Movie trailer analysis-The thing

The opening to the trailer is an establishing shot of a harsh snowy environment with the sky dark with very little natural light out. This makes us think that they are either very far up north or south because of the unforgiving nature of the environment. It then switches to a long shot of a very long hallway, the shot is effective because it sets the scene for something to happen there sometime later in the film. The music comes quite quickly into contention with a loud thump thump action almost like the ryhtmatic fashion of a heartbeat in a constant fashion at the same speed.

The first shot of a human we get is of who we presume to be the main character, he says "if none of us make it back", this automatically makes us presume that there is something out there which is dangerous and out to get everyone. It then gives us another establishing shot just a lot closer up of the same cabin in the darkness with only a few ominous blue lights to light up the snow. We then get a two shot of two people walking with a flare, the flare is there to symbolize a light in the darkness, it is also a signal for danger as when people are in dangerous situations they shoot flares.

We then get a shot of the Universal logo to tell us this film is made professionally, even though this was before they were known for making extremely good films, at this time they were still known as an average company with lots of ambitions and the cash to go with it. We then get more of an action shot with the helicopter flying over the tundra towards the compound with a person chilling on the side. This could mean that another significant character is being introduced as the helicopter is usually reserved for wealthier people who can afford private or for businessman who get taken to the place they are needed.

We then get a shot reverse shot between the established protagonist and a man with a gun. This shows to us that the film will be getting intense and fire arms will be needed at some point during the film.They then start talking about pandemics and diseases which the audience presumes has struck down one of the team on the mission. However the audience are still confused as to why they are in the frozen wasteland in the first place.

We then get a shot of a hole in the ice where we have two people looking down, the shape of the hole leads us to the conclusion that the hole is not man-made, they contradict the coldness of the surrounding area by having the main character say that they need to burn it. The term "it" is irrelevant at the moment as we are not sure what "it" is.

They talk about how thousands of years ago it crashed and then it shows a long shot of some alien looking hole with a big ship in in the middle of it covered in ice. The music has slightly changed but keeps it heartbeat fashioned rythem constant throughout the trailer. We then start to hear about something crawling out the ice leading us to believe that it is some sort of alien which has escaped the confounds of ice.

It then gives us more of an insight into the plot after using a POV shot to suggest that the burnt remains of an unknown creature are somehow still alive. The audience realize straight away that something is up and this alien will have a great impact on the plot.For the second time in the film we are treated to a close up of a firearm meaning that they will be significant later in the movie.

We then go through a dramatic sequence of different shots showing the different stages of the infection with people clearly being shook up by whatever is happening and the group gradually getting smaller.In this time we get lots of medium and close ups on the characters to make us think in our minds who the actual monster may be by looking for any specific differences in personality or looks.

We start to see the group get picked off one by one and blood is initiated into the movie, this along with the confusion over whether or not you can believe the character on screen or whether they should follow their instincts and not believe anyone. Then there is a lot of shots showing the creature coming for everyone until it shows our main protagonist by himself leading us to believe he either evacuated or he is the last survivor.

Lastly we get credits come up giving due respect to the creators (John Carpenter) and then shows a big title to get the audience attention so they don't forget the name of the film.