DRAG ME TO HELL POSTER ANALYSIS

Connotation – There is a female model screaming surrounded by fire with which looks like demon hands around her. You can see a

house in the background.

Denotation – The model is screaming whilst looking up and is standing in a arched position. The hands we see around the model

refer to the “drag” part of the films name as it looks like they are trying to pull the model towards the ground. The fire surrounding the model is referring to “hell” as the image of hell in peoples eyes is a place surrounded by terrible things in this case it is fire. The

house on the background suggest that this will be where the main

parts of the film will occur as conventionally in horror film we

see houses where good fights evil.

Main image – the main image is of the model surrounded by fire with

hands around her body. The model is screaming and seems very

uncomfortable which suggest that she is suffering, according to Propps

theory she is the hero who is fighting against the villain who are the hands

around the models body.

Mise-en-scene – the model is wearing a simple t-shirt with a casual jacket, this suggest she is a typical average

working class woman which makes it easier for the majority of the

audience to relate to her(sympathise) as the main target audience will be young adults. The hands which are

surrounding the model don’t look like human hands suggesting that the

audience will see an unusual creature, by doing this it will excite the

audience as they will be seeing something they wouldn’t in the real world. The hands look like they are dragging the model towards the fire

suggesting that they are trying to harm her, fire is a conventional

element used in a horror film as it connotates danger and evil. The

house in the background is a typical scene used in a horror film as it

shows the hero being victimised in there own comfort zone.

Colours – the main colours used are black, red, orange, white and shades of grey. The colours red and orange

are used to represent the evil part of the film as it is used for the fire, also the colours stand out which makes it

appealing to the audience as it becomes more visually appealing to

the audience. Another way the poster is made more appealing to the eyes is by using contrasting colours black and

white, the colour black creates enigma whereas white creates purity which are completely opposite. The

colour grey has been used to create a balance between the colours.

Typeface/ Text – the tagline for the film gives the audience a small glimpse about the who the main character is e.g. “Christine Brown has a good job”

this allows the audience to have a connection with the main character before watching the film. The words “good”, “great” and “bright” all

suggest that the character life is at that moment is going well and that she is happy and settled, by using the word “But” it is implying that it’s all going to change. “going to hell” is suggesting that something unpleasant is going to happen to her as “hell” is a indication of Propp’s theory of evil. “But in

three days she’s going to hell” will create questions in the audience mind as they will be thinking why is she going to hell? What has she done? Etc. The

actual masthead of the poster is in big and bold writing this will draw the audience attention towards the poster instantly. The credits are positioned under the masthead as this is the last part the audience will look at as they will work their way down from the tagline line where they will be already

drawn towards the film. Also the credits are not really the main focus when looking at a poster due to that the colours of the credits is orange so hey

slightly blend in with the colour of the fire. “coming soon” has been included but a date hasn’t been given this will make the audience anxious

about the release date of the film.

The general typeface for the poster is simple this has been done so that the main focus of the poster is the main image as it is powerful and conveys the film in a appropriate way. The font for the masthead is think and simple and has cracks which can be a representation about the main character as she is going to have something creating cracks in her life, by doing this it is adding

a horror element to it which will make it easier for the audience to recognise the horror genre. The font for the tag line is also thin and simple this makes it easier for the audience to quickly read it when passing by. The

masthead and tag line is in white this has been done so that it creates a contrast with the background allowing it to stand out.

Target audience/Genre – the target audience for this film would be young adults aged 15+ who like to watch horror films. The sub-genre for the film is thriller this has been shown through the main image as it creates a sense of

excitement for the audience as they want to know who is that with its hands around the model.

Main image

Tag line

Masthead

Credits

Website

Rule of thirds states that the audience first focus on the left third of an image. For this image on the left third we see the models mouth which shows her screaming, also we can see one hand holding onto the models necklace which. All this this straight away gives a glimpse of the genre of the film to the audience. I think that conventions have been challenged as the main elements have been included in the middle

third of the poster, this includes the majority of the main image and the tagline, this has worked well as the main image is very powerful as it

give a accurate view on what the film will be like.