For your first Critical Reading Exercise, you are tasked with analyzing the trailer for Crimson

Peak.
How does it work in terms of rhetoric and genre? How does it target a particular audience with a
particular message? Is it effective? Why?
Briefly (approx. 250-300 words) make an argument about and analyze the trailer's rhetorical
situation. ​You won't be able to talk about everything​. You'll need to make a specific argument
by taking a particular angle. Ask yourself: What kind of movie does the trailer advertise? What
sort of audience member is it envisioning? How do you know? A good trailer will sell itself many
ways to many different audiences -- your job is to pick one angle and analyze!

CR 1: Trailer Analysis

The trailer uses certain forms of rhetoric and genre in order to effectively attract the
horror fiction seeking filmgoers. In terms of rhetoric, the trailer uses an appeal to ethos by
referencing Guillermo del Toro and Stephen King. Guillermo del Toro, an Academy Award
winner, is revealed as the director of the movie within the beginning of the trailer. Seconds later,
Stephen King is shown praising the film as “gorgeous and terrifying”. These two instances are
an appeal to ethos as the two men are well-known to the audience as reputable filmmakers in
the world of cinema. This attracts an audience who are fans of the two filmmakers. More
specifically, it attracts an audience who are drawn to the genre that these two filmmakers are
known for: horror fiction. In terms of genre, the trailer uses music and color to appeal to the
same audience. The music in the trailer is the typical ominous crescendo in most horror films.
For the first three-quarters of the trailer, the music is faint and serves as background music.
However, at 1:57 after an eerie and disturbing piano key being played progressively faster that
adds to support the genre, the music becomes the focus evoking a sense of suspense and
dread to the audience, an appeal to pathos, that the horror genre is known for. The colors used
also creates an appeal to the same audience. The twist on the ​Universal Pictures​ and
Legendary ​logo by turning them red and bloody and the slow progression of the setting
becoming darker as the trailer goes on portrays the film’s intent on focusing on the horror genre
to attract the horror seeking audience.