The Poltergeist (2015)

The Poltergeist (2015) 

Generic codes: 

• The happy family have moved into their new houses with no problems at the start 
• The clown doll makes an appearance and gives a scary mood 
• There is no actual music, just dramatic bangs when something bad happens 
• A medium is always introduced when the demon or ghost is recognised 
• A cellar is usually in a horror film which causes curiousity to what meaning it has 
• The characters are dressed in ordinary clothes which makes the audience think they are normal people 
• Recognition to it being similar to other horror films, "From producers of Evil Dead"  
• Haunted house reminds me of Insidious (another horror film) 
• Screams of terror made throughout the trailer, creates mystery and grabs the audiences attention 
• Set in America, big country well known and popular (creates familarity for the audience) 
• The child in horror films are normally the one who becomes possessed, maddie is taken by the poltergeist and the parents and mediums try to get her back  

Narrative codes: 

• There is an equilbrium at the start, nothing bad has happened they have just moved into their new house, this is todorovos theory.  
• The disruption is noticed, the poltergeist and the haunting it is causing 
• The audience are made to feel that they are living ordinary lives by the way they present themselves 
• The audience are made aware of when the poltergeist is noticed because the haunting and torture doesn’t stop 
• The audience are left to ask 'Will Maddie return?' This creates mystery and makes the viewers want to go watch the film 

• Usually horror films don’t get a happy ending and in the trailer near the end no resolution of the problems is shown which makes the audience think that a new equilbrium isn't going to be made 
• The themes in this trailer shown are thriller, terror as the things that happens to the family are so violent it will shock the audience 
• Binary oppositions that are shown in this trailer are Good vs Evil (family vs poltergeist), Control vs Chaos (family are controlled and the poltergeist gives chaos), Real vs Fake (the family are real, but is the poltergeist just a bad nightmare?) 
• In horror films, no explanation is ever given to why it has happened to a certain family, popular to use in these films 
• The family near the end of the trailer become possessed, Maddie's face becomes distorted, the father throw ups worms and they come out his mouth and the son is taken around the house by what looks like black jelly 

Technical codes: 

• In the trailer, rain and thunder is displayed then after this the lights go out, this is called pathetic fallacy and creates an intense mood 
• Flashing lights are shown when Maddie is taken by the poltergeist, this shows the chaos and danger that is happening 
• The small clown doll attacks the son, and a close up shot of this is taken and it allows the audience to see the terror and fear in the boys face 
• Non diegetic music is played in the background, the music is a slow version of a nursery rhyme and it creates a scared atmosphere as a creepy feeling is created 
• A creepy, evil sounding laugh comes from the clown doll so the audience are then made aware that this is no normal film and that the family are now in danger 
• The poltergeist grabs the father from behind, an over shoulder shot of this is taken because it has the significance that the poltergeist has more power than the father and that he is weak 
• Near the end of the trailer, more hauntings keep happening to the family and when these are happening the pace of the trailer speeds up and this represents the craziness of the poltergeist but there are some parts of the trailer where the background music is slow and this is the sign that something bad is about to happen any second 
• When Maddie is stuck in the television with the poltergeist, she slowly says "Hi Mommy" in a creepy voice so this signifies that she has now been possessed 
• When the family are being tortured by the poltergeist, the lights constantly switch on and off and this creates a tense mood as pop ups could show up on the trailer and make the viewers jump 
• There is the sound of footsteps but no one to be seen so this builds up tension as the audience don’t know what to expect