Narrative Enigmas in Trailers

Gelsomina De Lucia

What are the narrative conventions?  (Story conventions)

• Characters are introduced with an interest of the paranormal.• They usually have camera diaries where they explain the next place they are going to go investigate.• They go to the place and everything seems fine until they hear something and they go to investigate. This is when the horror begins.• People get hurt, die or go missing.• One or none survive.• The only thing found is their footage.

What is the narrative structure?  (How are they presenting the story to you

and why in this order?)

• The narrative is non chronological.• Characters are introduced at the beginning of the trailer.• Background information is usually given through voiceovers. • There is always the climatic point when the slow pace changes.• It is usually at a really creepy point of the trailer when the pace turns fast and shots become shorts.• It is done in this order so we can establish who the characters are and we have an understanding of them and the location.• The horror is left towards the end along with the enigmas because it makes an audience want to watch it.

What unrestricted narrative is there?  (what do they want you to know)

• They want us to know the background story of the location.

• They want us to know who the characters are.

What restricted narrative is there? (What do they not want you to know and why?)

• We are left not knowing what happens to the characters at the end such as who survives and who dies.

• Furthermore, we are unsure what paranormal creature is haunting.

• This is done either because there is a plot twist at the end or simply because they want us to go watch the movie.

What are the enigmas the audience is left with?

• Who survives?• Who dies?• What are the creatures?• Why are they killing people?• Why did the characters go there? (if not yet

explained through titles)• Why is that place haunted? (if not yet explained

through titles)

How do they create these enigmas?

• There are shots shown were a person is attacked or dragged away by something unknown.

• During the fast pace editing, we usually see the characters struggling, leaving the audience wanting to know what happens to them.

How does this connect the expectations/conventions of genre?

• In the horror genre, there is no such thing as everyone surviving.

• Usually at least two people or more die.• So by showing numeral characters struggling, it

alludes that someone is going to die. • The audience does not know who until they watch

the movie.