The document summarizes techniques used in an effective horror movie poster that the author intends to replicate for their own poster. Some of the techniques discussed include: placing the title at the bottom so it is in shadow of the main image; including previous films by the director to appeal to fans; using a single large unnerving main image to set the tone; limiting additional text to avoid revealing too much of the plot; and using a color palette of black and white with subtle red to emphasize mystery and danger. The author analyzes how these techniques appeal to horror movie audiences and effectively advertise the intended tone and content of the film without revealing too much.

1. In order to create my poster I used a series of different pre-existing horror movie posters which I thought
were the most effective. I chose the conjuring as my first option because it is a typical example of a
modern day poster, the simple layout making the tone clear instantly.
Just like a conventional horror movie poster, the title for the film is located at the very bottom of the
poster so that it is in the shadow of the main image. The white font contrasts with the dark grey and
black undertones well which makes it stand out against the centre image so that it is clear to read for
the audience. The title itself also isn’t too large on the poster, and is just the right size so that we notice
it but it does not completely dominate the poster. If there was too much going on, such as too much
text, this would distract the viewer and give too much away about the film. Having a limited amount of
text emphasizes the mysterious tone of the film which is a good advertising strategy as from research, it
has been proved that most viewers would rather not have too much revealed to them. In my own poster
I plan to replicate this technique, and I particularly like the way that the white text stands out amongst
the rest of the poster as it leaves a long lasting impression on the viewer and will not get lost amongst
other features.
At the very top of the poster there is mention to previous films that the director has created which is an
effective device as it appeals to the target audience that the poster is based around. If the viewer has
seen and enjoyed some of the films that have been mentioned then they will be more likely to invest in
the upcoming film as they will have associations from the other movies that have been created. Saw and
insidious are both very well known films in the horror genre and are known for being relatively high
budget films so with the release of the conjuring, viewers would probably use these previous
assumptions to form an opinion as to what they would expect from this film in terms of quality. This
feature is used in most movie posters as it is an effective form of advertisement, so when making my
poster this is also a feature I would like to replicate in my own poster.
Another technique in the poster was that there was a web link at the very bottom of poster which is
popularly featured in modern day posters as it is a generation where social media is heavily involved
with day to day life, and the majority of the target audience will have access to a form of technology that
will allow them to access information on the upcoming movie. The main image itself works particularly
well because of the connotations of both the girl and the doll. Young girls and dolls are a popular
convention of the horror genre as they are linked to innocence and naivety, which makes it unnerving
when they are put into a completely juxtaposing situation. In this example, the juxtaposition lies within
the sinister nature of the dolls facial expression, and the grunge themed background which has an
unsafe vibe to it, linking to the general tone of the movie that will be released.

2. Just like the previous poster, the title of the movie is towards the very bottom in comparison to the centre
image which starts at the very top. We as the viewers are known to read from top to bottom so this device
is used to subtly get us to notice the main image before we look at the title. Cleverly one of the “R”’s has
been flipped around in the title to reflect a mirror, suggesting that there is some element of the film
revolving around mirrors. Giving subtle little hints as to what could be in the movie, or summarising the
film with a choice of lexis that is relevant to the plot, is beneficial to the distributers of the media as it sells
well. If the audience can gather just a small amount about the film and are not revealed to too much of
the plot, it can be very intriguing and cause them to wonder what entails in the film.
In this particular poster the designers have chosen to use a close up of a pretty terrifying looking facial
expression. The choice of having such a close up shot of the face is very unnerving as it feels like it is
invading our personal space by not being distanced from us at all. This closeness is almost threatening,
and it is featured in a lot of horror films such as “Saw” and “The final Destination”, where there are similar
close up shots which are the focal image. Just having one really large image to focus on makes the tone
pretty obvious as it is isolated from the rest of the poster and we tend to notice it first, before looking at
the text. For this poster, the facial expression itself gives us an example of what we should expect from the
film as the subject seems to be screaming or in pain, which lets us know that there will most likely be
violence or a shocking nature to the film. Her wide eyes also suggest that she is in fear of something,
which we assume to be torture which is heavily featured in the genre. As far as mis en scene goes, there is
also a blood drip going down the face of the woman, which ties in with the way that the title is coloured in
red. Blood also is a representation of death and murder, which we can expect to see in this film, hopefully
appealing to the audience who will be expecting to see such things.
“The Conjuring” had an effective grunge background but I feel as though the simplicity of this one is more
unnerving, with nothing but dark tones and a small hint of red in the title itself. This colour scheme is
something I would like to replicate in my poster as the dark tones will appeal to the target audience of my
horror trailer. There is red used in the title itself, which obviously has a connotation of blood and danger
which we instantly distinguish against the black background. Black also brings out the terror in this poster
as it is used to fade out the main image so that we cannot fully see what is going on .I would like it to be
instantly recognisable what the genre of my movie is and what can be expected from it. If my target
audience were to pick up on all of these devices then it would hopefully be more appealing to them as
they would link the conventions of my poster which previous horror films that are already pre existing.

3. A vignette gradient has been used on the main image so that it transitions well with the rest of the
background, this creates a blur between the assumed antagonist and the solid black colour behind it.
This kind of editing leads the viewer to assume that this film will be shrouded with the unknown, as we
aren’t even revealed much in the poster for the film and the image itself transitions into darkness. The
title also has this fading effect on it, which suggests that the film may involve morality with the links to
disappearance and death. Minimalist posters like this seem to be the more professional as they don’t
look like they are cluttered with content, and the main image addresses the audience directly which
makes it even more unnerving. For the main image of this poster, a sub human antagonist has been
chosen which links directly with the genre as monsters and spirits are conventional. There is Iconography
of a woman screaming which is mirrored to create an appearance of eyes, and a sinister grin on the face
of the character which seems to be as a result of inflicting pain. Eyes are heavily symbolised as they are
stereotyped as being windows into a persons soul, Eyes are probably the most important symbolic
sensory organ. They can represent intelligence, light, vigilance, moral conscience, and truth. Looking
someone in the eye is a western custom of honesty so the fact that this antagonist has no eyes makes it
very unnerving and reveals that they are not to be trusted. The woman screaming creates a sense of
fear as in horror films, women are often presented as vulnerabilities, so we are more likely to worry for
them. Even the expression itself of the woman seems to give off the impression of torture and violence,
which would appeal to the audience if they enjoyed the gore factor of a horror film, and valued that
when it came to their choice in movies.
The colour pallet of the poster follows the traditional horror poster, using the sharp contrast of black and
white which makes the text bold and easily distinguishable from the rest of the content. Black has
connotations of the unknown, darkness and fear which has been used to the advantage of the poster as
they are the vibes that first jump out to us as the audience. There is also a very light red colour used on
the text at the very top, which is slightly faded so we don’t automatically notice it until further
observation. It asks the rhetorical question of “What will it sound like when you die?” which is a device
used to personally address the audience, making them feel like they are being directly targeted by the
poster which can make us consider how we would react in such a sinister situation. Involving the
audience like this could cause them to remember the catchphrase of the movie, which would mean they
would more likely remember seeing the poster.
Just like a conventional horror movie poster, the title is placed directly above the credits as it has the
main priority as far as the text in the poster goes. The name of the movie is going to be what brings you
in to the cinema so when I make my poster I am going to make sure that my title stands out more than
any of the other text.