The poster focuses on a woman's terrified expression which takes up a third of the page. The size of her open mouth may indicate the intensity of her scream. Horror films often feature female victims as the "weaker gender". The title is in red, connoting danger, and stands out against the dark background. The tagline "A NIGHT TO DIE FOR" plays on the positive meaning of the phrase but indicates what may happen in the film. The poster aims to generate interest and curiosity about the film's release.

1. Textual Analysis
of ‘Prom Night’ Poster

2. The main image of the poster is focused on a
female’s mouth expression, which portrays her
emotion with terror and fear. The close-up shot
focuses on the wide-mouth positioning which takes
up almost a third of the page that is also in the
centre of the triangle of interest.
The sizing of the mouth expression may connote
the breadth of her scream. The use of a female
victim is a feature used by many horror movies for
women are stereotypically seen as being the
weaker gender and would therefore be a much
easier target to the antagonist.

3. The typography on the poster contains similarities
to that of which may be used on a
gravestone, connoting the genre of the film to that
which surrounds death.
The main film title is in a red font which connotes
danger, blood and evil all of which may be inflicted
onto the characters in the film. The clear red
typography stands out against the dark background
creating it as a main focus on the page.
The poster indicates the release date of the film yet
is not specific, giving this poster a ‘teaser’ element.
The red font captures the audiences focus, like the
film title, there on capturing interest and curiosity
towards the film. This also urges the audience to
keep looking out for updates on the film and when
the exact release may be.

4. The tagline ‘A NIGHT TO DIE FOR’ is placed
effectively just below the main film title which
therefore captures the readers attention just after
they read the main film title.
It keeps to the consistent colour scheme of the film
poster with the tagline written in white capitals
which stands out from the black background.
The tagline ‘A NIGHT TO DIE FOR’ is a play on
words; it is a phrase which is known to often be
used in a positive way implying an evening that is
‘out of this world fantastic’. However, in this
instance the word ‘die’ directly connotes what may
occur in this film therefore representing the genre
to the reader.

5. Underneath the tagline there are full details of the
credits of the posters. It includes details such as the
name of the product company and actors, all in aid
of giving credit to those involved.
In other typical film posters that include famous
actors often have their names in a bold eyecatching font that would attract the target
audience.
The film poster has been edited to have a worn look
to it. This may reflect the struggle that the main
character may experience through the film and
enhances the idea that title ‘PROM NIGHT’ may not
represent as a joyful night as proms are expected to
be.

6. The target audience for this horror film would be teenagers and young
adults, with the film title itself targeting those of a similar age whom of
which may experience and relate themselves back to the movie.
Research: The budget for this movie was $20 million, produced by Origin
Film and Newmarket Films in assocation with Alliance Films. It was not
originally screened in advanced with it receiving 8% of positive reviews on
Rotten Tomato out of 59 views. The film has now made a worldwide gross
of $59,597,560 and is currently ranked as the 14th best Horror Remake and
16th Highest Grossing Slasher Film.
From my research I found that this movie is
a remake of the 1980s horror film ‘Prom Night’.