Poster analysis 2 (2)

1. Poster Analysis
“The Conjuring”
The poster above promotes a horror filmthat belongs to the supernatural sub-genre, but
has some elements of possession as well. As media practitioners, we consider “The
Conjuring” an inspiration for us, as our horror film will also be based on a true story about
people’s lives being affected by the supernatural. Therefore, I believe it was appropriate to
analyse this poster.
The image dominates the frame and gives the audience a visual clue of the film’s narrative.
There are no characters present in the image, this can show the sub-genre it belongs to as
we do not usually expect to see spirits but they can still affect us. The main focus of the
image is the tree with the noose. This can perhaps suggest a suicide, or create a dark image
of someone dying in an unpleasant way. The tree itself is dark, and the fact that it is
defoliated shows the lack of life and loneliness. We can see an isolated house in the
background which adds to the sense of loneliness. Isolated locations are typical for
supernatural horror films. We can also notice the shadow of a person next to the tree,
which looks like someone was hanged from it. However, we cannot see the person, meaning
that the shadow is perhaps a spirit that is still hanging around. The use of the vintage, old-
fashioned look makes it seem like it was taken for real at the time. This heightens fear as the
audience might not be familiar with the time period and usually fear events from the past.
The tagline, “Based on the true case files of the Warrens”, attracts the audience and
connotes the horror genre. The use of “true” gives a sense of realismwhich intrigues the

2. audience as they begin to believe that this could be happening to them. The Warrens were
well-known ghost hunters, therefore this gives the audience a clue about the narrative. Also,
this allows people to search it up and have an idea of their cases. The fact that the film is
based on a true story has a huge impact on the audience, as they will be more interested in
it and fear it more than they would fear a completely fictional narrative.
The poster’s mise-en-scene presents a descriptive setting which allows the audience to
create an image of the narrative. It creates a mysterious atmosphere which indicates the
genre. The house is in the centre of the image and it is surrounded by trees. This highlights
the fact that it is isolated and possibly abandoned. The house creates an enigma as it makes
the audience question whether it is the house that is causing a disequilibriumor the people
who live there. The setting indicates that the action of the filmtakes place in a home. This
allows the audience to guess the fact that it is part of the supernatural sub-genre. Typically,
houses represent shelter and comfort, therefore, using this image to promote a horror film
suggests it will be invaded and it creates and eerie feeling.
The low-key lighting is used to reflect the gloominess of the situation and create a feeling of
terror. The lighting seems to be focused on the house, perhaps giving a sense of hope,
however, the dark edges suggest evil. The use of the fog is a horror convention, as it creates
tension and mystery by blurring out the image. The main colours used in the poster are
grey, white and black. These colours are often used when promoting a horror film as they
create an eerie feeling. The contrast between black and white shows the fight between
good and evil. The text used is written in capitals and it is bold, it stands out and creates a
professional look. This also adds to the vintage look and creates a sense of realism. The use
of “coming soon” will create speculation and interest as the audience will be waiting for the
film to come out or find out more information about it. The layout is typical for a horror film
poster, as the title is at the top and the institutional information is at the bottom, leaving
the image in the centre which allows the audience to focus on it.
The poster for “The Conjuring” is therefore effective as it uses typical horror conventions
and features which will attract the audience. The use of the image and the tagline will lure
in its target audience. Although the poster gives us an insight about the narrative, it doesn’t
give too much away as it does not show any characters but it lets the audience imagine
what is going to happen. When creating my own film poster, I am aiming to obtain the same
professional yet interesting appearance that will attract the audience.