Analysing Horror Posters

I have decided to analyse posters which contain a girl as

the main character so it can give us inspiration for our own

project poster.

Carrie (2013)

The tagline is the main writing in this poster as it is a teaser “you will know her name” is horizontal over a close up of the girls face which is covered in blood indicating that this is going to be a horror. It will also entice the audience as they will want to know who she is and why she is so important.

Tagline

In the bottom left corner there is only a month and a year “spring 2013” which indicates when it will be in the cinemas however there is no specific date which also adds to the teaser style.

The Last Exorcism (2011)

Main Image The Poster itself is simple and not overly complicated which is effective as this draws the audience to the disturbing main image of the girl. She has been edited black and white which denotes the contrast of her personality (white being good and black being evil). There is a cross above the girl which denotes that there is a large aspect of religion within the movie and it plays a large part in exorcisms. The girl is in a distorted shape which shows how the demon is controlling her body. The blood on her dress stands out in the black and white contrast which has connotations of violence and danger for the girl.

Tagline

The use of the word 'him' suggests that we should already know who 'he' is making the poster even more strange and creepy. It also

makes the audience question whether it is referring to god, or the devil.

Website Link

Also, by having a website link it can attract more attention as people will go on the internet and

can watch the trailer or buy merchandise.

The Possession (2012)

Main ImageThe main image itself will disturb the audience as it is only a little girl who is being attacked by a hand which has gruesomely appeared from her mouth, this will entice the audience as it is unusual and captures the audiences attention because of the sickening image. This also shows connotations of the supernatural which hints at what this movie will be about. The colour scheme is purposely darker tones to indicate a dark presence/atmosphere and the colour black is usually associated with fear.

Tagline and Title

The movie title “the possession” indicated what genre the movie is and the audience now

understand why there is a hand in the girls mouth. The tagline “darkness lives inside” also denotes that this girl is being possessed by the

evil that is “living inside of her”

Sinister (2012)

Main Image

The background of the poster is a wall, crackling and bordered with darkness. This gives a spooky abandoned appearance. The image shows a

little girl in her pyjamas, smearing blood on the wall as she walks. Her face is hidden, making us wonder if she is just a regular child or a possessed demon

like character and teases the audience who will se the movie as they will want to know who she is. The drips of blood present an evil face, which we

can assume is the face of evil within the film and also adds the to the tagline “when you see him” which will give the audience a fright when they see the face. She has bare feet which connotes her vulnerability. We can also see old

video tapes on the floor which are covered in blood, this denotes that the films have an important role within the film.

Advertisement

They have also included advertisement “from the producer of PARANORMAL ACTIVITY and INSIDIOUS”

which is a good selling point as Paranormal activity was a huge success and this will make people want to see this film because it will be just as good as paranormal

activity.

These posters have given me ideas for my own teaser poster with conventions of horror such as colour schemes of black, grey, red and possibly white as well as main images angles, props and editing. The poster that I will most likely base my

own on is “sinister” as I like the use of simple dull colours and the contrast of the red which stands out. This could be effective for my poster as I can grey scale all the surroundings except for the girl and the doll which will catch the audiences attention.