Dark Shadows Analysis A2

Dark Shadows Trailer - Vampire Movie

• Typical gothic castle as a setting as well as an eerie and dark beginning to the trailer. This gives the impression that the film will be very dark and traditional. 

• The colour scheme is gothic, reds, blacks and deep purples to support the originality of vampire films, although the film is a comedy twist of a vampire film.

• 70's music supports the era in which the film is set in, in order to modernise the film and break away from the tradition of vampire soundtracks and bring a new appeal. 

• As with all vampire films, it is a tradition to add a 'love scene' to the film, but Dark Shadows adds a comedy take on this tradition by making it exaggerated and not a kill scene as with most other films.

• Traditional sea side town - keeps elements of vampire tradition so the understanding of the film doesn't stray too far from its context.

• Eerie sound of old piano featured to add an element of tradition to the family home and keep in touch with the roots of the context.

• Villian or 'bad guy' in red to stick to tradition and support the connotation of danger attached to both the colour and the character. 

• No daylight scenes featured of the vampire characters which is complying with traditions related to the represenation of vampires. The only scene where the main character is in daylight, he is shown to be wearing a long black coat, an umbrella, gloves and sunglasses, so barely any of his skin is showing.

The twist on traditional vampire films is placed in order to attract a younger audience and keep interest in the vampire genre but changing it up a bit. The younger audience is catered for with humour (such as the TV scene), a modern soundtrack like 'Get it on' by T. Rex, as well as various scenes with more recent and less traditional features, such as the disco ball and bright colours from the 70's.

Untraditional aspects of the film trailer include the missing presence of props used in vampire movies, such as bats, capes, kill scenes and the ability to fly, although this is counteracted by the use of a long trenchcoat from victorian ages, the main character sleeping like a bat and a violent 'love' scene.