Jeepers Creepers - Textual Analysis

The genre of the film is a Horror. The audience are able to identify this through the eerie music and the representation of the characters e.g the monster/predator. The mise-en-scene creates horror. The first shot establishes that two characters (male and female) are isolated "In the middle of nowhere". This is shown by a car driving on a road with the youngsters in it and the next shot is text. The monster is established by carrying bodies wrapped in sheets but his identity is concealed. It makes him look like a psycho path killer. The iconography of the setting shows religious connotations (the church and cross). This is where his home is and where he hides the dead bodies. This shows he is clever and has a plan.

The film trailer lasts 1 minute 24 seconds and has a total of 31 shots. The transitions used in the trailer are mainly fade to blacks to establish the different sections of the film. The teaser trailer does not use much digetic sound. Only the sound of the female character screaming is used to create tension. The non-digetic sound is different types of eerie music which sets the mood in the film. We realise the male and female are brother and sister and they are the victims and the fictional character is out to get them because they have something it wants. The monster is reffered to as 'It'which shows it has no gender.

The teaser trailer is in a linear structure. The film studio selects the most intriguing parts which creates interest to the audience and shows the basis of the film. The trailer is successful in targeting an audience who like horror because it gives you an adrenalin rush watching it, your heart rate raises and also makes you jump. The trailer uses text to communicate with the audience to outline what is going on. The text moves which makes the audience feel unsettled.

High angle shots are commonly used in horror film trailers to make the victims look vunerable. Also there are establishing shots to set the scene and close ups to show the fear on the characters faces. The trailer shows when equilibrium is disrupted when the female drops the males down the pipe.

Codes And Conventions Of A Horror Teaser Trailer:

Representation Of A Monster/Something Evil
It Has Victims
Digetic Sound
Non-Digetic Sound
Narrative Structure
Linear Structure
Transitions - Fade To Black

Film trailers are an effective promotional device for films because it helps boost your anticipation to see the film. They normally showed the best bits of the film in the trailer, which makes the audience engrossed in the trailer and then they crave to know what will happen in the overall film plot.