This document analyzes eight psychological horror film posters to identify common features and patterns. It finds that most posters feature a main female character making eye contact, with a plain colored background. Common conventions include the title standing out the most and an image signaling the narrative. Features like dark lighting, use of black and white, and minimal revelation of the plot help classify the films as psychological horrors. Analyzing these posters provided insight into effective layout, colors, and inclusion of key information to apply to creating a psychological horror film poster.

1. Poster Overview
The
eight
posters
I have
chosen
have
been
created
to
successfully promote films within the
psychological horror sub-genre. By carrying out an investigation of
them and by comparing them to each other, it is possible to identify
shared features within them and establish repeated patterns. This
will help me when I am creating my own psychological film poster,
as I will have a better insight into what should be included.
All eight posters feature typical film poster conventions; expected
general conventions are seen in all, such as the title being the
biggest and standing out the most. Also, they’re dominated by the
image which signals something important about the narrative of
the film. A slogan features on most of the posters, excluding ‘Black
Swan’, ‘The Silence of the Lambs’, and ‘Psycho’.

2. In addition to these common film poster conventions, we see other
repeated patterns. Most of these posters feature a main female
character, making eye contact with the audience and looking
blank. The main character is usually featured on the poster, with
exception for ‘Cube’. With regards to background, most of these
film posters don’t have the location of the film included; they have
a plain coloured background. This is with the exception of ‘The
Shining’, ‘Cube’, and ‘The Strangers’, which show the audience the
location. In the posters for ‘Psycho’ and ‘The Shining’, we’re
shown a woman screaming, as if she is about to be killed by the
antagonist; this reveals to us that woman can still be the victims in
these films.
Genre is also shown through these images because of the dark
lighting, as seen in most of these film posters. Colour and
iconography is also used to give away genre; in the poster for ‘The
Shining’, an axe is featured on the front cover. This immediately
tells the audience who the antagonist is, and what his aim is, while
automatically revealing that it is a horror film. Blacks and whites
are predominantly used for these posters, again revealing that
they’re horror films. Because they lack the use of red, which
symbols blood and gore, the audience know that these aren’t
horrors that involve frequent and gruesome deaths, such as
slasher films. These posters don’t reveal too much of the film to
the audience; this keeps it a surprise, making them more
interested in watching it.
Excluding ‘Girl, Interrupted’, all of these psychological film posters
have the name of the film placed in the bottom centre of the
poster. This is an effective place to put it because audience’s
would be drawn in by the images before there eyes goes down to
the title. Capital letters are used for the majority of these posters,
along with a bold font; this makes the name stand out, and attracts
the attention of the target audience. White or black is used for the
name of the film, apart from in ‘the Silence of the Lambs’ - this
keeps the posters simple, and ensures that it doesn’t look to
overcrowded with colours.
Apart from ‘Black Swan’, ‘The Silence of the Lambs’, and
‘Psycho’, all of these posters include a strap line. The strap line is
usually placed at the top of the poster, in a bold font, although it’s
smaller than the title. Apart from ‘Cube’, all of these posters
include institutional information/names of important people in the

3. film (actors or producers). This information is positioned at the very
bottom of the poster, below the title; this ensures that no attention
is taken away from the actual poster, because this information is
less important. Layout is kept the same throughout all of these film
posters, apart form ‘Girl, Interrupted’ which has the name of the
film in the centre of the poster, covering some of the girl’s face.
Other text, like ‘based on a true story’ is used to draw in
audiences. The idea that a film has been inspired by a real story
makes the film so much scarier for audiences, as they feel that the
same thing could really happen to them.
The lighting in the posters for ‘Silence of the Lambs’, ‘Orphan’ and
‘Psycho’ leaves some of their faces covered; this suggests to the
audience that they have a secret, something that can’t be
physically seen.
All of these posters that I have selected are effective; they’re all
simple, with minimal text, leaving the bold image to dominate the
page. By completing this overview, I have learnt more about the
conventions of psychological horror film posters. When completing
my practical work, this will help me in deciding the general layout
and colours that I should be working with.