Year of Release: 1999 Director: Daniel Myrick, Eduardo Sanchez
The first thing which struck me about this trailer was that it is much shorter than the average horror trailer, which I found was around 90 seconds long. I liked the fact that this trailer was only 54 seconds because it made it easier not to give too much away and reduced the risk of the audience getting bored half way through and losing their interest in seeing the film.
The text at the beginning stating that 'in 1994 three student film makers disappeared' could give the impression that the film is based on, or features, a real story which instantly makes people feel more uncomfortable because it adds a sense of reality to some of our greatest fears, which we like to tell ourselves don't exist. Similarly to films such as Paranormal Activity, The Blair Witch Project created split opinions from the public on whether the footage included was actually real or not. Despite not all views being positive, the amount of attention drawn to the film because of the trailer encouraged more people to watch the film, making it more successful than it would have been otherwise. The film grossed $248,639,099 worldwide.
The text used throughout, including the title screen, is very simplistic which emphasises the whole idea of the film being a real student documentary. Using only black and white the majority of the time helps to emphasise the idea of witchcraft, because black connotes darkness and evil. It is also the colour associated with satanic rituals.
Rather than finishing with the classic horror trailer convention of a jumpy or abstract moment, we are left with a long shot of a girl running through the woods. The fact that she is running away from the camera takes away any comfort that viewers have, because she is running away in to the distance - something which is unknown to them at this point. It could leave the audience wanting to know what she is running from and what will happen to her, which would encourage them to watch the film.
The echoing sound effects, which almost seem to form the pattern of a heartbeat add a sense of panic. The sound becomes more aggressive throughout, which creates even more of a sense of panic for the audience, forcing their heartbeats to speed up as well. There is no use of contrapuntal or parallel music, which puts more emphasis on the heartbeat sound effect and the fact that the camera is controlled by a character.
Something which I didn't like about the trailer was that I felt it lacked in close-up shots which seem to be essential in creating a real sense of fear. However, I do like how simplistic the trailer was because it was doing something out of the ordinary and breaking horror conventions, which will inevitably end up gaining more attention, whether that attention is good or bad. The simplicity did make the film more believable as a genuine documentary, making it more unsettling. The lack of body horror leaves more to the imagination.
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