Trailer Analysis - Buried

BURIED
Buried is everybody's living nightmare. Claustrophobia (fear of small spaces), Achluophobia (fear of darkness) and Taphephobia (fear of being buried alive). Buried is the latest thriller from Rodrigo Cortes, a predominant spanish director/writer who has managed to produce something that really does play with your thoughts and emotions. It is key to the plot of this movie, as it is driven by one main cast member, that the audience develop a feeling of empathy for the character played by Ryan Reynolds, otherwise the concept of this movie would not at all work.

0.11-0.15 Seconds
The trailer really homes in on the idea that claustrophobia is a common fear and really plays with the emotions the audience will be feeling. The opening scene is in total darkness with only the sound of heavy, panic induced breathing which suggests to the crowd that the character, they have yet to see, has no idea where or how he has got in this predicament, and is scared. This also reflects his location, and really focuses on the fact that he is trapped, and alone.

0.17-0.33 Seconds
The next part of the scene suggests to the viewer again through sound (as the screen is still in total darkness) that there may be a chance for the character to escape. He has a phone and tries to call help, however the phone connection is then cut off and the viewer is then reimersed in the feeling that there is no chance of the character, Paul Conroy, is ever going to escape. Altough this may diminseh hope of a quick exit, it is also clear to the audience that the phone is key, but it was never going to be as simple as making a short call, otherwise what would the movie be built on?

0.40-0.50 Seconds
This is the first time you get to see some kind of visual from the trailer, in the bottom corner of the screen you see him trying to ignite his zippo lighter, the light from this really does show the extreme situation he has found himself in. The way that the audience have been kept in total darkness, expecially in a cinema situation, would really highten their senses and to an extent, bring out more empathy and emotion towards the situation with which they are presented. It also, puts them in as much as possible, the same position as the character. When the light finally catches, he appears to be in a wooden box that is not much better then himself, you are automatically filled with the sense that he is underground, locked in a coffin.