Analaysis of Paranormal Activity 4 trailer

Paranormal Activity 4 is a film of the horror genre, it is the 4th Paranormal Avtivity film. The story takes place in 2011, five years after Katie killed her boyfriend Micah, sister Kristi, her husband Daniel and took their baby, Hunter. The plot focuses on Alex and her family experiencing weird stuff since the new neighbors moved in the town. The film is rated a 15 and would probably attract both genders. It already has an audience as by being the fourth film it would have a following by now and people would be anticipating the release of this film.

The trailer begins with a flashback to the first film where we see Katie leaving with Hunter, this is a reminder for audiences which have already seen the film but can also set the story for people who many not have seen them before. There is then a black title screen which explains how Katie and Hunter's whereabout were unknown until now this indicates to the audience that the film will feature their return.

There are then shots of 'Robbie'  arriving at Alex's house after claiming his mum is hospital, this raises tension among the audience as they start to suspect that this child is Hunter. There is then a jump cut to night time, whereas in all horror films, most of the action takes place. We hear the front door open and watch Alex film herself going down to discover what is going on. The trailer then causes the audience to jump as the chandelier drops and there is a low angle shot of Robbie standing at the top of the stairs. This raises many questions among the audience and encourages them to keep watching to find out more.

There are then lots of jump cuts and black titles which cause suspense in the audience. The trailer then continues to different shots of cameras set up around the house which is a common convention of paranormal activity films.There is then a montage of shots of Robbie around the house at nightime and series of events happening which causes the audience to jump therefore increasing tension among the audience.

There is reference to the previous films which attracts the audience who are fans of the films, for example the referencing of the symbol from the previous film. The trailer ends with Alex walking around the house and seeing a dark figure at the end of the hallway then a fade to black and Alex being dragged away.The trailer leaves many questions unanswered which encourages people to go and see the film in order to find out what is going to happen.

The trailer also conforms to many conventions of the horror genre, for example there is a bathroom scene, the possession of a child, the victim recieveing no help from anybody as she is not believed. The trailer also conforms to a convention of just the Paranormal Activity films by having no music, this causes tensions among the audience as there is no indication as to when anything is going to happen, this results in lots of anti climax moments.