1) The poster promotes the 2013 horror film "The Conjuring", which belongs to the paranormal sub-genre. It depicts a woman holding up a lit match, looking frightened in a nightgown. 2) Based on true events, paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren work to help a family terrorized by a dark presence in their farmhouse. The presence escalates and the mother becomes possessed. 3) The poster aims to attract audiences to the film by depicting the frightened female protagonist and implying supernatural events occurring in darkness, in line with horror film conventions.

1. Horror Film Poster Analysis
#2
The Conjuring (2013)
Thisspecificposterpromotes“The Conjuring”,ahorror film
that belongstothe paranormal sub-genre.Whenwatchingthe
horror film, audienceswill be frightenedbywhathappensin
the film. Beingbasedontrue events althoughheavily
exaggerated, paranormal investigatorsEdandLorraine Warren
workto helpa familyterrorizedbyadark presence intheir
farmhouse. Thisescalatesfurtherandfurtherwhenthe mother
becomespossessedbythe mainevil entitythatistrapped
withinthe home. Ihave chosentodo an analysisonthisposter
as the sub-genre thatthisfilmbelongstorelatesheavilyto
whatI am producingformyproject. Althoughitisnotan
example of afilmthatincorporatesthe use of foundfootage,
the reasonI chose thiswas that itwas an excellentexampleof
whata paranormal horror filmis.
Discussingthe content,the mainimage keepsmostlywithinstandardposterconventionsbytaking
up a vast majorityof the posterframe, onlytobe separatedbya borderthatonlyoccupiesa small
fractioncomparedto the mainimage.The borderhas beenmade inorderformore texttobe
available andvisuallyunderstandablewithouthavingforittostand out overthe image thatis being
usedhere. The image itself hasbeengivenafilterinordertolookmore vintage andold-fashioned,
as the filmisprimarilybasedinthe 1970s. The lightingusedhasbeenmade available fromthe
match that the mainmodel isseentobe holdingup;thishelps forherfacial expressionsonherface
to be clearlyseenandanyother detailsaboutherupperbodythatneedtobe noticed. The use of
the hand beingslightlyoutof focusisusedso that the woman’sface isthe clearestpart of the poster
and forthe audience tofocusonmostly.
Lookingat the character that the posterfocusesupon,we candeduce she isa protagonistormain
character, giventhe factthat she isthe onlyvisiblepersonthatcanbe seenonthe posterbythe
audience. She isseentobe holdingupalightedmatchthat isobviouslybeingusedtolightenupa
dark space of some sort,possiblyaroomor basement thatshe is investigating,whichiscommonof
the female protagonist.The match’slightlookstobe quite peculiarandorblike, whichhelpsto
perhaps linkthe image tosupernatural occurrences. Italsosuggeststhatthe lightscouldhave
mysteriouslygone out,acommonconventionandanindicationof the affect thatthe spiritis
possiblyhavingonthe environment.Thisalsoindicates thatthe horrorwill take place withinthe
dark or at night,as mosthorror filmswill generallydo.The facial expressionsthatare seenonher
face showthat the character seemstobe lostand confused.She mayhave wonderedintowhere she
isby mistake,orhave beenledthere bysomethingsuchasa noise. The wrinklesonherface indicate
that she may be overmiddle age,givingrise tothe possibilitythatshe be a mother,andthat this

2. characteristicmayplayan importantpart inthe film. Hermouthis slightlyopen,suggestingthatshe
has beenfrightenedbysomethingunseen,alsoshowingthatshe ispantingalongwithherheartrate
increasingbywhatshe iswitnessing. Herterrormakesitclearshe isnot the antagonistandin
supernatural postersit isquite commontosee the affectedcharacter. The costumingthatis visible
showsthat she is in nightwear,signifyingthatthe actionwill mostlytake place atnight.The use of
the vintage floral patternhelpstoindicate furtherthatthe filmmaynot be setinpresenttimes. The
floral style of the nightie thatshe iswearing isina conservative styleandrepresentsherassomeone
whois a motherfigure andmaternal.
The title of thisfilmis“The Conjuring”.A ‘conjuring’involves the performanceof trickswhichare
seeminglymagical,withoutusinganyhandsandrelatestothe paranormal activitiesthattake place
withinthe film.The textitself isthe biggestonthe posterandpositionedmore towardsthe topof
the frame,keepinginwithstandardposterconventions.Itisgiventhe colourwhite inordertomake
it standout amongstthe dark backgroundof the main image.The use of the candle lightactingas
thoughit islightingupthe letter‘i’inthe title givesthe mastheadaneerieeffecttoit. Otherpieces
of textinclude taglinesandsome institutionalinformation.The use of the textat the bottomof the
mainimage,“Basedonthe true case filesof the Warrens”,actsas a sharedunderstandingthatthe
readerwill automaticallyhave anawarenessof whothe Warrensare and whatthe storyisall about,
promptingthe audience tofindoutmore abouttheminorder to gaina sense of a backstorybefore
watching. The use of mentioningthe director’spreviouseffortsatthe top will helpsell the film as
the audience will therefore have highexpectationsof thisfilmandwill wanttosee it.Thiswill also
bringin fansof the director’spreviousworktoo.The lastpiece of textat the bottomreads,‘coming
soon’.It isquite boldlooking,andinblack andcapitals,inorderto reinforce thatthe filmwill be out
soon,despite nospecificationonanexactdate of release. Thiswill alsohelptospeculate anamount
of interestforthe film.
In conclusion,Ithinkthisposterisverysimplisticyeteffectivewhenitcomestoefficientlypromoting
the film,“The Conjuring”. Itlooksprofessionalandrefinedandisdefinitelyable toattractits
audience throughthe conventionsandlayoutithasused.