shock the
audience and make them wonder why, as the clips with
the main action have not been used before that. The title
clips saying “if you believe in God” “you must believe” “in
the devil” use a red and yellow glow around them which
use the typical psychological thriller colour scheme. The
release date shot is only shown for about two seconds; the
audience probably already know this information from
viewing the theatrical trailer.