The devil inside analysis
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This trailer for the film The Devil Inside uses several techniques to suggest it is based on a true story of demonic possession. It begins with an actual 911 call reporting strange events, building suspense. The audience then learns the story involves a woman, Maria Rose, who murdered three people during an exorcism. Her daughter Isabella seeks help from priests and an exorcist to understand her mother. The exorcism scenes depict intense violence, as Maria is possessed by multiple demons instead of just one. This surprises the audience by subverting their expectations of typical possession film tropes. Throughout, the trailer uses rapid cutting, unsettling music, and religious symbols associated with evil to generate fear and the sense that the dark
The devil inside analysis
- 1. Anaylisis 2: THE DEVIL INSIDE The Devil Inside trailer is also within the sub- genre of supernatural which is a sub-genre of Horror. Differently to The Possession the start of the trailer is opened with a supposedly real life conversation between ‘Maria Rose’ and the 911 services. The first thing the audience hear is a slight rumbling sound effect and this allows the audience to wonder where this sound is coming from, this is then paired with the strapline across the frame saying ‘This is the actual 911 call’. At first it gives the audience the chance to use their imaginations and try and think about what the narrative of this film may be and what is happening. This is not typically seen in Horror films as the first thing the audience expect to see is the happy family stage of the trailer, but this trailer has decided to challenge the typical codes and conventions that the audience would expect to see. The use of this is effective as it intrigues the audience to watch the film and also gives them more of an insight of the narrative structure of the film. The audience are still unable to see anything but then the operator starts to talk and this is when the audience start to understand that this film is based on a true story of some sort. The realism of the trailer allows the audience to engage with the narrative of the trailer as it allows them to put themselves in the same position as the characters that they are hearing. Their self sense of security is then lost and they are able to believe that this can happen to anyone. A flicker of light then appears on the screen as if from a hand held camera was recording it. This is then followed by a scripted conversation of the phone call, as well as the voice over; which allows the audience to follow what is being said. There are suggestions to the film being possession as Maria’s voice doesn’t sound human or normal; her voice is very low pitched. We see a subliminal image of a female with a white dress on sitting in a corner against the wall, this gives the idea that she is Maria Rose also as the audience are only given a glimpse of her which then makes the audience jump. After this the audience are then introduced to Maria Roses daughter Isabella, who is engaging with conversation with a group of priests explaining the story of her mother murdering three people. This then educates the audience further into the narrative of the trailer and again making the trailer seem a lot more realistic. The footage of the police taping up the scene of the crime also gives of the impression that this is a real life story and if creates fear and panic for the audience when watching; the news reporter also gives of this realistic image to the audience. The voice over of Isabella can be heard as we see Maria sitting in the back seat of a police car outside their home; she explains how her mother killed these three people during an exorcism which was being performed upon her mother. Exorcisms are common conventions of Possession films and this is what the audience would expect to occur within the narrative structure. The audience are then presented with an establishing shot of the stock location within the narrative; the stock location is set in Rome. Rome is a highly religious country and many religious occurrences and events have happened here. Another typical convention used throughout, is the religious elements, such as priests, bibles, rosary’s etc. We hear Isabella talking about the churches involvement with her mother’s case through the use of a voice over and that her mother was then sent to a mental institute. After this we are then shown an establishing shot to provide the audience the location at which her mother is at.
- 2. The carved in crosses all along her arms and on the inside of her lower lip suggest that she has tried to seek help from religion but it has been unable to help her, proving that this possession is much stronger than anyone had thought. Usually in possession films the possession or the devil tends to always defeat the religious help that the characters seek out at first which again gives the audience what they want to see and what they expect. The medium shot used to signal Isabella to come closers allows the audience to see the state and conditions that Maria is in, when the close up of Maria’s face is used the audience see how drained and tired Maria looks and the audience start to feel sorry for her and are sympathetic. But straight away this sympathy is broken as Maria begins to scream and the sudden cry of outburst along with the sudden stab of music makes the audience jump and they then begin to fear Maria and what she is capable of. Isabella then freaks out by what she is witnessing her mother do and ends up calling for help allowing her mother to be safely restrained by one of the nurses in the hospital. Isabella wants to understand her mother and then seeks out the help from an exorcist. Exorcists are a common convention with possession horror films; films such as ‘Insidious’ and ‘The conjuring’ all use exorcists and exorcisms to try and push out the evil spirit within their loved one. A girl who has a contorted body is lying on the bed, the audience see her do many strange things such as her levitation in the air which reinforces that the film is possession. The girls arm also snaps and the audience may turn away from these gruesome scenes, they seem to give an accurate representation of a real exorcism and the audience become frightened as they don’t want to think that these things are actually real. The possessed body also begins to say Isabella and she starts to become slightly scared the body then flies into the air and the repetitive sudden stab sounds create the tension for the audience building up the scare factor. This scene is then followed with more straps across the screen which says ‘This January’ the common use of colours such as the black writing on the white background allows the audience to associate this trailer with the horror genre and the sub-genre of possession as these are things that typically crop up again and again. These colours also highlight the idea of the battle between good and evil which again is another common feature of a possession film. Isabella explains to the priests that she thinks she may too end up the same way that her mother did, which then leads the audience in thinking the narrative may have something to do with her daughter also becoming possessed. This happens in quite a few possession films where the possession is the passed on and given to another character within the film and this is what the audience expect and assume to happen. Isabella then goes to visit her at the mental institute, Maria begins to talk in tongues and stares towards the ceiling insinuating that something is within her and taking over her body. She repeatedly seems to be saying “Connect the cuts” which gives the audience the impression that the, markings, she shows Isabella after saying this; are a clue to her possession and what it wants.
- 3. Unlike typical possession films the audience later see that Maria has become possessed by numerous possessions rather than the typical one that the audience expect to see when watching a possession film. The typical use of bringing in an expert is what is shown within this trailer also as well as the technical equipment used to perform exorcisms etc. Maria’s exorcism then begins, as she interrupts in half way through Isabella’s conversation with the priest, by screaming and losing control of her body. The action then cuts to Maria flinging the priest across the room, this seems to be a typical thing to happen when the character has become possessed as the priest and exorcist always seem to get the worst things happen to them which usually includes them being thrown across the room by the force of the possession. Maria begins to sing a nursery rhyme to Isabella as the priests complies her not to listen to her mother. Again a subliminal image is used showing the priest laying his hands upon Maria while she screams as if she is trying to push the possession out from within her. Continued uses of straps are used throughout the following scenes within in the film which all use the same typography as well as colour. The upside down crosses in red highlight the fact that Maria is possessed and she is turning her back on religion, the red also connotes blood and danger which suggests to the audience that Maria is not safe; again using the common conventional horror colours. Maria then seems to have turned all of the lights off as the exorcists and other characters are then left in darkness, one of the exorcists then gets possessed as we see his eyes have rolled to the back of his head and the entire eye is white. This creates more fear for the audience as they already know that the film is based on a true story and they then wonder if something like this may happen to them which allow the film to become effective in the way in which it advertises itself. The fast paced montage the audience are then given slowly builds up the tension as the audience start to see the possession in its worst state as it seems to be growing increasingly stronger. The stabs of sound dramatise the action on screen and the audience being to get a real understanding of the narrative, overlapping this, is Maria singing ‘Incy Wincy Spider’, the nursery rhyme also is a common convention of horror trailers and this scares the audience more because of the fact that it is supposed to be childlike and innocent but it has been turned into something evil. Isabella seems to off had enough by the final scene and begs for her mother to be let go, but the possession just replies with ‘Go Burn’, which sounds deep and sinister. This also implies to the audience that this is a male possession aka the devil due to the name of the film being ‘The Devil Inside’ which then allows the name of the film to re come into the mind of the audience. Maria is sent flying off the bench which seems to be the possessions angry being let lose, there are other subliminal images of the same woman in the beginning running and going into the camera who the audience believe to be Maria Rose. A final subliminal image of this woman is present and the audience are then given the institutional information about the film which again is in the same typography and colours as the straps were, the audience then know that this is the end of the trailer as this is the last thing typically seen.