TRAILER ANALYSIS

THE BABADOOKhttp://youtu.be/k5WQZzDRVtw

‘The Babadook’ is a 2014 supernatural horror film directed by Jennifer Kent. It is one of the most terrifying and effective horror films of the last decade, and in order to understand and draw inspiration from its success, it is necessary to analyse the first feature-length trailer for the film.The trailer opens with a black screen and a non-diegetic sound being played. Due to the lack of action on the screen, this forces the audience to pay attention to the single, low note being held, reminiscent of a church organ, and allows viewers to gain a sense of foreboding atmosphere before even witnessing any events on screen. This initial omission of any other non-diegetic sound is suggestive of an equilibrium of sorts, which indicates the state in which the audience finds the characters at the beginning of the film. In accordance with this, the black screen then cuts to a high-angle, POV shot of a woman holding a childrens book, before cutting to a long shot of her and her son on the bed. It is a seemingly innocent reading session that many parents amongst the audience will be familiar with, but various sinister cues are made noticeable almost immediately. An example of one such cue is the use of lighting and colours – the mother and her child are bathed in the light of a lamp, but shadows are very prominent around the edges of the frame, and almost appear to be leaning towards the two characters. This indicates an oncoming threat, and is supported by the red and black cover of the ‘Mister Babadook’ book itself, as these are colours associated with pain, blood, and death – a rapid contrast to the light pastel colours found on most childrens books. Furthermore, the combination of diegetic and non-diegetic sound bridging through each of the shots generates a certain sense of unease. The mother’s comforting tones and change in non-diegetic sound (it now sounds like a slowed-down childlike lullaby) create an effect contrapuntal to the sinister nature of the book being read, and the look of fear on the child’s face only serves to enforce this. As the mother continues to read, shot-reverse-shot is used to demonstrate the effect the book is having on the boy, and the paper drawing of the ‘Babadook’ intersected with the fearful look in Samuel’s eyes suggests a connection between the two characters that serves as a continuing theme throughout the film.

The single, low note that was being held is cut off abruptly by a non-diegetic growl as the scene cuts to a strap displaying the director’s name. As the scene changes, the soundtrack becomes more infrequent, with a high-pitched note occasionally being hit. This gives a sense of intrigue to the next few scenes, with the break in instrumental melody being implicative of something breaking in to this family’s lives – ‘if it’s in a word, or it’s in a look, you can’t get rid of the Babadook’. Medium shots are unveiled by the characters as the mother opens closet doors and checks under beds in order to reassure her child (through a sound bridge) that the creature isn’t real. Furthermore, the fact that she checks these areas and finds nothing suggests that she is familiar with the common, conventional locations for hidden threats. It also demonstrates how the creature itself differs from the norm and cannot simply be classified as a ‘boogeyman’, as it does not hide in plain sight. As Samuel wonders about his dead father, these scenes fade into a medium shot of a photograph, before a match-on

-action is used to show Amelia (the mother) frantically grabbing it and clasping it to her chest. The deliberate use of an unsteady camera here signifies the strength of her grief, and it is this, combined with the darker lighting, that implies that the absence of a father is significant throughout the film. Evidently, this inclusion of a backstory allows for reasonable judgements to be made regarding Amelia’s sanity, and this will come into question more as the trailer progresses. In the next scene, a neighbour is shown offering consoling words, even as Sam is shown creating a makeshift weapon in a series of quick, shallow focus, close up shots. This fulfils a convention of most horror films in general, as many set within a ‘haunted house’ environment often have an outside character sympathetic to the protagonists claims and fears – although never truly believing in them. The inclusion of a weapon here is also an indication of the dangers to come, as well as allowing the viewer to understand that Amelia is not the only troubled character within the narrative. Indeed, this is subsequently enforced by Sam’s teachers highlighting his ‘significant behavioural problems’, while staring directly at the camera in a shot-reverse-shot with a hapless Amelia. It can be said that, by directly addressing the audience in this way, Kent is almost attempting to speak through her characters and give hints about the nature of the problem in this film; is it The Babadook itself, or the characters themselves? Therefore, throughout these short scenes, Kent has weaved a more complex narrative than the target audience may be used to, incorporating numerous characters and subplots that urges the viewers to question what they are seeing.

As the trailer continues to progress, the audience are able to see various shots depicting Amelia slumped on the bed, a pop-up paper creature followed by an eyeline match of Amelia looking at it, and eventually, her burning the book in the garden. Throughout these, the non-diegetic soundtrack escalates in order to include a single, solitary drum, in addition to the return of the childlike melody and recurring single, high-pitched note. The fact that all of these sounds return simultaneously suggests that the Babadook is closing in, strengthened by the urgency of the drumbeat that is almost representative of heavy footsteps. In concordance with this, Amelia’s vocal narration becomes more unsure and shaky as she reassures herself that it’s ‘just a book’, and it is this doubt that culminates in an uproarious crescendo of non-diegetic noise as she eventually burns it. The shots vary in length here – whenever they show the book, they are over in the blink of an eye, yet as they tend to linger on the characters themselves, one cannot help but deduce that more focus is being placed on their emotional states. Again, this seems like a way of insinuating that they brought the horror upon themselves. Another noticeable shift in these shots is the levels of lighting available, as natural light is immediately shifted to darker, more shadowed lighting, before switching back again. In addition to this, the clothing of the two characters shifts between normal outerwear and old-fashioned, downtrodden pajamas – and it is these changes that further illustrate how the Babadook is slowly affecting the normality of their everyday lives, and how both the mother and the son are now aware of its presence. Proceeding on from this, the tone shifts dramatically as the scene fades, as all diegetic and non-diegetic sounds are withheld in favour of showing several static shots of the house in darkness. This indicates a drastic change in narrative – something is different. As these slow shots cut to a zoom in on Amelia, three sharp, diegetic knocks are heard, followed by a fearful look on her face as she looks up. From this, the darker lighting, and static nature of the shots, it is now evident that the Babadook has made contact.

Furthermore, as the next phase of the trailer begins, the non-diegetic drum returns as a continuous beat, and this quicker pace also makes way for an ominous foghorn to be heard.

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In conjunction with this, a time-lapse shot of the sky darkening is used as a strap, and illustrates how quickly the darkness is approaching alongside the soundtrack. From this, the following shots are short, visceral, and intersected with cuts and jump cuts, all placing Amelia as the focal point within the frame. One particular sequence of shots displays a long shot of her looking in the mirror, followed by a rapid cut to the same scene, but zoomed in significantly, with the focus being placed on her terrified facial expression. This apparent horror at her reflection cleverly alludes to her damaged mental state, and her proclamation that she is ‘just a bit stressed’ strengthens this. Indeed, in the following scene, her physical appearance seems to have deteriorated, as she is now wearing darker colours and is covered in tears and messy hair. After this, the trailer begins to use horrific imagery in order to fully emphasise the genre, as a cockroach-infested hole appears in the kitchen and a shot-reverse-shot shows a shadowed figure staring at Amelia through her neighbour’s window. The non-diegetic growl that accompanies the latter shot indicates the presence of the Babadook, and is one of the only visual depictions of it in the trailer. However, the audience is once again forced to question its existence, as Amelia attempts to report it to the police and finds only scepticism and concern, due to the blackened state of her hands and frantic disposition. Kent has gone to great lengths in order to ensure that Amelia looks as though something is wrong with her, and the sporadic combination of fades and jump cuts throughout these scenes is emblematic of this deterioration of everything ‘normal’ in her life. A final, quick shot of a paper woman and overshadowing figure popping up signifies Amelia and the Babadook, and the second crescendo of noise illustrates how close they are – it is taking over her.

The scene fades into a long shot of a door creaking open in silence, followed by Sam’s non-diegetic exclamation of ‘You can’t get rid of the Babadook’. Proceeding this, the horror makes itself known at last, as a series of fading shots show a shadowed, clawed figure alongside Amelia floating up to the ceiling – allowing viewers to question whether or not she is dreaming. Ghostly wails and clockwork sounds are heard, as well as the repeated phrase of the Babadook – ‘You can bring me the boy.’ This differs from the usual modern-day supernatural horrors in a variety of ways. Usually, supernatural entities are not given a voice, and serve only to scream and attack the characters within the film. Evidently, this is not the case within The Babadook, as the creature is shown to be capable of interaction, and therefore possesses a level of intelligence greater than most otherworldly entities that the audience are used to. Both the movement and sounds being experienced also contrast with the humanlike movement of most threats in other horrors, as the Babadook appears to glide or jerkily move in accordance with wind-up sounds and creaking noises.

This is more symbolic of old-fashioned horror films where puppets and stop motion were used to create supernatural entities, and therefore shows how this film will be old-fashioned in its use of scares and will satisfy fans of old, as well as educating the new generation who are more used to special effects and prosthetics. In concordance with this, throughout the rest of the trailer, strong blues and blacks are the main recurring colours, giving the film a strong expressionist feel and firmly rooting it within the supernatural genre (blue being associated with the afterlife/ghosts/paranormal activities. After these scenes of the Babadook, Sam’s repeated cry of ‘Don’t let it in!’ bridges various fast-paced shots of Amelia slamming, locking, and closing doors and windows, further adding to the darkness and creating the frantic sense of urgency that the trailer had been building towards. The cry of ‘Don’t let it in!’ resonates perfectly in conjunction with the shot of Amelia looking through a peephole, before cutting to an eyeline match of an unseen figure spreading its arms in total darkness. At this point, the audience becomes more aware than ever of Kent’s decision not to fully show the creature. This may be due to the common belief that ‘fear of the unknown’ is the greatest fear humanity is capable of, and it is this determination to ensure that the exact nature of the Babadook is unknown that sets this film trailer apart from its peers.