This poster for A Nightmare on Elm Street effectively promotes the slasher film. It follows genre conventions by featuring the antagonist Freddy Krueger prominently using lighting and color to draw attention to his disfigured face and knife fingers. The title, tagline, and release date are also prominently displayed using fonts and colors that grab attention. Analyzing the visual elements and their symbolic meanings provides insights into the film's narrative of Freddy stalking his victims in their dreams.

1. Poster Analysis: A Nightmare on Elm Street
Thisfilmposterabove isof a well-knownclassicslasherfilm‘A Nightmare onElmStreet’.The reason
I have chosenthisfilmposterisbecause myaim isto create a classical conventional slasherhorror
film.Thisfilmbeingverypopularandwith thissuccessful franchise Ihave decidedtoanalyse it.Also,
I will gain more knowledge increatingaconventionalposterwhile usingthisposterasinspirationto
create an original idea. Thisposteralsofollowsgeneral andlayoutconventionsof afilmposter.
The main image isknowntobe at the foregroundof the posterandis the mostimportantpart of the
posteras it iswhatgrabs attentionfrontitsaudience.Whenanalysingotherslasherfilmposters
somethingthatconsistentlycropsupisthe antagonistpresentedonthe mainimage.Thisstrong
conventionispresentedtoallowthe audience torecognise thisasaslasherhorrorand get an ideaof
itsnarrative;thisis the maincharacter thatthe audience love tosee inaction.Slasherfanswill
identifyKreuger,andunderstandthisisafranchise forthe classicfilm‘A Nightmare onElmsStreet’.
Thiswill be mucheasiertodraw intheiraudience because the filmwasextremelypopularwithits
firstrelease.
On the filmposterthere are othertext-basedconventionssuchasthe title,tagline,institutional
informationandthe release date.Thisfollowstypical layoutconventions.Forexample,the title‘A
Nightmare onElmsStreet’isbelowthe mainimage withthe tagline aboveitwhichsays‘Welcome to
your newnightmare’thisanchorsinwiththe image andtitle suggestingthe Freddyispresentinhis
victimsnightmares.The factthatit usesthe word‘Welcome…’frightensthe audience andtoyswith
theirmindsasthe antagonistplaysgames.The tagline alsostates‘…yournew nightmare’this
suggeststhathisvictimshave neverexperiencedanightmare like this.We are mostvulnerablein
our sleepsoforthe audience this canbe the mostfearful thingandwill keepthemonedge.

2. The symbioticlinkbetweenthe oldFreddie Kreuger,andthe new one featuredinthisfilmposteris
maintainedthrough the same mise-en-scenesuchashisbrownoldstyledhat,hisdisfigured face and
hisburnt costume.The image alone isenough toinformthe audience that itispromotingaSlasher
film.Freddie Kreugerisone of the most well-knownandpopularSlasherAntagonists thathis
presence alone will be effective enough topromote the filmanditssub-genre. Thismise-en-scene
usedon this posterissimple yeteffective.
The image is dominatedbycoloursblackandred.Alsobacklightingisfeaturedinthisposterto
emphasise the antagonist’sdisfiguredface andbody.The backlightingalsosuggeststhathe is
blockingthe source of lightwhichisanysightof hope or freedomaslightisassociatedwithfreedom
and hope.Hisdark presence takesoverthishope creatinganightmare.The use of the red-tinttothe
postercombinedwiththe blacklightingcreatesalookof fire.Thisgivesthe audience anideaof
whatthe narrative maybe as it linkstothe antagonist’spastand how he became so monstrous.It
reflectsthe ideaof deathandhell whichiswhathe wantsto inflictonhisvictimstomake themfeel
whathe felt. Itcouldbe saidthat the smoke surroundingthe antagonistcouldrepresentthe wayin
whichslasherantagonistshide inthe shadowsandhave acertainenigmaattachedtothem.When
the audience see the smoke closinginonthe antagonistitcouldsymbolise how the darknessis
enclosingonthe protagonistandthatthere isno escape fromKreuger.
Furthermore,the audience’sattentionisparticularlydrawntoa hole inhisjumper,the blackfrayed
edgesof the hole suggests thatithas beenburnt.Thiscan be analysedintwoways,firstlyitcan
showhowpowerful he isandthat he survivedbeingburntalive whichexplainshisdisfiguredbody
and face;thiswill be howhe seekshisrevenge.Orwe can see these holesashisvulnerabilityand
howthese holescanrepresentthingsmissingfromhislifethatmade himpsychoticthiscouldmake
the audience sympathetictowardshim. Thisgivesaninsightof the narrative thatthisdarknessand
fieryhell willbe presentinthe victim’stime of darknesswithintheirsleep.
He ispresentedwearingalarge rimmedfedorahat,whichcoversthe tophave of hisface.This
challengesconventionsof slasherfilms –antagonistsalwaysconceal theiridentitywithamask.But
inthiscase because hisface isdisfiguredandlookslesshumanlike maybe thisisthe reasonhe
wishesnottohide this.It’sscarierto see that,that reallyishisface.The hat doescome across more
conventional asaslasherkillerbecauseitdoeshide partsof hisface. Thisdoesmake us more
sympathetictowardsthe antagonistashe couldbe wearingthe hatto hide hisface that was ruined
inthe fire,thisseemslike arevenge plotandthisissuggestedthroughcostume andhisbody
language. However,inthe image hisfacial expressionshowsasinister,twistedandcrookedsmile,
eventhoughitisn’tdirectedatthe audience,itstill createsfearbecauseitsuggeststhatwe don’t
knowwho’snextbuthe is well aware.
Thisalsohintsat the narrative slightly;how the victimsonlysee himwhentheyare unconscious so
don’tdirectlysee himinthe flesh.Thisideaisfurtheremphasisedbyhisbodylanguage. He hashis
arms crossed,withhishandsontop of eachother,whichreflectsthe ideahe issinisterand
calculatingasis planninghisnextvictim.The positioningof hisarmsis alsoeffective inexposinghow
he has knivesforfingers.Like inmanyconventional slasherfilmposters, the audience’sattentionis
directedtothe antagonist’s weapon.A successfuluse of lightinghelps toemphasisethe edge and
the sharpness of the weapon witha twinkle of alight.Thiscanbe suggested,the twinkleof light

3. representshowwe goto sleepandfall asleep,thischangeswhenthe audiencerealise thatit’sa
sharp blade.Thismakesthe knife lookevenmore dangerous andsevere and more terrifyingasit
lookslike itcancause some real damage.
The use of lightingisveryeffectiveindirectingthe audience’sattentiontohow the antagonist
murders hisvictims.Thisisa commonconventionof Slasherfilmposters asithelps topromote the
sub-genre. The effective positioningof the knife-fingermakesitappeartobe a natural part of
Freddie’shand,whichcouldindicate that he andhisweaponare one and that killingisintrinsicand
comesnaturally toFreddie. The onlypartof Freddie’sweaponisactuallyshown, asSlasherfans
wouldknowhe hasa handof five knives,whichhe usestotormenthisvictims.The factthatonly
one knife isshownreinforcesthe ideathat, because ‘A Nightmare onElmsStreet’issuchawell-
knownSlasher, onlypartof Freddie’sweaponisnecessarytopromote the film.The title of the film,
‘A Nightmare onElm Street’anchors the image andfurtherenhancesthe audience’sunderstanding
that thisisa horror filmposter.The restof the title informsthe audience of the locationof the film.
‘ElmStreet’ suggeststhatthe filmwill be setinasuburban townand streetandthat thisis where
mostof the actionwill take place.There islotsof potential forthe title toprovoke fearinthis
respect.The audience willbe remindedof the factthat terrorand evil canlurk in placesthatshould
be welcomingand safe andwhere theyspendandgood proportionof theirtime –theirstreet,their
home.
Furthermore,the title isinareduppercase serif font.The use of the title presentedinred,Ihave
noticed,inmanyslasherpostersasitconnotesto the basicideaof bloodanddeath. It alsomeans
that the title of the filmstands outin the frame and the audience’seyeswill be drawntoit.Thisis an
importantfeature asthe title of the filmisthe mostimportant textinthe frame.The use of
uppercase helpstorepresent thatFreddieissolidandundefeatable. Partof the title,there isasmall
smudge of red on the bottomof the text.Thiscan be anchorage to the narrative astheylooklike
cloudscoveredinblood.Clouds are associatedwithdreamingbut the redcolourof themsuggests to
the audience that the protagonist’s dreamsare goingtobe far fromlight,happyandpeaceful,but
will insteadbe dangerous andsinister.Itcouldevenbe saidthatthe redmarks resembleblood
splatters, adirectlinktothe blood-shedandkillingthat takesplaceswithinthe film.Withthisin
mind,itis interestingthatthe sitthisat the base of the word‘Nightmare’,asthisreflectthat this
killingandblood-spilltakesplace whenthe victimsare asleep.
A tagline featuresjustabove the title of the film.Itspowertoattractattention isheightenedbyits
colourand the fact it ispresented inanuppercase serif font.Inaccordance withconventions, the
tagline helpstofurtheranchorthe image andgive an insightintothe narrative of the filmjustbefore
the audience see the title of the film.The tagline,Welcome toYourNew Nightmare,isveryeffective
indrawinginthe audience.The use of DirectAddress heightensfearandhelps toreinforce the idea
that the audience are nextonFreddie’shitlist.The terrorgenerated bythiswill make the audience
wantto watch the film.The use of the word‘Welcome’isveryironicasthe protagonist’s andthe
audiences’experience isgoingtobe far fromwarm and welcomingandislikelytobe one thatthey
wantto escape fromrather than be embracedby.The reference to‘Nightmare’is,of course,adirect
linktothe title andto the fact that Freddie hunts hisvictimsastheysleep,atime whentheyare
mostvulnerable, thusturningtheirdreamintoanightmare. A full stopisplacedat the endof the
tagline.The use of a full stopisveryeffectiveasitsuggests tothe audience that thisisthe endfor
the victims;there isnoway of escapingtheir‘Nightmare’.The tagline alsofurther anchors the image
by informingthe audience that FreddieKreugeristhe Nightmare andthatthere isno wayto escape
him.The posteralsofeaturesinstitutionalinformationandthe date of release.Thisistypical of a
filmposterbecause the audience needtoknow whenthe filmwillbe releasedandalsosome

4. informationabout the producers. However,institutional informationispresentedatthe bottomof
the frame in a small fontas itis notextremelyimportant.Whereas,the release date isplaced
underneath inaslightly biggerfontandinred.Thismakesthe release date grabattention more
effectively,withouttakingupmuchspace on the frame.The positioningof itat the verybottomis
importantas itis the lastthingthe audience see.Thismeansitwill stayintheirmind.Afterbeing
drawnin bythe posteras a whole andpersuadedtowatchit,theywill know whentheycan.This
postereffectivelypromotes‘A Nightmare onElmStreet’.Itdraws inthe audience andgivestheman
insightintothe narrative withoutgivingtoomuchaway.Thisfilmposterisa clearexample of
simplicitybeingthe bestwaytocreate effect.