analysis of horror films

1. Movie Poster Analysis

2. Conventions of horror posters
Large main image that fills the poster. This establishes who is in the film and shows who the main character/s
are or what the film is about i.e. a doll
Dull lighting or unnatural colours are used this creates a mystic and eerie feeling for the audience when they
look at the poster
The typeface is always in bold capital letters to draw the audiences eye to the poster, the typeface is also
always in red and this means that with the bright colours it will catch the audiences eye more affectively
References to previous films, for example in Annabelle it says before the conjuring there was Annabelle and
this is because the film the conjuring was produced first and this gives a sense that Annabelle was around for
much longer to draw the audience in
A tagline is included which will show the narrative to the film and this means the audience will get a sense of
what to expect
Release date, either with an actual date or it would say coming soon as some films have multiple posters.
The website link and any social media links are also found on the lower 3rd of the poster to spread awareness
of the film

3. • The blood on the eye makes the doll look disturbing and
makes the audience wonder what the doll is capable of
• The tagline, “Before The Conjuring there was Annabelle”
draws the audience in as there is this doll that has been around
longer than people realise and this means that the audience
will want to see the film to see what the doll is capable of
• The blacked out background gives a dark presence to the doll
and this makes the audience feel unnerving and makes them
feel isolated and as the doll is very close to the shot it makes
them feel like the doll is right in front of them
• The red typeface for Annabelle suggests that the film is a
horror because the typeface is in all caps and bold, as well as
this the typeface is in red which makes you think of blood and
this means the audience will identify the film as a horror

4. • Contains the title of the film in the bottom third
• Has the tagline above the name of the film
• Has the main setting in the background
• The title of the prequel is at the top of the
poster in red so they are aware of where the doll
is from and any links made as this is a popular
series of films
• The dark colours help identify that it is a horror
as horror films are dark and eerie and the poster
matches this will

5. • Chucky is seen sitting in the main characters lap and this shows
the person in a wheelchair this shows that she is disabled but this
interprets that no one is safe when Chucky is near
• The title of the film is in the middle right and this is so chucky’s
face can be seen clearly and the typeface is in red which fits the
themes shown in other horror films and makes the audience
immediately identify the film as a horror
• The tagline, “Chucky’s back and better than ever” is at the bottom
of the screen and suggests to the audience that he has come back
with a vengeance and is ready to seek havoc in a better way which
will be more entertaining for the audience.
• The grey background gives a sense of mystery to the film as the
doll appears as a normal doll at first but when the audience see the
film they will be aware of the doll and what he is like.

6. • The doll is in the foreground to show that they are the main part of the
film
• The girl is in the background as it shows the doll has more power and
suggests that the doll may have power over the doll
• The tagline which reads “No soul is safe” is below the actors names this
shows that the audience can make a link that the actors in the
production are the main people in peril
• The doll is seen holding a serrated blade this shows that there is a very
dark side to the doll and that something terrible is going to happen
• The dark background shows an evil and demonic presence to the doll
amd this shows that there is more to the doll than meets the eye