The Visit Trailer Analysis

The visit is a horror film about a single mother who she leaves her two young children with who she thinks are their grandparents but the family's life seems to go very wrong.

The trailer begins showing the production company which is Universal. Universal is a successful company but hasn't produced many well known horror films. Afterwards cheerful music begins to play (diegetic)as one of the young children is filming their car journey where they are taking their mum to the station. The scene then changes to the mum sitting down in front of a camera talking "my parents asked if their grandchildren could visit them" At this point in the trailer everything seems to be normal and doesn't seem like a horror. It then cuts back to the boy filming the house their grandparents live in and is followed by a medium shot of the Nan cooking in the kitchen. a few seconds after is when the children are brushing their teeth when their granddad comes in saying "bedtime is at 9 and you two shouldn't come out of your room after that." (non-diegetic). This seems to be an early time to go to sleep considering they aren't little and they are on their holidays. This also makes the audience wonder why they can't leave their room.



The next part of the trailer is when it begins to look like a horror. The children are woken up by a strange sound. They both decide to get their camera which is still recording and go and see what it is. When they open their bedroom door the Nan is seen scratching at the door opposite their bedroom. The camera then cuts to a still image which says "from the writer and director of The Sixth Sense". This makes the audience wonder if this film will have a similar story. Afterwards the granddaughter is talking to her Granddad "I think Nana isn't feeling very well". A long shot is then shown of the Nan in the hallway facing towards the stairs then slowly turns around and walks away. It looks as if someone is controlling her. During this scene the Granddad replies to the girl "your grandmother is fine it's like someone talking in their sleep". The next scene shows the Granddad standing on the roof of one of the buildings. This is then followed by  the Granddad sitting in the barn holding a loaded shot gun. He notices the children standing there which is when he says "I was just cleaning it". It then cuts to the children saying "their even weirder at night" (non-diegetic) which is when it cuts to the Nan running across the hallway in the middle of the night. At this point in the trailer the audience is wondering what is going on with the grandparents and why didn't the children mum know about any of this. The next scene is of the children talking to their mum on the laptop "something is wrong with Nana and Papa" (non-diegetic). She replies "their just old and your only there for a couple days". This shows that she has no idea about anything that is going on.



The next scene begins with a long shot of the living room with the Nan sitting on a rocking chair facing a wall laughing to herself. The granddaughter goes over to her and when she puts her hand on her shoulder she stops and looks confused which is shown by a close up. It then cuts to a still image which features "the producer of Paranormal Activity, The Purge, Insidious and Sinister. Fans of all these films would enjoy this film and both these films are very successful. The next scene begins with the children going into a shed which is bolted shut "they are hiding something".  This is then followed by a close up of a knife being picked up by the Nan and then cuts to the Granddad holding an axe. The next scene starts when the granddaughter seems to be in some kind of vent filming what is going on which is when the Nan comes up behind her saying "I'm gonna get you" (non-ddiegetic). Her voice doesn't sound like she is joking but more scary and threatening.


The last 30 seconds of the trailer involve short scenes from the most intense moments in the film. One of the first one shows one of the grandchildren opening the backdoor when they see a body hanging from a tree which is shown by a long shot. This is then followed by the children talking to their mum again on the laptop "mum you need to get here right now". The two final scenes involes the Nan and the grandchildren. The first is a long/medium shot of the kitchen where the Nan asks the granddaughter "do you mind getting inside the oven to clean it". This isn't something you would ask your granddaughter. The final scene shows the Nan shutting the oven door and the Grandson is standing next to her. This leaves the audience wondering where is the Granddaughter and is she in the oven.