Sarah Kelly

ANALYSIS OF HORROR POSTERS

All of these analysis’ will relate to my idea too: Psychological thriller/horror: The

Machinist

The front cover of the poster resembles ambience, the inventions of a horror trailer are such things that are portrayed on the front of this poster. The dreamy look of the front cover portrays whether or not the actor on the front is real; reflecting the story line in the movie. Other conventions that reflect a horror in this poster is the mans gaze. This portrays the idea of him looking at something, or working something out inside his head, as the audience do not know what he is thinking about, this highlights the fear of the unknown for the audience, increasing more of a fear factor for the poster. As it also shows a black eye, this can be portrayed as anything, the convention mise-en-scene is being used here to signify the abnormality, the dark black eyes can also refer to the dark black mystery about to happen in the film.

The reference on the front cover of the poster to a cross also can refer to religious involvement in the film. As it is centered within the film, without even watching the trailer, this could signify insanity. From my previous research on what society finds fearful, religion was a main source. The black color's and dreamy like showing portrays a idea of abnormality, producing a unrealistic effect, relating this to The utopian theory, this could be what the audiences reaching for; finding a new excitement and engagement through a psychological thriller/horror.

The title ‘how do you wake up from your nightmare if you’re not asleep’ in white coloured writing makes the subtitles stand out even more, linking this to the face the man is making, can signify something that the man is running away from, again, increasing the fear factor and the fear of the unknown even further for the audience.

As you can see, the picture portrays the colour ‘red’ which relates to the idea of blood, immediately you can see that as this hand has red in it, the film will include blood and murder in it. This convention is very typical of a horror film, as most horror films are based on murder. This red colour is juxtaposed with the black seeping from the bottom of the hand, the dark colours resemble and ink to the evil meaning that may be behind the film ‘identity’ , as the black hand is put on a white background, this signifies even further the real dominance and prominence of the black and red colours showing up on the poster. The idea of a hand also relates to the ‘identity’ of someone, therefore adding a more relevant and realistic point of view to the film. This can be drawn back to the idea of the fear of unknown, making the poster even more scary, it puts certain questions in to the audiences head such as: Who’s is the hand? Ect…

With regards to Barthes enigma code, the idea of not knowing or understanding where the persons hand has come relates to the idea of leaving a cliff hanger, and something for the audience to find out, this hand lets the audience in, and teasing them for what’s to come next. This increases the audiences participation even further…

The visible silhouettes in the hands gives an illusion and it triggers the audiences imagination even further, again increasing the audience participation. The silhouettes of the people, that are in character of the fingers look as though they are ghosts; perhaps people who are seen to be dead, increasing the horror factor of the poster. The title ‘Identity’, and the sub heading ‘The secrete lies within’ also increases the horror factor even further because it sounds as though the poster is being directed to the audience thus adding to the humanistic attributes of the poster, let alone the picture of the hand. The idea of the ghosts refers to a superficial, superstitious and ghostly like creature, again linking to Props character types ; including a villain within the story, making it even more of a conventional horror poster. This also relates to the fear of the unknown.

All of these analysis’ will relate to my idea too: Psychological horror: Identity

The poster shows a contrast between dark and light, the use of antithesis highlights the woman’s face even more, as the woman’s face looks even more pale. This suggests that her presence if good and evil; the contrast confuses the audience. The light and dark is a symbolism of good and evil, which are classic thriller/horror traits within a poster.

The title of the film and the girls eyes are in red. This connotes that there is danger, blood, death or even violence within the film. This is a common sign of a horror film, as the colour red is a prominent signifier of horror film, this again helps the audience understand that it is a horror film. Also the idea of the eyes being in red could also trigger audience involvement. This could perhaps scare the audience and trigger there imagination into thinking the worst is going to happen.

The title ‘Silence of the lambs’ is interpreted into visual form in the poster, as the pale women; this representing the lamb, is juxtaposed with the butterfly over the mouth. It seems to be an odd comparison, making the poster more alarming. The butterfly over the mouth also represents the silence in the film, however, as it is done with a butterfly.

Furthermore, there is a skull on the back of the butterfly which adds intricacy and detail, showing the connotation of the film being evil. P{perhaps it even portrays death. The skull can also contribute to the mysterious and sinister atmosphere of the film. Unlike many horror films, the character in the poster is female; if you have not watched the film you may believe that the film has a female protagonist rather than male. This shows how the film has challenged the classic thriller conventions by not having a male protagonist shown in the poster. This may appeal to females more than a poster with a male in it, as it can suggest females in the cast as well as a female protagonist (thrillers tend to have mostly-male casts and protagonists).

Overall, the characters face looks almost emotionless, and gives a cold feel to the poster.