Trunk Shot

Usually deployed in any movie which involves a character placing or retrieving something in the trunk (boot, if you're using British English) of a car. The point of view will usually be from within the trunk looking up at the character opening it.

Popularised by Quentin Tarantino, who has a Trunk Shot in all of his films.

See Punk in the Trunk for one of the ways this shot can be used. Distant relative of the Huddle Shot.

Compare Mouth Cam.

Examples of Trunk Shot include:

Animated Films

Meet The Robinsons. A Shout Out to Tarantino in a Disney film. With frogs.

Live Action Films

He Walked By Night : Credited with being the first film to use this trope.
Goodfellas
Every Quentin Tarantino movie ever:
- Jackie Brown
- Kill Bill: The Bride is talking to Sophie Fatale, who is in the trunk.
- Pulp Fiction: Jules and Vince when they take their guns from the trunk.
- Reservoir Dogs: looking down on the captured cop in the trunk.
- From Dusk Till Dawn (which Tarantino scripted and acts in, but did not direct)
- Death Proof (Inverted Trope, this one is actually a shot from under the front hood of a car).
- Inglourious Basterds: the POV is just lying on the ground.
- Django Unchained: from the ground.
Laid To Rest
Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street: Mrs. Lovett looking onto Pirelli's body in the chest.
Hot Fuzz. Also an intentional Shout Out. Ta da.
Used in Triangle, after Jess stashes the body in the trunk of her car.
In Wild Tales, when Simón Fisher loads explosives into the trunk of his car.

Live Action TV

In Supernatural, the Winchesters keep their weapons in the trunk, and so it represents their "family business." The last shot of the pilot is a dramatic trunk shot with the trunk slamming shut serving as a cut to black. Also an example of Book Ends, as season 2 ends with the exact same shot, and line/theme ("We've got work to do.").
My Mad Fat Diary uses this trope in its first episode, when Karim is first introduced.
It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia uses this trope in "Paddy's Pub: The Worst Bar in Philadelphia" Given the AccidentalKidnapping context, it may be an additional shout-out to Tartatino's films in general
Life on Mars: Gene Hunt does this to Sam Tyler at least once.
Monk: In "Mr. Monk and the Other Detective," Monk and Marty Eels look at the store manager's car and the camera shooting them from inside the trunk.
Pilot episode of The Streets of San Francisco (1972) contains one near the end of an episode, when Stone, Keller and Malone find a chest with victim's belongings.
Breaking Bad: In the ColdOpen for the Season 5 Premier, this shot is used as Walt looks at the M60 in his trunk.
The Walking Dead: Rick and Shane argue about their prisoner in their car.
In "And His Watch is Ended" of Game Of Thrones, Varys shows Tyrion a trapped sorcerer that is kept in a large box, bound and gagged, Varys and Tyrion are shown watching him from this angle, with part of the lid and the box visible.
Faking It does it in the season 2 premiere when Shane kidnaps Lauren's boyfriend Tommy.

Music

The music video for the Dixie Chicks' "Goodbye Earl" uses the trunk shot when the girls take Earl for dumping. It uses a similar shot (not in a trunk) earlier when Earl's on the floor dying of poison.
The page picture for the Grindcore group Pig Destroyer.
NWA's Straight Outta Compton's album cover.

Video Games

Grand Theft Auto Vice City gives us this as a Shout Out to Pulp Fiction, just before Lance and Tommy lay siege to Ricardo Diaz's estate.
A piece of concept art for Grand Theft Auto V depicts the three protagonists in this. It turns out to be a replica of a scene from the game's GoldenEnding, where the man in the trunk is one of the Big Bads.