1. CONVENTIONS OF
HORROR POSTERS

2. WHAT IS A FILM POSTER?
• They are normally an image which connotes the
actual film being promoted. The size of film posters
are normally A3 (international size), they do
however do larger A2 posters for outside uses or
depending on where the posters are seen. As you
can see here this is a larger poster within a cinema:
• As the audience we are able to distinguish what a
poster is from some of the conventions such as the
billing code, logos, main protagonist and the
masthead.

3. WHAT IS THE BILLING CODE?
• The billing code is normally at the bottom of the
poster and it says the actors, directors, production
team, and cast on there.

4. DRAG ME TO HELL ANALYSIS
Drag me to hell is an award winning
horror movie shot in 2009.

5. • From the main image on the poster it is clear to the
audience that she is the victim within this movie. The
movie follows the stereotypical convention for a horror
poster by having the main character as a female; the
female represents them as being weaker than males
and normally more defenceless when it comes to the
villain. From her facial expression we can tell she is
being pulled down by the hands holding onto her and
is scared. From just the main image we can tell that
this fits into the horror films/posters.

6. • From the mis-en scene from the main image we
can tell that this woman is some-what
normal/average. This creates more tension and
would scare the audience more because it is just a
‘normal’ person like us and it makes us think what if
we was in that position?

7. From these two images we can see that the villain has
no face present which gives makes us think that the
villain is ‘supernatural’ it is as if the supernatural villain
is pulling down onto the woman and dragging her
towards the fire which may be represented as hell.
This links in with the title of the movie ‘drag me to hell’

8. • In the back of the photo we are able to see a large
American styled house; this may suggest that this
house is the victims. The house however is
surrounded within the darkness which could signify
the unknown and evil in and around the house.
With all the doom and gloom surrounding the house
it gives us an idea that something bad may happen
within the house.

9. • On the poster we see a
tagline which says
‘Christine Brown has a
good job, great boyfriend
and a bright future. But in
three days, she’s going to
hell’. As soon as we read
this it has us hooked, why is
she going to hell is the
question we automatically
think. From just this tag line
it gives us an overview of
the main character by
giving us her name and a
little bit about her.
This font is very basic which allows
us to read it easily. It is in white
which tells us that there is some
purity within this movie. It does
however stand out on the fires red
and orange colours; this does not
however steal our eyes from the
main image.

10. • Right at the bottom of the movie poster it has the
billing code, this is the last part of the poster that the
audience would look at because it is the smallest
and kind of blends into the background. The billing
code tells us the actors, actresses and tells us
whether the director is reputable and they know
who It is. Underneath the billing code it says the
words coming soon rather than the official release
date. Again the movie website is underneath the
‘coming soon’ in an even smaller font which would
be harder to read but it still promotes the movie.

11. THE EXORCIST ANALYSIS 1978
• The exorcist is a movie which
was made in 1978, in its time
it was deemed the scariest
movie for many years as it
had graphics and special
effects which none had
seen before.

12. • The main colours on this poster are black and white.
These are typical conventions of a horror film. While the
black has connotations of evil and darkness the white
contrasts and show the purity and innocence within the
darkness of the movie.
• From this image we can see a bright white light coming
from the left window on the first floor, this gives us the
idea that there is something in that room which the
silhouette is drawn to, somewhat eerie. The way that the
silhouette is standing under the white shinning light it
shows that he is a main character and from the white
light it gives us the impression he is a good character. He
is standing in between a gateway to a house.

13. • The layout of this poster is very minimal which then
allows the audience to use their own imagination
and it doesn’t give any of the story away.
• The film title is placed at the bottom of the poster in
the middle, the colours of this text is lilac and grey;
this creates contrast to the rest of the poster which
allows it stand out from the background. With the
font being very simplistic, bold and sharp it stands
out which would leave an impression on the
audience meaning they would more than likely
remember the movie title easier.

14. • There is also a tag line on this movie however this is
a quote from the director as it says ‘the scariest
movie of all time has returned in a version you’ve
never seen’. With the writing in white again it stands
out against the dark black skies of the poster but
has a chill about it. With the words ‘version you’ve
never seen’ underlined it tells us that no one on
earth has ever seen a movie like this before and it is
one of a kind.

15. INSIDIOUS ANALYSIS

16. • Iconography: The colours on the poster are mainly
dark the conventions are associated with the film.
The black and grey colours connotes the darkness
and terror. This links to the film being evil and having
a sense of possession about the film. The low key
lighting foreshadows the innocence of the child
being influenced by the evil.
• The props used on this poster are nothing special.
The pyjamas the child is wearing still signifies his a
child and his childhood is still present.

17. • The background is of an establishing shot of a
house, this tells us that the little boy lives in this
house. The house is seen to be isolated which shows
us that no-one is around; again we can see that
there are dark shadows appearing over the house
representing that there is something dark and
sinister is about to happen.

18. • The main title ‘Insidious’ is in the conventional horizontal way
which makes it stand out from the other words. The two letters
‘SI’ are in red- this could mean the word ‘Yes’ in Spanish
however I do not feel that this has any relevance to the
movie. Underneath the film title we are able to see the billing
code and the tag line ‘its not the house that’s haunted’ this
suggests that the little boy is haunted and it has nothing to do
with the house.