Analysis of Evil Dead and Sinister promo posters

1. Horror Poster Analysis

2. I have chosen to analyse the Evil
Dead promo poster because it is instantly
recognisable as a horror poster. The title,
‘The Evil Dead’ tells you instantly that it is
going to be scary and it suggests that the
dead will rise. The poster contains mise-en-
scene elements, such as fonts, colours and
settings that are typical of horror films.

3. The woman is the focus of the
poster. Women are the typical victims in
horror films because they are considered
vulnerable and are often used for sex
appeal, especially when they aren’t
wearing much. Usually the woman will be
wearing a nighty because they are
revealing, it is usually night and they are
inconvenient for the victim; it is hard to
fight evil when you’re worried about
covering up, being cold or wearing no
shoes. In this picture she is wearing a
nighty but it is dirty and tattered,
suggesting that she has been through a lot
of struggle before this point.

4. The most noticeable thing in the
poster is the fact that the woman is half
buried and has a hand from the ground
holding her neck, presumably strangling her or
pulling her down. This hand can be assumed
to be the ‘evil dead’ and is the subject of the
film. The hand she is rising parallels that of the
dead hand, which makes it ironic and implies
that she will be dead soon., it is also her plead
for help, again showcasing how vulnerable she
is.

5. There is an obvious split in the
poster between the living and the dead. The
contrast between the bright sky and the dark
ground make it clearer, even though the sky
does look very unnatural and a bit purple
which catches your eye. The diagonal angle
of the shot makes it look more dramatic by
highlighting the fact that she is in struggle
and it sort of throws you into the action.

6. The fact that you can’t see her face
adds a sense of mystery because even though
you haven’t seen the film you already have
sympathy for her and you want to watch to find
out what happens to her. From what you can see
you can deduce that she is in pain and that she is
struggling for breath or trying to shout for help.

7. At the bottom of the poster it has all
of the details and information. This is in very
small writing so they could fit all the
information in without taking attention away
from the actual content of the poster. The
writing gives credit to the main actors and
people involved in the production and gives
the web address of the official website so the
target audience can find out more about the
film. It also states the name of the production
company, this is important because some
people will watch a film just because it is
produced by a company that they like and it
also gives rising production companies credit.

8. It is important to include the logo
of the franchise because that is how people
will recognise it. It is also a good way to
market certain merchandise which are
branded with the Evil Dead logo.

9. The review makes the film even
more appealing. It comments on how
original the film is which is something
people want to see because they are
bored of other films which just show
stories they have seen before. The best
part of the review is that it is from
Stephen King who is a renowned horror
author so he has experience with the
subject and his opinion is credible.

10. The Sinister poster also has features typical of a
horror poster, mise-en-scene elements such as
fonts, colours and settings.

11. The first thing you notice about this poster is the face
in the blood. They have used a young girl because
they are considered innocent and vulnerable and it is
a mystery as to why she is dragging blood across a
wall. The face can be assumed to be the character
referred to in the tag line, "Once you see him,
nothing can save you”. The cracks on the wall and the
off white colour suggest that the wall is old or that
someone has damaged it. The title immediately
suggests that the film will be ‘sinister’ and scary. The
font used is also quite creepy and because it is a bit
faded it fits in with the rest of damaged wall. It says
that it is from the creators of Paranormal Activity and
Insidious so people will want to see it because they
are popular horror films.