The Skeleton Key Trailer Analysis

The Skeleton Key (2005)

Narrative structure:

·         Period of Equilibrium

The female protagonist driving in her car shows the period of equilibrium as the pathetic fallacy of a sunny day shows everything to be in order and untouched.

·         Moment of Disequilibrium

The audience can depict the moment of disequilibrium when one character mentions the ill health of another character, which took place in the attic. The line “pretty much paralysed him...up in the attic” suggests there is something in this house. The low angle shot of the attic emphasises the moment of disequilibrium as it shows the darkness within. The flashing imagery of candles also adds to the moment of disequilibrium.

·         Period of Disequilibrium

The period of equilibrium is presented through the fast paced camera shots revealing to the audience peculiar objects, which is also being revealed to the female protagonist for the first time in the trailer. Closer to the end of the trailer the shot reverse shots of the protagonists show uneasiness and fear, presenting the period of disequilibrium throughout.

Sound:

The non-diegetic sound at the beginning emphasised the period of equilibrium as the song Iko Iko by Trad and Anon was used, which presents a calm relaxing tone to the beginning of the trailer. This song is known by a vast number of people which is what will help them to relate to the film in the first instance. However, the non-diegetic sound becomes eerie and tense when the shift in equilibrium to the moment of disequilibrium sets in. From the period of disequilibrium till the end, the non-diegetic sound becomes instrumental with a recording played over it. This creates uneasiness and a tense atmosphere emphasising the period of disequilibrium for the audience.

Codes and Conventions/ Genre Iconography:

From the establishing the codes and convention of being isolated and alone is presents through the female protagonist driving down a long-stretched road.  The clip of the car pulling up to the house also enforces the codes and conventions of horror as it is a big isolated house which the movie is set in. For the reason that the house is isolated and cut off from the rest of civilisation suggests when the period of equilibrium comes in, there will be no where for the female protagonist to run, a very common code and convention of horror movies. As this is a supernatural horror movie, the use of candles clearly presents the genre as candles are strongly associated with séances and summoning dark forces. Close ups of dark, ancient marking also suggest the supernatural genre of this film as the audience associate strange marking with hoodoo or dark magic. Throughout the trailer, mirrors are used to present ghosts or unnatural elements, this is an iconography of the genre as some believe mirrors are possibly the gate way into parallel worlds; this is clearly suggested in this trailer.

Editing:

Similar to other horror movie trailers, The Skeleton Key uses smooth transactions to begin with, to emphasise the period of equilibrium. The fade to black’s used suggest the shift in time in the female protagonists journey, suggesting she is going far away from home, consequently far away from safety. However, during the moment of disequilibrium quick, flash editing is used to switch between the realities of the characters to the magical, supernatural nature of the movie. The fade to blacks used in the beginning are still used throughout the moment and period of disequilibrium, however they become faster and create more tension for the audience. When explaining the past, the shots become black and white and have a disorientated effect to it. This makes the audience uncomfortable and uneasy and adds more darkness to the trailer.