analysis of horror posters...

1. ANALYSIS OF HORROR POSTERS
Sarah Kelly

2. All of these analysis’ will relate to my idea too:
Psychological thriller/horror: The Machinist
The front cover of the poster resembles ambience, the inventions of a horror
trailer are such things that are portrayed on the front of this poster. The
dreamy look of the front cover portrays whether or not the actor on the front
is real; reflecting the story line in the movie. Other conventions that reflect a
horror in this poster is the mans gaze. This portrays the idea of him looking at
something, or working something out inside his head, as the audience do not
know what he is thinking about, this highlights the fear of the unknown for
the audience, increasing more of a fear factor for the poster. As it also shows
a black eye, this can be portrayed as anything, the convention mise-en-scene
is being used here to signify the abnormality, the dark black eyes can also refer
to the dark black mystery about to happen in the film.
The title ‘how do you wake up from your nightmare if you’re not asleep’ in
white colouredwriting makes the subtitles stand out even more, linking this
to the face the man is making, can signify something that the man is running
away from, again, increasing the fear factor and the fear of the unknown even
further for the audience.
The reference on the front cover of the poster to a cross also can refer to
religious involvement in the film. As it is centered within the film, without even
watching the trailer, this could signify insanity. From my previous research on
what society finds fearful, religion was a main source. The black color's and
dreamy like showing portrays a idea of abnormality, producing a unrealistic
effect, relating this to The utopian theory, this could be what the audiences
reaching for; finding a new excitement and engagement through a
psychological thriller/horror.

3. All of these analysis’ will relate to my idea too:
Psychological horror: Identity
As you can see, the picture portrays the colour ‘red’ which relates to the idea
of blood, immediately you can see that as this hand has red in it, the film will
include blood and murder in it. This convention is very typical of a horror film,
as most horror films are based on murder. This red colour is juxtaposed with
the black seeping from the bottom of the hand, the dark colours resemble and
ink to the evil meaning that may be behind the film ‘identity’ , as the black
hand is put on a white background, this signifies even further the real
dominance and prominence of the black and red colours showing up on the
poster. The idea of a hand also relates to the ‘identity’ of someone, therefore
adding a more relevant and realistic point of view to the film. This can be
drawn back to the idea of the fear of unknown, making the poster even more
scary, it puts certain questions in to the audiences head such as: Who’s is the
hand? Ect…
With regards to Barthes enigma code, the idea of not knowing or
understanding where the persons hand has come relates to the idea of leaving
a cliff hanger, and something for the audience to find out, this hand lets the
audience in, and teasing them for what’s to come next. This increases the
audiences participation even further…
The visible silhouettes in the hands gives an illusion and it triggers the
audiences imagination even further, again increasing the audience
participation. The silhouettes of the people, that are in character of the
fingers look as though they are ghosts; perhaps people who are seen to be
dead, increasing the horror factor of the poster. The title ‘Identity’, and the
sub heading ‘The secrete lies within’ also increases the horror factor even
further because it sounds as though the poster is being directed to the
audience thus adding to the humanistic attributes of the poster, let alone the
picture of the hand. The idea of the ghosts refers to a superficial, superstitious
and ghostly like creature, again linking to Props character types ; including a
villain within the story, making it even more of a conventional horror poster.
This also relates to the fear of the unknown.

4. The poster shows a contrast between dark and light, the use of antithesis
highlights the woman’s face even more, as the woman’s face looks even more
pale. This suggests that her presence if good and evil; the contrast confuses
the audience. The light and dark is a symbolism of good and evil, which are
classic thriller/horror traits within a poster.
The title of the film and the girls eyes are in red. This connotes that there is
danger, blood, death or even violence within the film. This is a common sign of
a horror film, as the colour red is a prominent signifier of horror film, this again
helps the audience understand that it is a horror film. Also the idea of the eyes
being in red could also trigger audience involvement. This could perhaps scare
the audience and trigger there imagination into thinking the worst is going to
happen.
The title ‘Silence of the lambs’ is interpreted into visual form in the poster, as
the pale women; this representing the lamb, is juxtaposed with the butterfly
over the mouth. It seems to be an odd comparison, making the poster more
alarming. The butterfly over the mouth also represents the silence in the film,
however, as it is done with a butterfly.
Furthermore, there is a skull on the back of the butterfly which adds intricacy
and detail, showing the connotation of the film being evil. P{perhaps it even
portrays death. The skull can also contribute to the mysterious and sinister
atmosphere of the film. Unlike many horror films, the character in the poster
is female; if you have not watched the film you may believe that the film has a
female protagonist rather than male. This shows how the film has challenged
the classic thriller conventions by not having a male protagonist shown in the
poster. This may appeal to females more than a poster with a male in it, as it
can suggest females in the cast as well as a female protagonist (thrillers tend
to have mostly-male casts and protagonists).
Overall, the characters face looks almost emotionless, and gives a cold feel to
the poster.