3. GENRE
The horror/slasher genre of the magazine is made clear
through a number of techniques. One of these techniques is
the house font which is used for the title of the magazine
across all of its issues. This allows a brand identity as people
will associate this font with the magazine. Additionally, the
dripping pen effect on this house font connotes horror as it is
a commonly used convention in this genre. Another
technique which shows the genre is the images used on the
front cover. They show blood and gore which automatically
informs the reader of the content of the magazine.
Thirdly, the house colours also connote the horror genre.
4. LANGUAGE/NARRATIVE
The name of the magazine is a synonym for horror which
immediately shows the audience what the content of the
magazine is. Additionally, the tag line in the top of the left
third of the magazine says ‘BLOOD, GUTS, GORE &
MORE!’ which begins to create a narrative for what is
featured in the gruesome magazine. Furthermore, language
that is suitable for the gender is used, such
as, ‘curse’, ‘hellraiser’, and ‘gore’.
5. AUDIENCE
The target audience of the magazine are clearly fans of
extreme horror and gore. From this particular cover, it could
also be assumed that they may be an older audience as ‘The
Curse of Frankenstein’ is featured, and is likely to appeal to a
slightly more mature audience. The secondary audience
could be teenagers who take an interest in the gore used in
horror films and therefore, they will want to read about them
in film magazines such as this. Due to only publishing issues
about the horror genre, SCREAM magazine is only likely to
appeal to a niche market yet this increases its USP.
6. REPRESENTATION
The magazine represents itself as being successful as it
mentions an ‘exclusive preview’ which would only be given to
the magazine if the film or actor thought that a large
audience would see it. The predominant representation on
the cover is given to ‘HELLRAISR REVELATIONS’ who has
the largest font and image which suggests that it is the
largest feature in this particular issue. ‘The Curse of
Frankenstein’ is the next most important article in the
magazine, as connoted by the size of the image and the font
on the cover. It is likely that the two most recognised films
have been so widely focused upon on the cover of the
magazine in order encourage the readers to buy the
magazine.
