The document analyzes conventions commonly found in horror movie posters. It provides examples from the posters of the movies "You're Next" and "Sinister" to illustrate these conventions. Key conventions discussed include using a black, red, and white color scheme; featuring a large image of the main character(s); including the release date, credits, and a tagline. Both posters analyzed employ lighting, fonts, imagery, and other design elements to create a sense of fear, danger, and intrigue for the viewer.

1. HORROR POSTER ANALYSIS

2. GENERIC CONVENTIONS – HORROR POSTER
List of Generic conventions in horror posters:
- Black, red and white colour scheme throughout to stick with the idea of good vs evil with danger and
violence etc
- One large image usually the main protagonist or antagonist is used to link the film back to their storyline
and remind who will be starring in the film
- Release date is commonly placed towards the bottom of the poster in bold writing to promote the
increase the hype for the film
- Taglines are used to give extra info about the film and hint at something within the film to make the
viewer feel more engaged
- Low key lighting is used a lot with the images to disguise the character and to make them feel more
intimidating/scared depending on who it is
- Credits are necessary on every poster as it explains who basically made the film and who is starring in
the film to give them the appreciation that they want for making the film

3. YOU’RE NEXT (2011)
Background:
The background that has been used for this
poster is a gradient with dark colours around the
edges of the poster and then the bright colour
bursting from the middle from behind the main
image making the images which is drawing the
readers attention straight to the image making
them feel anxious and on edge straight from the
beginning. This background is very straight
forward and easy to create, and is very effective
in creating the sense of a horror film poster. The
dark colours that have been used are very
intimidating and menacing creating the scare
factor that comes from this poster. These colours
are part of the main thing that allows us to realise
that this is a horror film as a thriller sub-genre.
The gradient from white in the middle to dark
around the edge reflects the way in which events
will steadily become more dark and sinister as the
movie plays out and is suggesting that the
character on the front of the poster is going to be
the main reason for horror throughout the film.
Props:
The characters clothing such as; black hoodie
and a wolf mask suggests that this character is
the main reason for fear and horror throughout
this film. Furthermore, the height and size of the
person symbolises an adult, and with the dark
colours and blood on the mask reveals that he is
treacherous and dangerous to approach, this
heightens the sensation of danger and fear for
the audience.
Typography:
“You’re Next” has used an effect to make it look like
it has been scratched on something like a chalk
board, when you think about this, the sound
associated with it is something that your body
naturally doesn’t like and makes you shiver making
you feel on edge, this also creates enigma of
audiences becoming suspicious and to start
questioning the title of who is next. The two colours
used on the poster being white and black are
complete different opposites; the colour white is
associated with heaven, innocence and purity and
usually has a positive connotation whereas black is
associated with power, fear, strength, death, evil and
aggression; the ideas of two different colour
opposites links to Roland Barthes theory of good vs
evil.
Iconography:
The colour connotes stereotypical codes and
conventions of iconography that is seen in other horror
posters and that are associated with the film. For
example, the colours that are used such as black and
white fade with a dirty effect signifies a visual picture
to the person viewing of; horror, darkness and fear,
and this is what allows the audience to associate the
film to evil and a psychopath. The use of low key
lighting foreshadows how dangerous this character
really is during the film. This signifies that the film
doesn’t challenge the typical conventions of horror
films as we can see it use good vs evil, and the
shadows reinforce the danger associated with this
character, and what part he will be playing during the
film.
Themes:
The themes that we can pull from this poster are;
stalker this is signified by the main character on
the front with a mask hiding his identity right in the
centre of the poster. This is then juxtaposed with
the feeling of anxiety and fear as you can see
from the low key lighting that has been used for
Summary:
Overall from this poster I can see that it has followed
the main conventions of horror posters very well and
definitely creates a feeling of fear when looking at
this poster. The lighting is very well used and the text
that has been used at the bottom gives of a very
eerie and peculiar feeling.

4. SINISTER (2012)
Credits are typically used on all posters
because they allow the people who made and
directed the film to get the credit they deserve,
and is usually written in a very small narrow
font so that it doesn’t take any focus away from
the main poster. Not just only is it to give them
credit but the use of credits is a legal
requirement that needs to be used, so the way
this is done would be to make it as small as
possible so the credit is still given but it doesn’t
affect anything around it or the poster in
general.
The title used isn't very large but is still very
clearly shown as being the main aspect on the
page so that the viewer knows exactly what the
film is called and to get a hint at what the film
could link to. The font that has been used has
also been carefully chosen to match the idea of
the film so that they link but also to make it
much more interesting than a boring serif font.
The shadows dropping down off the writing
also adds a very sketchy and scary effect that
isn't commonly seen on posters making it
unique
The use of having/including one main image as
the focus point of the poster is so all attention is
drawn to the character so the audience can
relate and see what is going on. Also because
it gives a very good and clear idea about what
the film will include and what the protagonist or
antagonist will be like, if there is the use of
several images then the poster could end up
looking crowded and unprofessional.
For this poster there is no specific release date
that is placed on the poster, as you can see
they have written ‘coming soon’ this could be to
build up hype for the films actual release date
and get people discussing about the film and
get them guessing about when it will drop, this
would build up a lot of hype and suspense for
the film because a lot of information is being
kept from the audience which keeps the films
relevance and interest alive until the actual
release date is revealed, as revealing
everything about the film all at once then the
waiting period will make its audience lose
interest.
The typical colour scheme that is used
commonly within horror posters is the use of
red, white and black, and as you can see these
colours are used here to give the same effect
which would be to represent the idea of good
and evil throughout the film and red could link
to death, love, violence, danger etc. And this
would be the reason why these colours are
used, because they give the common
representation of a horror film but also they
look good together when they are used right.
Low key lighting is another convention that is
used a lot on posters, but here it hasn’t been
used that much, this could be because they
don’t want to antagonist to be disguised in any
way so that everyone can see what they are
capable off which is a lot suggested by the
choice of clothing being white and the setting
also being white like she wants to stand out.
Tagline may be a very small feature that might
not always be something that is seen as being
very important but the tagline could arguably be
one of the most important things on the poster,
as it is meant to give/tell a little about what the
movie will be on, while indicating the
differentiation within the film as well. This
tagline is very direct as it is talking to you, and
makes the viewer feel uneasy, as it links to the
idea of death and nothing can save ‘you’.