The poster for The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3D follows conventions of slasher film posters by featuring the masked antagonist, Leatherface, in the foreground holding a chainsaw. The low-angle shot positions the viewer in the place of a victim about to be attacked. Dark lighting and fog emphasize the threat posed by Leatherface. Text elements like the title, tagline, and release date are placed conventionally to guide the viewer's eyes. Overall, the poster attracts audiences for the slasher genre by visually conveying the fear and violence central to the film's narrative.

1. Poster Analysis: Texas Chainsaw Massacre
The filmposterbeingpresentedisof the film‘The TexasChainsaw Massacre 3D’,whichisa well-
knownclassicslasherhorrorfilmwhichhasbeenmodernisedthroughafranchise.Thisfilmposter
has followedgenerallayoutconventionsof filmpostersingeneral.Suchasincludingaboldtitle,
mainimage that dominatesthe page,tagline,institutional informationthatisplacedat the bottom
alongwithrelease date.The mainimage of thisfilmpostersignificantly fillsthe frame.The main
image if of the antagonistwhichisa veryconventionalthingtoshow ona filmposteraswell as
otherpromotional mediaof aslasherhorrorfilmbecause thatthisthe thrill andmysteryof the film.
Also,the narrative surroundsthe antagonist,whichisanotherreasonhe isonthe poster.
Additionally,the antagonistwill giveclearindicationof whatsub-genre he filmbelongsto.Similarly,
the filmisa franchise therefore,theywill rememberthe infamous‘Leatherface’.
The main image of thisfilmposterhasthe compositionplacedinthe foregroundandhasbeen
placedthiswaybecause itfollowsthe basicconventionsof bothfilmpostersandslasherfilm
posters.Fanswill recognisethisfilmposterbecause conventionallythe antagonistisplacedatthe
forefrontof slasherpromotionalpackstherefore the audience will instantlyrecognisethe genre of
the film.Also,due tothe mise-en-sceneusedinthe posterforexample,atall maskedman
positionedatalowangledshotwitha weaponinhishand. Othertext-basedconventionsare also
featured,thisincludesthe title,tagline,releasedate andinstitutionalinformation.Inthiswaythe
posterfollowstypical posterlayout.Forexample the titleispositionedbelow the mainimage which
iswhere the attentionof the audience will goafter.Underthe title isthe tagline,we know this
because the contextof the tagline relatestothe title ‘Evil wearsmanyfaces’thisinterestingtagline
isa wayto toy withthe audience suggestingthatthe evil we see onthe posterisn’tthe onlyevil
present.Italsoisplayingwiththe audience because‘Leatherface’isknownforusinghisvictims’skin

2. as hismask andfurniture thereforehe isn’twearinghisownface buthisvictims’faces.We also
know it isa tagline because itisthe same fontstyle asthe title andonlyslightlysmallerfontsize. I
termsof the institutional informationthisisplacedatthe verybottomof the page.Thisisless
importantinformationhowever,forthe fansof horror films theywilluse thisinformation to
recognise the makersof thisfil astheymay recognise similarwork.
Whenaddressingthe mainimage of the poster,we know thisisthe mostimportantaspectof the
posterbecause postersare meanstovisuallyappeal andattract.Therefore,the mainimage has
beenconstructedata lowangle mediumlongshotof the antagonistLeatherface.Thispositioning
and the iconographyusedsuchas a mask andchainsaw allowsthe audience toquicklyidentifythis
as a slasherfilmposter.Also,thisisasuccessful franchisesohorrorfanswill probablyalreadyknow
the legendarystory.Specificallyiconographyisthe mainpiece of mise-en-scenethatpresentsthis
posterconventionally.Forexample,Leatherface ispresentedinbaggyoveralls,wearingadistinctive
maskwhichlookslike deteriorated skinwhile holdingachainsaw thatlooksmuchbiggerthana real
life chainsaw,thiseffectsfearsthe audience makingthemfeelthe excruciatingpainof beingsliced
by leatherface.Byusingamask and over-sizedcostume thishelpstoconceal hisidentity,making
himappearlarger,strongerand more unhuman.Slasherfilmsoftenuse psychologicallyderanged
antagonistandthe use of a maskedidentityismore forthe thrill inscaringhisvictimsratherthan
not gettingcaught.Itcouldalso be because the antagonistcomesalive withhiscostume andlivehis
fantasy. Thisalreadygivesmore insighttothe narrative throughleatherface’schoice of costume and
weaponry.
The image lightingisverydarkand dismal withthe onlylightsource beingaspotlightfromthe left-
hand-side of the frame.The spotlightusediseffectiveinhighlightingtothe audience the sharpblade
of the chainsawandthe antagonist’sdisfiguredmaskwhichlookslike adisfiguredface. Thismakes
himappearmore frighteningasoureyesare drawn to thishuge figure.The backgroundisalsopitch
blackwitha slightuse of fog on the lefthandside where the source of lightiscomingfrom.This
suggeststhe type of whetherthatitwill be present,averycold fogwhether.Thisremindsthe
audience of colddeeppuffsvictimsmake whentheyrunandingeneral the colddarkwhetheris
generallymore frighteningthanahot summersday.Thisconventionhasbeenusedtofurther
emphasise the narrative andgenre inthe poster.Thiswaywe know thatthe antagonistlurksinthe
dark. Thisisalsoconventional withinslasherfilmsandgenerallyinmosthorrorfilmsbecause we all
have a fear of complete darknessespeciallywhenwe don’tknow whatisinthe darkness.Ina sense
slashersare more frighteninginthissensebecause itreflectsrealitymore sothansupernatural
horror. Serial killers existsandmostof the time theykill atnightandthisis how the posterhas
successfullyportrayedaslasherfilm.
The use of the spotlightagainemphasisesthatthe narrative will mainlybe aboutthe antagonist;he
isthe ‘star’of the filmandwill processthroughthe filmbypreyingonhisvictims.A slightprofile
lightingisalsoshown;the general effectistomake himlookmore sinister,darkeranddeeper
within.The successful franchise hasusedthisposterasarebornposter;he holdshischainsaw and
the fog beside himmayactuallybe smoke comingfromhischainsaw,thiscansuggesthe isback to
hiswaysand readyfor more.
In termsof settingitis obviousthatthiscouldbe somewhere abandonedandfarfrom the cityand
humancontact. The audience wouldknow thisbecause youcan’tsee antstreetlightsinthe
backgroundor buildings.Usuallyinthe rural areasor non-citybasedareasstarsare visible andnotin
thiscase.This furtheraddsto the fearand a signof no hope as starsare usuallyasignof hope or
dreamsand wishescome true.Thisisn’tthe case withthisposterwhichisanotherconventionthe
audience will expecttosee.

3. Furtheranalysingthe mainimage,the low angledshotiseffective inawaythat it emphasisesthe
antagonist’sdominance anditplacesthe audience inthe victims’shoes,asitappearsto be a point
of viewshotof the victimaboutto be killedby Leatherface. Thistheme isfurtherreinforcedbythe
waythat Leatherface islookingdown.Whenthe audience lookatthe poster,itappearsas it
Leatherface islooking downatthem,whichadds tothe fear created.Thiswill draw inthe audience,
as it will make themexperience agreatersense of terror andmake themwantto watch the film.
Mise-en-scene propsusedsuchasthe chainsaw combinedwiththe low angle couldbe suggestedas
directaddressas the audience couldsignifyasthe victims.Thiswill addtothe overall fearcreatedby
the poster. It alsohelpstoportray the fact that the filmisin3D. This will draw the audience intothe
posterand make themwantto watch the filmastheysee that the whole filmwill generate even
more fearthan that of the poster,asall of Leatherface’skillswill be emphasisedbythe 3D feature.
The chainsawisclearlythe dominantfeature inthe image.Due toeffective positioningandthe low
angle shot,the audience’seyesare instantlydrawn toit.The weaponisimportantinSlasherfilmsas
the audience wanttobe reassured thatitwill be one thatcauses bloodand gore,as that’s what they
expectof Slasherhorrors. Once the audience clockthe chainsaw inthisposter, the size andpowerof
it boostedbythe use of camera and placement,theywill be innodoubt of the sufferingandterror
thisweaponwill inflictupon itsvictims,increasingthe overalllure of the filmforthe Slasherfanwho
livesforthe gore.
The focus onthe weaponinthispostergivesthe audienceaninsightintothe narrative. Whenthey
see thisposter, they instantlyrecognise it’saSlasherhorrorabouta psychoticmaskedkiller,
slaughteringhisvictimswithachainsaw.Thiswill entice the audience making themwanttowatch
the filmor at leastknowmore aboutit.The title of the film, ‘TexasChainsaw 3D’anchors the image
and furtherenhancesthe audience’sunderstanding thatthisisa slasherhorror filmposter.AsThe
TexasChainsawMassacre is sucha classicwell-knownSlasherfranchise,the audience would know
it’sa newerversion of the classicTexasChainsaw Massacre, which will intriguethe audienceinhow
they’ve developedthisclassicslasher.The title alsoanchorsthe image andgivesthe audience an
understandingof the narrative soitisn’tasambiguous,asthe word ‘Chainsaw’ withthe visualof the
chainsawtellsthe audiencethatthisiswhatthe antagonistwill use tokill all hisvictims. The restof
the title informsthe audience of the locationof the film.‘Texas’informsthe audience that the film
will be setinthe state of Texas,a state made up of numeroussmall towns.Thisinformsthe audience
that itwill be a typical Slasherhorror, mostlikelybeingsetinasmall townwhere the characters are
tormentedwithnoescape.
Thisis a conventional locationforSlasherhorrors. The title itself ispresentedinawhite,uppercase,
serif font.The use of the title presented white contributes tothe overall greyanddarkappearance
of the poster.Itreflectsthe waythat the victimswill die inthe film,withtheirdeathsbeing
prolonged until all the colourhasdrainedfromthem. Similarly,the title of the filmstands out
againstthe black background inthe frame and the audience’seyeswillbe drawntoit.This isan
importantfeature asthe title of the filmisthe mostimportanttextinthe frame.The use of
uppercase helps torepresentthe factthat Leatherface issolidandundefeatable,masculineand
strong. Interestingly, itcouldalso be said thatthe shape and positionof the title,withthe curve of
the ‘C’ onthe word‘Chainsaw’ andthe longerlength of the secondline of the title results inthe title
actually mimickingthe shape of the chainsaw.A tagline featuresjustbelow the titleof the film.Its
powerto attract attentionisheightenedbythe factitis presented inanuppercase serif fontand
throughthe placement.Ithelps tofurtheranchorthe image and give aninsighttothe narrative of
the filmjustbefore the audience seethe title of the film.The tagline,‘Evil WearsManyFaces’,is
veryeffectiveindrawinginthe audience.

4. Thisreflectsthe factthat whenLeatherface killsone of hisvictimsandmakestheirfacesinto
somethingevilandmakesitintoa mask,whilstalso drawingattentiontothe evil thatcharacterises
the antagonistLeatherface.Itcould alsoindicate thatthe antagonistLeatherface’sevil liesdeep
within;itisnot justat face value.The tagline also furtheranchors the image byinformingthe
audience thatLeatherface isona rampage to kill multiple victims.
The positioningof the textitat the verybottom isimportant,as itis the lastthing the audience see.
Thismeansit will stayintheirmindso,afterbeingdrawninby the entire postertheywillknow
whentheycan watchthe film.Thispostereffectivelypromotes‘TexasChainsaw3D’.Itdraws inthe
audience and givesthemanideaof the narrative without givingawaytoomuch.It isalsoan overall
effectiverepresentation of aslasherfilmposter.