Focused Analysis of Location; Panic Room Trailer



In this trailer the location plays a key part to the story, as the whole film is based around a room and it's effects. This trailer uses location to build tension and create atmosphere in a very effective way. It also relies on the confusion the location causes to draw the audience in and make them ask questions- resulting in them wanted to go and see the film to find the answers to these questions.
Right from the start of the trailer we are being shown around a room with copy (a female voice over) to explain things to us and decribe the room. All of the little details she gives the viewer makes the viewer on edge as we want to know exactly what this room is for and what events are going to unfold here. From the beginning we can tell that the disequilibruim (of Todorov's theory) is clearly going to happen in or due to this room. With it's thick concrete block walls, the impression that everything in there is made from steel, cables, tv monitors, big steel door, big bolts, the green laser light and the big red button it creates all sorts of possibilities which run through the audiences' mind. Could someone get trapped in here? Could there be something hidden in this room that requieres so much protection? Then when the voice over tells us "the room has just one purpose-keep people out" the viewer heads more to the idea of there is something in this room that no one can see, no one is allowed in this room because it is top secret.
The viewer is then shown a second location, through various shots of a house- stairs, a bedroom etc. This location also builds tension because it uses stereotypical traits of a horror film. The staircase is wooden, which automatically, even with no sound on the trailer makes the viewer think of creeky stairs and noises in the night. This is echoed in the use of the wooden flooring, with creeky floorboards. Many horror films use wooden flooring because it creates good dramatic effect- you can have things hidden under floorboards, shots of people falling and then close ups of the persons hand on the wooden flooring can look very effective. Plus the connotations that this dark wooden flooring makes the house old. Old people are seen as vunerable and fragile- and in a way this is the same with anything old; furniture, houses etc. The feeling that this house is old is also portrayed through the elevator- which has the old fashioned cage door of iron bars across it.
The whole trailer uses no colour, it is very dull the whole way through. I think it is very effective the way that rather than just using black and white as some horror films do, they have used a sort of steel colouring- reinforcing the idea that the whole of the 'panic room' is mainly made from steel. Also creates a cold, chilling effect which makes the audience feel more on edge and boosts the tension and atmosphere.
The viewer is not sure if the room (the panic room) from the start of the trailer is in the house we are then shown when the description of the first room is over. We want to believe that it is as this would make sense. However the two locations look so different we find it hard to believe that this technical looking room (the panic room- location one) is in this house (the old fashioned house- location two).