Silent Hill: Revelation is the sequal to the 2006 horror film, Silent Hill. Based on the video games, the story focuses around the female character Heather, who discovers that her identity is actually false the night before her 18th birthday, and is drawn to the "Hell on Earth" town that is Silent Hill. The genre of the film is horror, clearly represented by the tense and jumpy scenes, horrific and violence events as well as frequent diegetic screams.
The structure of the trailer typically follows Todorov's theory of narrative stucture, as there are glimpses of munane life, such as a long shot of Heather in a school hallway. This equillibrium is then broken as she experiences a horrific hallucination, or so the audience is meant to believe, as well her paranoia that she is being followed, apparent in the diegetic dialogue, "I think there's someone following me." The audience then understand that it is Heather's destiny to return to Silent Hill and resolve the break in the equillibrium, shown by the wide shot of a wall that features, 'Come to Silent Hill,' written in blood, and the shallow focus wide, almost establishing shot of Heather walking down a foggy, misty road with the sign reading, 'Welcome to Silent Hill,' in the foreground.
The style of the film is something that I think will attract the audience, as it is located in a fantasy town that is described by an intertitle in the trailer as, 'A place that Hell calls home.' It will also definitely attract the fans of the video games, as this audience are the film's main target. After doing some research into the target audience of the film, I found that this film (the sequal) is aimed at a wider audience that the first. The film is rated a 15, and therefore I would assume that the target audience are males and females, fans of horrors and the video games, ranging from the ages of 15 to 25, as the plot does not have a lot of substance and in my opinion, this type of film would not be desirable to an older audience. The main character of the film is also portrayed as a 17/18 year old, which futher suggests that the target audience are a similar age.
The trailer lasts 2:29 minutes, which is the average time for a full trailer. There are 128 shots in total, including intertitles. This is just under the number of shots from other film trailers that I have looked at, however I believe that this is because there are a few shots that last for a few seconds to leave the audience in anticipation, before there is a frightening event that not only shocks the audience but sends a pump of fear throughout them.
The trailer opens like a typical horror film trailer, with rather cliche intertitles that read, 'There is a place...that Hell...calls home.' This immediately implies the horror genre, as well as the location (suggests that the focus of the story is set in a 'Hell on Earth' - type location). Regulart cuts/jump cuts are mostly used throughout the trailer, however there are fades into different shots as well as fades to black and even a fast swipe across the screen at one point to follow the story - the father opens the door before being 'kidnapped.'
Diegetic dialogue in the trailer provides a lot of the plot and narrative. The first opening scene of a young, possessed-looking girl reaking havoc in a town is implied as a dream, as a medium close up shows Heather suddenly wake up in bed, before a close over the shoulder shot of Heather's dad saying, "C'mon kiddo, it's just a dream," aiming to comfort his daugter. Heather's reply of, "They're calling me," provides a mystery, but also gives a brief overview of what is to come, suggesting that she is being haunted by these dreams and that they want her to go to this mysterious location and live the nightmare.
Heather's next dialogue of, "I've got to go, don't want to be late for the first day of school," implies a lot about her character and history. However it mostly emphasises her age as a young adult/teenager. An over the shoulder shot of Heather hugging her father whilst smiling suggests that they have a very close relationship, that they cherish very dearly, apparents in the dialougue from her father, "You know I worry," and her reply of, "Don't worry!" This also suggests mystery, and that something bad is going to happen, and the equillibrium is going to be broken. Also, the fact that it is Heather's first day of school immediately makes her vulnerable, which is very stereotypical in horror films.
The mise en scene in the trailer is very similiar to the video game (obviously), featuring rusty metal cages/prisons, fire, a creepy carnival and carousel and a misty street. This not only emphasises the horror genre, but also reinforces the idea of the location being Hell, with an extremely gritty, violent and nightmare-ish theme.
The non-diegetic soundtrack beings slowly and calmly, featuring a piano tune, that oversees the shots of everyday life. However, this is suddenly changes when the scene occurs that Heather is haunted in the school corridor. A sudden thump is heard, similar to a power down/cut noise, that syncronises as the lights go out. The flickering of a light is sounded, and an ascending explosion of a trunmpet-sounding instrument is used to cause tension and anticipation as the unknown creature waddles towards Heather.
The non-diegetic sound of a church bell is used as Heather leaves the motel room. This also works in sync with the shots, and features a long shot through an opening door of a misty street, a medium close up of Heather exiting the doorway and the wide shallow focus shot of Heather walking into Silent Hill. This creates the feeling of entering Hell, and perhaps death.
Another non-diegetic sound that I think is particularly effective is the sound of the sirens/alarm, which creates a very climatic and tense feeling. This keeps the audience on edge, and in my opinion it haunts them, making them feel involved in the film, and vulnerable like Heather, making the horror even more frightening.
In terms of the code of enigma, the audience are left with many questions. What and where is Silent Hill? Why do they want Heather? Will she find and rescue her father? Will the break in equilibrium be resolved? In a horror film, one does not know if the main character will survive, as they do not necessarily follow the same idea that the main characters always survive. In my opinion, this is a very intriguing trailer, which I think definitely stimulates the target audience's love for the franchise.
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