I chose to make an analysis of the teaser poster for the film “Sinister” (released October 2012), which follows the stereotypical conventions of a horror with the colours red, black and white. The poster also conventionally portrays a female character as the victim.

The names of two other films the producers have made are placed at the top of the poster. This will make the audience know that “sinister” is also a horror movie, and get an idea of the horror movie genre it may fit under as Paranormal Activity and Insidious are both based on supernatural and psychological elements. The fact that these two films are both extremely popular may attract a bigger target audience to watch “sinister” as well.

The title for this poster stands out as it is very bold and clear. It has been written in black which could interlink with the name of the title as black also connotes an eerie atmosphere. The fact that this black writing has been put on a white background shows a big contrast which stands out to the audience and will make them pick up on and notice the title. The smudging of the writing could be connoting blood even though it is in black.

The threatening tag line underneath the title “once you see him, nothing can save you” is very direct to the audience and makes it more personal to each person reading the poster. This could have a big impact on the audience and immediately make them feel as though they are involved. It could also make them feel intimidated. This will in turn attract more viewers.

The background colours have been kept quite simple, possibly to focus the attention on the image on the poster and the main title. The white of the background could be symbolizing purity and innocence, interlinking with the young girl on the poster. The corners turning grey in colour and the use of cracks could be symbolic of the girl possibly becoming possessed by the predator, in turn breaking and destroying her innocence.

The girl in the poster is presented as very young. The fact that she is dressed in white with blonde hair demonstrates innocence and purity which contrasts with the blood behind her, possibly coming from her hand. It could be demonstrating that she was once innocent; however has been possessed by this devil drawn in blood. The audience can’t see her face which makes it more mysterious as the audience will want to find out more about her hidden character. This girl stereotypically presents, like in many other horror movies, female weakness which is overpowered by the male gender.

This image is the main part of the poster as it presents the supernatural through the face made in blood. The blood which the young girl leaves trailing behind her presents an image of the antagonist. The use of blood and the colour red to show his face presents his dangerous, unsafe character. The audience can see his eyes looking directly forward to them. This, linked in with the tagline “once you see him nothing can save you”, can create a very terrifying atmosphere for the audience as it makes the film appear a lot more realistic.

This poster follows all other conventions with the credits and advertisements to boost media production at the bottom of the page. The writing “coming soon” shows that this is a teaser poster as it hasn’t given us an exact date. It will interest the audience to find out the date.

The use of snakes further highlight that this is a horror movie as they generally connote something unattractive and they are often feared. the snakes may have been used in this poster to present to the audience a further terrifying aspect of the film. The fact that the snakes are just under the blood could be demonstrating that blood is their feed. It could also be implying that they have something to do with the face in the blood, emphasising more on the supernatural aspects of the poster.