Micro features -

The film name is a play on the popular story of ‘Friday the 13th’ story, where any Friday the 13th that occurs will be unlucky due to the popular old theory. Immediately, this signifies the genre as a horror film. Furthermore, the ‘13th’ is covered in blood, therefore following the colour conventions found within the genre as red typically signifies horror. It is put on top of a black background which makes it stand out for the audience. The silhouette of the man is holding a knife, which tells us that there is a killer within the film, and uses the knife shown on the poster to kill the characters off. The tagline ‘a 24 hour nightmare of terror’ further insinuates the genre of the film, with strong words such as ‘nightmare’ and ‘terror’ demonstrating this. The picture within the silhouette shows five protagonists close by each other in a cabin out in the woods. The woods connote danger, as we don’t know what is lurking out in the woods. Also, the scenery within the silhouette emphasises the fact that they are deserted in the forest, and nobody can hear their cry for help. Their deserted location is also highlighted within the tagline at the top of the poster, which reads ‘They were warned...They are doomed...And on Friday the 13th, nothing will save them’. The ‘nothing will save them’ phrase tells us that they are destined to be killed by the killer in woods, and that nobody will help them. The full moon is also a common horror convention, as in old tales and stories eerie events would occur on a full moon.

Macro Features –

Typical conventions of a horror poster have been followed in this poster. The image of the silhouette in the centre of the screen is one of many typical conventions used in the poster. It shows the killer as a stand-alone killer, and it captivates and intrigues the audience in the sense that they don’t know how this killer will manage to defeat the five protagonists shown, and they want to know how he does it. Also, it looks as if the silhouette is walking towards the audience and out of the poster, therefore grabbing the attention of the audience as well. Only half of his body is shown, with his neck and face cut of the image. This is to build up suspense as we do not know who the killer is, therefore escalating the mystery and horror aspect of the film. The outline of the being is illuminated white and it is on a black background. The black background may represent the fact that the killer is surrounded by darkness; from his physical presence to his emotional and psychotic feelings, hence he feels the need to kill.

The rule of thirds has also been utilised, with the key elements of the poster being divided up into three key divisions. The first tagline is on the top part of the poster, or the ‘first third’. White text on a black background is used to clear the text and make it easily readable. This doesn’t truly give it a horror feel to it; however the content of the top tagline makes up for it with its mysterious words. The second third is the middle, which has the silhouette of a man and an image of the five protagonists near a cabin in the middle of the woods with a full moon present. This third of the poster tells us the basic narrative of the film, and it signifies the horror genre too. The last third includes the typical conventions found in any poster. This includes the rating and the production companies etc. The second tagline is also located here, which reads ‘A 24 hour nightmare of terror’. This adds to the horror aspect of the movie.