Horror Film Movie Poster Analysis(Stalker-Thriller)

These three posters are part of a set for the horror film ‘The Gift’ each shows one of the three main characters in the film. They are all linked by the gift in the photo on the poster, in each poster it is blue with a red bow around it, which helps them to flow and shows how they are part of a set and all advertise the same film. The use of the colour red for the bow has connotations of horror and violence, which also gives hints to the plot of the film.

Mise-en-Scene A direct mode of address is used to create eye contact with the audience and the antagonist, this puts the audience on edge and attracts the audience to the poster.

The protagonist has a worried look on her face as she looks down at the gift, this creates a direct reference to the title of the film and makes attracts the audience to the film as it doesn’t follow a storyline similar to other horror movies.

The lighting for all 3 of the posters draws attention to the faces of the characters and the gift . This follows the plot to the film by supporting the fact that the gift is key to the horror created, by highlighting the faces of the characters it can be seen what their feelings are regarding the gift.

Text Font and SizeThe title of the film is the biggest piece of font on the poster, this is to draw attention to it, as it has more importance than the names of the actors and the release date.

The font is either in gold or light blue, mainly the text is in gold which fits the idea of the film being called ‘The Gift’ as gold is seen as quite special and has connotations of being a gift, which fits the tone of the film.

The release date for the film is in smaller font, so as not to take priority from other parts of the poster (e.g. the images and title), the same font type and colour is used so as the text on the poster flows and that it all links together.

The quotes from the film, that are placed on the poster centrally, are used to attract the audience and make them want to watch the film. The quotes don’t give any of the plot away but makes the audience interested in the film.

The quotes are in a pale blue colour, different to the rest of the text (which is in gold) but matches the colour scheme of the actual gift in the photos on the poster.

Generically on horror film posters a tag-line is used, however for ‘The Gift’ quotes from the film are used instead. This makes the poster seem more interesting and different and attracts the audience because of these qualities.

Shot Type The medium close-up shot allows the audience to read the antagonists facial expressions and get to know the character. The direct mode of address of this shot would make the audience feel uneasy and fearful of this character which would make them want to watch the film because of the anxiety it conveys.

The use of the long shot in this image means that the audience gets to see the whole of this character, and read all of the body language which would induce fear in this image as the character looks tense and anxious. Out of these three posters this image has the longest shot which shows this character has a less important role than the other characters.

A medium close-up shot of the main protagonist is used to allow the audience to get to know the character a bit more and to read the character also. The way the character is positioned allows for a bit of mystery still because you can’t see the characters whole face and he is stood on an angle in a more natural position.

Information and CreditsThe names of the three biggest actors in the film are put on the poster to attract the audience to want to watch the film. This allows the audience to see who is playing in the film, giving it more popularity because of the actors.

The names of the actors follow the colour scheme of the poster and is in gold font, however it is in a slightly different font to the title of the film but not too noticeably different. The names are placed above the title of the film in smaller font which gives the title of the film more importance, but being above the title gives it some priority because people read from top to bottom.

The social media links are in the smallest font at the bottom of the poster. Their icons are used with the best way to search the film up on the social media sites next to it in gold font. This creates audience interaction which further interests the audience and allows them to find out what other people are thinking about the film.

The production company logos are used in both of the lower corners of the poster. This makes it look more professional and makes the audience aware of who made the film so they can find other films made by them.

Layout and StructureThe title of the film is in the largest font, in a font stylised for the film because it looks like its being ripped like a gift would be ripped open. Above the title are the names of the main actors in a smaller font as they don’t have as much of an importance.

The release date of the film is at the very bottom of the poster, below the film title, in an even smaller font than the names of the actors.

All three of these are in the colour gold, following the colour scheme of the poster which allows the continuity of the poster and gives it a professional look to it.

The main images on the posters are in the very middle and take up the largest amount of space on the poster, drawing the attention to the characters as this is the part that would attract the audience the most. The images fade out to black on the edges which gives it a more mysterious tone, attracting the audience to the film.

The production logos and social media tags are at the very bottom of the poster in the smallest font, so as not to give them priority or importance. For this reason they are also placed at the very bottom of the page too as people read from top to bottom.