R&P Horror film The Grudge

The main character in The Grudge is Karen, played by Sarah Michelle Gellar and features other actor such as Jason Behr and William Mapother. Most of the actors in the film have not really been in many popular big blockbusters however some have features in other things, such as William Mapother featuring in the popular US TV show Lost. Sarah Michelle Gellar has also featured in popular TV shows such as The Simpsons and American Dad. The director of the Grudge, Takashi Shimizu has also not directed any big blockbuster and does not have a proven track record like most directors. This means that the actors or the director do not really bring in a unique selling point for the film.

The plot is based around an American nurse living and working in Tokyo is exposed to a mysterious supernatural curse, one that locks a person in a powerful rage before claiming their life and spreading to another victim. This is a very typical horror film plot with some kind of supernatural force affecting a normal person and the person who the force is effecting has to try and stop it from happening.
It is hard to determine which narrative theory best represents this film as the trailer does not give much away about the plot of the film, but I would assume the evil power taking over the main character to be the disruption of the equilibrium and the main character has to try and restore the equilibrium before she is killed. If this is the case then the film would fit into the Todorov narrative theory. There is not defined hero in the trailer so i can't say that it also conforms to Propp's narrative theory.

The setting of the film is based in Tokyo with the focus of attention centered around one house in particular. The setting of the film is dark and gloomy, even the parts of the trailer that are light still feel like they are dark, mostly though the use of heavy shadows and colour correction. The trailer shows a few of the locations, inside and outside of the house the film is centered around, this helps the audience establish the setting which helps to make the film more engaging. The dark colours of the sets make the audience feel all on edge and this helps to make the trailer more watchable. The setting of the trailer also makes it really easy for the audicne to establish the genre of the film, the dark hallways and weird sightings of some domented creature make it really easy to see that this is the trailer for a horror film, which in turn is one of the unique selling points of the film as not that many big horror films are released a year compared to a genre such as action or adventure.

The costumes that the characters are wearing in the trailer are the same thing anyone would be wearing when the film was released, 2004, this makes the film a lot more relate-able to the audience, which in turn makes the film more appealing.

The soundtrack behind the visuals of the trailer are a weird kind of spooky semi musical load of instruments being played. This helps the audience to identify the genre of the film and push the unique selling point of the film. The music also helps to build up the suspence of the trailer making the audience want to continue watching the trailer and maybe even see the full film.