Shutter Island Trailer Analysis.

The trailer of Shutter Island is reflective of its genre which research has shown as horror/thriller. The non-diegetic sound is music that is 'jumpy' and fits in with the trailers quick cut editing. The trailer uses a lot of close-ups and middle shots to establish the storyline. The mise en scene of the trailer also establishes a horror genre, as the lighting is quite low giving the film a dark and dreary feel. Also, a lot of water is shown - rain is quite cliché for a horror movie as it adds to the dark, moody feel to this film. The use of fades and a quick black screen in between most of the shots is effective for this genre as it gives the illusion of lightening which is also cliché for horror films as it adds to the fear of the product. At the end of the trailer it shows the Shutter Island brand image, where the island is just black with Shutter Island written on it with blood smudged font - this font in particular is used on both the magazine front cover and film poster. The Queer Theory would apply to this trailer as horror/thriller type genre's are usually aimed at a predominantly male audience however you see Leonardo DiCaprio topless in a shower scene leaving the film feeling a little homoerotic. All in all, the trailer is effective and reflective of its genre albeit it followed all the typical conventions of a horror film trailer it is still entertaining and promotional for Shutter Island.