Trailer Analysis - Alien

Alien is probably one of the most famous horror film trailers made to date. It is the use of minimal dialogue and a powerful backing sound combined with a montage of shots that creates such a horrific feel. It shows that more is not always best when it comes to thriller and horror trailers.

No studio or production company is shown at the beginning of the trailer. This creates a sense of reality to the trailer. Furthermore no actor's names are shown in the beginning, meaning that the audiences attraction to see the film is solely based on the trailer.

The trailer begins with a shot from space and shows the letters of 'Alien' slowly appear. This sets the scene and allows the viewer to realise that the film is set in space and therefore possibly in the future.

A slow eerie sound track begins that mimics a heartbeat and screaming. No dialogue or sound from the scenes shown can be heard, until the final 10 second montage of shots where sound is added again to create a truly horrific feel. This affect greatly juxtaposes the quiet sound prior and adds to the final effect of no sound and the tagline of "In space no one can hear you scream".  

Compared to many horror and thriller trailers the 'Alien' trailer is very short conveying little to the audience but allowing them to question the story and therefore drawing the audience in to watch the film.

The colour palette of the trailer is primarily very dark colours which reflect the setting in space. However there are occasional bright spotlights on characters which draw the viewers attention and can also be seen as a metaphor for other elements in space such as the moon and stars which reflect and give off light , creating moments of clarity.

EJ