I have decided to analyse the horror poster for “A Nightmare on Elm Street” (released November 1984) as I feel it creates quite a sinister effect for the audience. It shows them the menacing features which are possibly going to occur in the film. This poster follows conventions of a typical horror poster as it includes the three most popular colours for a horror: red, white and black. White is often used to symbolize innocence, whereas black connotes a dark, eerie atmosphere and red connotes danger.

This is the main poster which was created for the 1984 production of the film. This is shown as the exact release date has been placed at the base of the poster. Also, the distributors and producers of the film are scribed.

The colour of this horror poster’s title is red. This colour could have be used to raise audience awareness that it is a horror film as red stereotypically connotes danger. The words of the title are all different sizes depending on their importance. For example “nightmare” has been made slightly bigger than the other words as the word presents something very gloomy that people don’t want to experience.

The height differences between the male and female character on this poster presents that the male character has superiority as he is presented to be double her size. The fact that the girl is kneeling down presents her vulnerability and that she is the one being victimised. The man’s face hasn’t been shown in the photo as it is hidden by the hat he is wearing. This makes his character more mysterious and suspicious. This will engage the audience as they will be interested to find out more about the mysteries which lie behind his character. A long shot has been used for the male which further outlines his superiority and poise and shows his significance in the film.

The male character in this poster is in possession of a sharp looking object in his hand. This presents the dangers his character could cause in the film; further portraying to the audience that he is the predator. Looking more closely at this image, it would appear that the sharp object is actually his hand, with spikes on every finger. This presents that this film could contain supernatural, unreal aspects.

The brightness of the colouring around the edge, which is shown as coming through a window in the back, emphasises both character’s dark bodies. The window could be highlighting the male character’s superiority once again, as he is possibly blocking the exit for this female victim on the poster. The sharp contrast in extreme brightness and black draws in audience attention and makes them focus a lot on the character’s stances.

The threatening line on the poster “he knows where you sleep”, links in with the title name “nightmare”. This could be portraying that a young girl is the victim in the horror movie as, stereotypically, children most commonly suffer from nightmares. They are also known to more usually fear going to sleep due to their imaginative belief in supernatural creatures coming to harm them. The statement is also very direct in language terms which could frighten or have a strong impact on the audience as the word “you” makes it appear as though it is aimed directly at each person reading it. Also, the fact that it is in white writing could be a portrayal of the innocence of younger people.

This poster has followed the stereotypical conventions of having a female as the victim, for they are depicted as defenceless and weaker against the power of men. The look on her face is difficult to make out as it is also quite dark; however from what I can see, she is extremely serious and her expression is very still, which could be presenting her anticipation and fear, perhaps aware that there is someone behind her. This shows a comparison to how a child would possibly behave during the night in the dark if they sense someone else's presence. It shows a fear of the unknown.

The black around the edge of the poster makes the brighter colours stand out more clearly and it could portray a sort of tunnel, due to the seemingly long corridor in the picture which starts of light at the back and gradually gets darker, approaching the female character. This could portray a certain degree of isolation for the young-looking female in the poster; as though she is now inside very remote walls and can’t escape.

The male character has a slanted head, peering over the girl on the ground. This could be symbolic of his male authority.

This is the real poster and not just the teaser poster, because it shows the exact release date at the bottom.

The website of the horror movie is shown at the bottom of the poster as well to create more audience interest through use of the media.

The names of the production companies are also stated at the bottom of the poster as an advertisement to boost their company’s production.