The Purge Election Year-Trailer Analysis

The Purge Election Year is a 2016 American horror action film directed by James DeMonaco following on from the original Purge and Anarchy. I have seen the first and second film so watching the third trailer won't be confusing or misunderstanding.
The storyline portrays all crime in America being legal for one night. This includes theft, murder and violence. I feel the film has a really unique and different plot unlike other horror films. I look forward to watching the trailer for the Election Year as i enjoyed the others as well as overall horror films.

The trailer begins with white flashes created in the editing process, the flashes look like lightening conforming to the spooky and mysterious genre. The diegetic sound in shot includes thunder bursts and heavy rain, this already has a dark effect on the mood of the audience. The narrative's dialogue "There's been a lot of purge games this evening. We have just one more...Its called... Mummy's choice!" from this as well as close up shots of weapons, blood and terrified looking characters we understand that someone is taking part in the game and committing a horrific crime which is legal at that time. From the lady's face we sympathise with her as she must be scared and terrified, the rich red blood all over her body also suggests she's been through a lot of pain and danger. We also see tears in her eyes implying she may feel its the end. The use of dark lighting also conforms to the horror genre and created more fright amongst viewers.
We are introduced to the narrator as he is wearing a mask hiding his identity. I automatically assume this is him as he is the only character in shot not to be tied up or looking emotionally damaged.
We then see a montage of shots showing people covered in blood and being unable to move, the diegetic sound of their dialogue involved screaming and shouting. It emphasises the type of genre we are watching as well as the poor peoples experiences.

Through a white flash, photography shot with the use of diegetic sound highlighting the president's public speech. The cross cut contrasts the two settings going from a horrific murder scene to a open daylight event. Through her dialogue she suggests that The Purge targets the poor and innocent. This automatically makes viewers feel sorry for innocent people who may not make it through the night.  She also implies The Purge must come to an end which leads me to believe people won't be happy about her statement and may target her in the night?
An over the shoulder shot is used showing the president look at a family photo, we hear her mumble "I was the only one out of my family to survive", with a black and white flash back we see the same scene which was used to introduce the trailer. This leads viewers to believe she was part of the traumatic events in which we saw at the beginning of the trailer.  Here, we are introduced to a male character, from watching the previous film I recognise him from being the main character. He also directly states he wants to get rid of The Purge due to the actions he almost committed in the last film. A black and white flash back shows him with weapons searching fro targets.
A medium shot is used to show himself, and other men walking through a large house. Through his dialogue he states he wants men in each room with eyes on everything. The soundtrack at this point is fairly cliche to the genre as it builds tension and fright.
"Lets Begin" windows become locked, lights dim and facial expressions becomes powerful. Diegetic sound plays the warning system announcing the annual Purge. There is a montage of spine-chilling masks, blood and people locking up for safety.
"All crime including murder will be legal for twelve hours, the government wants to thank you for your participation", the trailer then becomes silent with one last padlock burst of sound. We see a side angle shot of three men standing still and quiet, diegetic sounds of gun shots make a surprising appearance taking out all three men.
The trailer fades to black then instigates a person standing facing the audience wearing a mask hiding his identity.  The mask is extremely frightening conforming the the horror genre. The dark lighting also makes it difficult to see the details of the mask only the bright white creepy smile. There is then a montage of shots showing the president and male character running and trying to escape, the soundtrack becomes faster in pace and more dramatic. Through his dialogue "Someone betrayed us, this is not a drill" we understand they are in danger and nobody is to be trusted.


There is then a medium shot, showing people being hung and a murderer dancing around them looking as if she is celebrating. The slow motion is used to really empathise the storyline and start to make the audience feel scared and sympathetic. The characters are wearing white which connotes innocence subverting the idea of The Purge and murder. The sparklers and dancing also portrays them in a way to be happy and excited showing how twisted the film really is. At this point the soundtrack becomes really slow pace and mellow creating an effect of ballet and celebration.
Once the soundtrack becomes so quite we the audience hear nothing a sound effect of a window smashing and a evil character grabbing the male lead creates tension and a jump in the audience. A slashing effect is also heard as we see him pull out a knife and lay it above the president. This conforms the idea of a horror film as the weapons used are usually extremely gory with the effect of blood and wounds.

There is a montage of shots showing all types of crime. However, two people help the President and male lead as through their dialogue they explain "It's our duty to help protect her" this demonstrates they also want an end to The Purge and want to help the President to survive so she can change the laws around America. The soundtrack sounds like opera singers helping create a creepy and suspicious atmosphere. We see a slow motion shot of a van falling over fading to black as well as muting the soundtrack. This makes me the viewer feel as if something bad is about to happen...
The diegetic sound of screams and shots begins to get louder as we see a close up shot of the president being dragged out the van extremely quickly. We also see blood suggesting other characters are injured.

There is then a cross cut, to a different location. The soundtrack of bells implies it may be a church. As we are instituted with the location of a church we begin to here people praising The Purge. The dark lighting is effective when produces a sinister effect. The dialogue of a man who was seen at the beginning watching her speech says "Join me as we eliminate evil". A white sheet is removed of a body in which is the President. We then see a table through a medium shot with many different murder weapons implying they are going to kill the President. A fast pace dark lighting and fast pace soundtrack is all used to show the President being tied up and attacked, we don't know what exactly happened to her but by giving her prevalence we, the audience connect and sympathy with her the most. As the trailer fades to black the title is inserted making people feel more engaged overall. The trailer ends with a panning shot of a daunting looking mask giving the cinema relies date, the soundtrack of a voice states "Just remember all the good The Purge does" this leaves viewers slightly confused as how can there be any good out of The Purge?

Overall, I feel the trailer succeeded for the horror genre as it kept me engaged and gripped throughout. The purpose of a trailer is to give you sneak peaks and pursued you to see the film. I feel this trailer has done just that as the cliff hanging ending makes me want to know what happens next. Also as the President had prevalence you connect and sympathise with her the most making you want to see how it works out for her and see whether she survives or not? I will defiantly be going to see this film as it kept me occupied throughout.