Psychological thriller movie posters follow conventions to convey the genre, such as contrasts between light and dark to represent characters' purity and darkness. Taglines provide insight into unstable protagonists and complex plots to build tension. Featuring a familiar actor's face draws in audiences more than an unknown face. Dark or plain backgrounds imply a bleak mood. However, the poster described breaks some conventions by lacking light and dark contrasts and instead using a familiar face, ominous tagline, and plain colors to intrigue viewers.

1. Psychological thriller posters follow a set of
codes and conventions which help to
convey to an audience the genre they are
centred in.
Light and Dark; Represents the
purity and darkness in the
characters.
Taglines; Gives insight into the plots
and the unstable mental conditions
of the main characters – creates
tension.
Character Faces; A familiar actor will
entice audiences to watch the film
more so than with an ‘unknown.’
Dark or Bland Backgrounds; This
gives the idea of a bleak mood
underlying the film.
The above picture breaks some of
these codes and conventions; for
instance, the dark and light effects
that we see in other posters, such as
‘Sixth Sense’ and ‘Shutter Island’ are
absent. Instead, the makers of this
poster utilised the idea of bland
colours, a familiar actor’s face on
front, and an ominous tagline in
which to draw the audience.
A poster is arguably a form of Barthes’ Hermeneutic Code, as it
prompts the audience to discover more about the film. The Enigma
Code argues that it pushes spectators to learn more about the film, by
providing ‘sneaks’ of the plot, utilising such symbols like the forest/old
house setting in ‘Awakening,’ or the insane asylum island in ‘Shutter
Island.’ These sorts of symbols coincide with Semantic and Symbolic
Codes.
It must also be noted that the trees
have been photo-shopped in a way
similar to the effect scene from a
fish-eye camera lens, which gives an
idea of a ‘distorted’ sort of outlook.