The poster analysis summarizes 3 movie posters: Poster 1 for The Orphan depicts a young girl named Esther with sinister implications from her tight hair, black bows, and choker suggesting she is evil. Poster 2 for Sinister shows a young girl smearing blood on a wall while a masked figure's face is obscured in the blood, implying torture and children being antagonists. Poster 3 for The Possession features a young girl named Em levitating in a nightgown in front of a mysterious glowing box, suggesting her possession is entering her body, while the tagline "Pray for her" implies a religious theme of exorcism.

1. Poster Analysis:
Poster 1:
The Orphan
Poster 2;
Poster 3:
Sinister
The Possession

2. ‘There’s something wrong with Esther’ depicts the way an adult would talk about a child, as if there is a
problem, as a teacher may say to a parent when their child is not doing well at school. Whereas ‘Can
you keep a secret’, is more of a childlike expression as you mainly associate keeping secrets as a thing
that little girls do, it’s also as if Esther is talking to us and putting trust on us and the fact that it is
written in red denotes that the secret may be a violent or gruesome secret as the colour red connotes
blood and evil.
Esther’s tightly pulled
back hair in two pig tails
allows her to look a lot
more childlike. The use
of the black bows show
danger as black
connotes evil, giving the
audience the
assumption that Esther
is evil.
The symmetry of the
picture creates a
look of perfection
which makes Esther
appear quite
robotic. The lack of
irregularity to her
face gives us the
impression that she
is inhuman. This
perfection is also
shown by Esther’s
clothes. The Image is
dominant and covers
the whole frame this
is conventional for a
Horror film poster.
This poster displays some
kind of battle between
Esther’s young
innocence, which is
shown through her
childlike hair and
posture. Then her old
fashioned outfit and the
menacing shadows
around her eyes and face
hint that she has an evil
secret.
The title adds an
element of horror as it
looks like a child’s
writing but also looks
like it has been
scratched on, possibly
indicating some sort of
violence. It could have
even possibly been
written by Esther
herself.
The chocker around Esther neck insinuates some sort
violence as if it is hiding something. The dark red connotes
think blood which again leads the audience to believe there
is something wrong with Esther. Children don’t really tend
to wear chocker’s so this style is slightly strange.
Esther is wearing old
fashioned clothes. This
contrasts with the fact
that this is a modern
movie; this then
allows the audience to
wonder about Esther
as she seems to be
living in the past
which could also be a
hint towards the
narrative. As Esther is
from the past as she is
not reallya child.

3. The fact that the
face in the blood
appeared, where it
shouldn’t have
links to tagline
“once you see him,
nothing can save
you”. This is also
linked to how we
can see the face
but the girl is not
looking at us, as if
she doesn’t notice
or maybe he won’t
allow her to look
at us because he
possesses her. Also
refers to the idea
that just by looking
at this poster you
have seen him so
nothing can save
you now. The
audience then feel
threatened and
scared by this
poster.
‘From the producers of’ is effective because it shows these
other well-known films that Horrors lovers may have watched
and if they have watched these successful films then they will
be more persuaded to go and watch ‘Sinister’. All three films
are also of the same sub-genre of Horror; Supernatural so
therefore the audience know what to expect and know they
are getting what they want when watching the film.
The dirty white
walls and tiles
implies some kind
of filthy hospital,
also implied by
her all white raggy
outfit. Could also
be an old worn
down house. This
can also be shown
by the cracks that
are in the walls
also.
Her Slumped pose makes her look semi-conscious as if she
has been possessed, hypnotized or is a member of the living
dead. Also the way she is young and creating an image on the
wall represents the idea that she is playing some sort of
game, or she is allowing everyone else to see what possesses
her. The villain shows hints of paedophilia as he seems to
only use children which are both frightening and horrifying.
The Face in the
blood is obscured
so the audience
can’t quite tell
what demonic
being is behind
the horror of the
movie. The
features suggest
some kind of
mask, or clown or
skeleton again
giving in to some
of the narrative
The excessive
amount of blood
smeared against
the walls
highlights the
violence and
torturing. The fact
that the little girl
is smearing it
across the wall
suggests that
children have a lot
to do with the
narrative and
maybe they are
really the
antagonists.
The rope on the floor indicates torture through
being tied up and held hostage. Could also link to
the narrative e.g. when he hangs a family and at
the end when he ties them up and kills them. The
floorboards that the girl is standing on suggest
that the stock location is in a house, and the
horror is happening within this particular house.

4. Similar to the exorcist with the use of
monochrome, a figure standing in the
middle (more towards the right) with a
bright lamp to the left of that person. This
indicates that there are similarities in both
of the films, for example the demonic
possession of a young girl.
The Light above Em could represent some
sort of higher control or power, such as the
possession inside her. Also could show the
moon light, which connotes new life. This
links to the possession within Em as it
seems to be growing and living within her
(Indicates some kind of abduction).
‘Pray for her’ is small,
simple, and eyecatching and implies
a religious theme in
the horror genre; a
lot of possession
films tend to have a
religious element
within them. The
priest in this film tries
to remove the
possession from
within Em.
Em’s face is
Obscuredso we
can’t see exactly
what’s going on
with her, leaves
mystery for the
audiences minds
and for them to
wonder.
The clothes she is
wearing seem
inappropriate for a
dark wet night. Em is
wearing a night
dress in the middle
of the road. It is as if
Em has run away
from home, like she
is trying to escape
from the possession.
The box is featured in the poster, this is
because it plays a huge role throughout
the narrative. There seems to be a light
coming from the box, which is most likely
the possession entering into Em, it looks
mystical and mysterious.
‘Based on a true
story’, adds a sense
of realism and
makes people feel
like they are
watching something
that really
happened. It makes
the audience feel
intrigued. Also
scares them
because they think
that this may
happen to them to.
The monochrome
makes the poster
dramatic and bleak
but also makes it
look somewhat
historical.
Em looks like she is levitating which links to
how the light at the top of the poster looks like
it represents the white light that people
supposedly see before death. Also as if the
possession is now entering her body. It is if Em
is going up to heaven which contrasts with the
fact that this film is about being possessed by
the devil.