Scream (1996) Solo Trailer Review

Scream (1996)

Mark after viewing: 5/10

What happened in the trailer?

It starts with a scene from the beginning of the film showing the first victim. It introduces the murderer and hints at who it might be. It also shows the survivor but most of the trailer is people running away from the masked murderer.

Which positive, clever or interesting aspects do you think you could include in your own trailer? What generic features are fulfilled well?

The trailer starts as a scene trailer and then turns into a highlights trailer. This introduces the first victim and how the murderer taunts her through the creepy voice on the phone. The use of quick montage builds suspense throughout but nothing really happens to shock the audience beyond this. The inter-titles are good at the end as they change from white to red which looks like blood and connotes danger. They are also catchy sentences which the audience will remember. The title at the end is in red and is shown when the music starts to fade out.  The music is quiet to begin with and builds towards the end which helps build tension.

Which aspects of the trailer did you think were unsuccessful, and would put off its target audience? How is it disappointing?

There is a fail of a jump scare at the start of the trailer when the first victim is attacked and the window shatters. This makes the film look childish when in fact it is scary when shown in its entirety.  The voiceover is cheesy and doesn’t say everything on the inter-titles which makes it harder to follow. The fact that the survivor is shown insulting the killer just reveals too much of the plot. The inter-titles of the 911 call are hard to read as it moves across the screen too quickly. The whole trailer reveals too much of the plot by showing the victims and they are also described by other characters as typical horror victims. Even though quick montage is used it is not scary and no gore is shown which will put people off watching it. This trailer almost reveals the whole twist of the plot at the end of the film by the way it is structured and how certain characters are shown after something specific is said.