Film Poster Research

- Analysis of 3 ‘Horror’ Film Posters

Film Poster example 1 – The HauntingMain image of

characters, depicting an abstract horror

theme, as if a haunting dream. Black

background works well in causing primary and secondary characters to stand out with the visual effects used.

Actors’ names displayed at the top of the poster, matching

the conventions of film posters. Usually in

order of importance and appearance in the film,

reading from left to right, like this film poster has done.

Use of a famous actor to act as a ‘hook’ to fans of the actor to

watch the film.

Tagline/Slogan to tease the audience into what to expect to see when they watch the film.

Tagline here suggests an element of mystery, persuading the

audience to find out the meaning behind it by watching the film.

Another film poster convention – direct information about the film;

cast & crew, release date, distributors etc. More well-informed

audiences may make descisions based on this information,

particularly the director of the film.

Title designed to reflect the film’s

genre; thin capital letters with serifs communicates the

genre of Horror well. Large font positioned in the centre of the

poster to attract audience’s attention as attention would be heavily weighted on

the characters at first sight.

Image of primary character crawling with an expression of fear on her face, portraying the horror element of the

film well, reinforces the title of the film and justifies the genre.

Tagline/Slogan positioned underneath the film title – another

convention of film posters. The use of the imperative sentence “find a good hiding

place” is a good use of direct address that

targets the audience and identities the film genre further. Smaller

font, in blood red, convention of horror

film advertising.

Title of the film stylised as bold and crooked capital letters to reflect the film genre. Simple one word

title “SLAUGHTER” convention of some horror films as one word can have enough impact to entice an

audience to see the film, especially if the word has a strong horrific connotation,

like ‘slaughter’.

Film poster convention of direct information: cast

and crew, distributors etc. This technical information about a film can sway an

audience’s decision in seeing the film as they

may know and appreciate the previous work of a

certain director/producer/editor or

actor.

Background to main image is completely black. Colour

scheme conforms to conventions of horror film

advertising, as some connotations to black are

death and despair. Compliments the main image of red lips and a

knife well by causing it to appear more prominent.

Main Image of a blood-stained knife resting on

bright red lips holds great impact and conveys a sense of danger and

seduction, an effective image in representing the

film genre.

Film Poster example 2 – Slaughter

Common convention in film posters, stating that

the film has an element of truth and realism. It is an effective ‘hook’ for the

audience to see the film, as it plays with human

curiosity which provides the film with a great

selling point.

Striking film poster title for the unusual font and colour

scheme which works effectively with the black background. Designed to convey the film genre of horror. Stylistic use of ‘@’ as an ‘a’ - most likely a

relation to a certain theme or aspect of the film.

A recent conventional stylistic aspect of film

posters is to position the film title in the lower half of the composition, as this

is a common tendency over the past few years in

film posters. Stylised to reflect the film’s genre,

therefore a great choice of colour scheme of patchy blood red. Enlarged ‘M’ acts as a focal point for

the viewer, possibly referencing to a certain key aspect in the film.

Known name in the industry, entices fans of their work to watch this film to witness similar cinematic experiences

with previous productions.

Another convention of a film poster is to clearly state the

release date of the film. Here the date is displayed in a bold, which contrasts

with the smaller fonts surrounding it, making it easily accessible for the audience to find out the

release date to watch the film.

Main image consists of certain sections of 5 separate images of

monstrous faces. This arrangement of images is very horrific and clearly outlines the film’s genre. The intensity of the ‘fear factor’ of this main image entices the audience to discover who the faces

belong to and what monsters exist in ‘SEMUM’.

Conventional technical information regarding cast & crew etc. Certain horror fanatic audiences will look

out for their favourite director/producer/editor/actor in this section of the film poster, as they may enjoy

the style of filming that exists in their previous

work.

Film Poster example 3 – Semum