The Woman In Black - Analysing the trailer

The Woman In Black is an excellent example of one of the most venerable subgenres of horror: the ghost story. The first moments of the trailer exemplifies some of the setting and iconography of the genre. We first see an attic room in a house, covered in dust and cobwebs. The gloomy lighting and decaying furnishings instantly let us know we are watching something dark in tone. This room is home to some rather creepy toys, which we then see several close-ups of as they begin to jerk into life. These toys are a classic example of innocent objects becoming menacing, and inanimate objects moving by themselves is also a well-known signifier of the genre.

The next part of the trailer shows the crumbling façade of the house and a carriage travelling towards it; this implies that the abandoned house has a new owner. This is confirmed as we see our protagonist riding in the carriage, and then stepping into the house’s foyer. This is a well-used plot in horror: the protagonist buys the haunted house; he is menaced by supernatural forces, which leads him to investigate the history of the house and uncover the truth. This theme is reinforced by the shots of the photograph and the stares the protagonist gets from the villagers; hinting at dark secrets long hidden. Also worth noting is the location of the village and the house in the marshes, isolated from human contact.

From this point, the trailer becomes darker and more menacing in tone, reflecting the nebulous evil presence reacting to the protagonist and attempting to attack him. The shots become shorter in length and less coherent. The protagonist is shown looking out the window at a storm, and lost in the fog; both these types of weather are common to horror, as they can mask the presence of the monster. A mysterious figure appears outside the house, and threatening writing appears on the walls, covering both the themes of something evil trying to get inside, and evil being already present. The trailer ends with the protagonist running for his life, evidently pursued by something. The protagonist is always the one being chased in horror, because it lends more power to the monster and increases our fear of it.