The document analyzes 8 posters from psychological horror films to identify common features. Most posters feature a solitary female character making eye contact, intended to represent stereotypes about women's mental stability. Locations are often omitted, using plain colors instead, though some like The Shining show settings. Icons like the axe in The Shining immediately identify the antagonist and genre. Blacks and whites predominate, indicating a lack of graphic gore. Taglines and credits are placed strategically to avoid detracting from the central image. Analyzing these posters informed conventions for psychological horror posters, aiding the creation of the author's own design.

1. Poster Overview

2. 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’.
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 protagonist is usually female to represent stereotypical
ideas of females being insecure and submissive, linking to them
being more likely to have mental problems. 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

3. 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. Each of the film posters has an
individual font for their title, reminding audiences that just because
they belong to the same sub-genre, they’re completely different
films. For example, ‘Orphans’ film title is made to look like she has
written it herself, whereas the title for ‘Cube’ has been made 3D,
linking to the cube itself.
Apart from ‘Black Swan’, ‘The Silence of the Lambs’, and ‘Psycho’,
all of these posters include a tagline. The tagline is usually placed
at the top of the poster, in a bold font, although it’s smaller than the
title to ensure that attention isn’t taken away. On each of the
posters, the tagline reveals to us more about the film, but doesn’t
give any crucial information away, ensuring that audience’s are still
going to be interested in the film.
Apart from ‘Cube’, all of these posters include institutional
information/names of important people in the 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.
It is also at the base of the poster in order for it to blend into the
background. 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,
perhaps suggesting that she has a secret that is hidden from the
audience.
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.

4. 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.