Horror film Poster Analysis

Horror Film Movie Poster Analysis

This is the horror film poster for the 2012 movie Sinister. The poster includes a young girl on the front cover with the walls covered in blood, the blood makes the film relevant as a gore horror film. Within the wall splattered with blood there is a menacing face which reveals there is a killer/ villain which is going to be the culprit behind the whole plot.

The film title itself is very bold but slightly blurred. The colour is a deep red much as the same as the colour of blood. Because there is slight blur to the title it gives the illusion that it is moving slightly.

The girl on the cover is walking off with her hand placed on the bloody covered wall which indicates that she has caused the mess in the first place which could lead to the assumption that children are also going to be the cause of destruction. The little girl is wearing white which signifies purity as many young children hold innocence and purity. This makes them seem as if they are not capable of anything dark or sinister. Also including a girl on the front cover indicates that the film will include children.

The whole setting is plain white, wall to floor with the added effects of darkened corners. The walls also have cracks and marks which adds textured. The little girl is walking off into the direction of a darkened area or the “dark side”.

Above the title there is a small quote designed to draw people in and encourage them to watch the film.

Finally, there is a use of prop on the floor of the poster. It seems to be tangled up film on the floor, which hence symbolizes that this is film but this can also hint that the film has some involvement or some key feature towards this specific film.

This is the film poster for the 2012 horror film The Woman in Black.

The whole film poster has a lack of colour, its mostly black and white with a tinted blue. This tinted blue adds effect to the poster and the colour blue represents sadness, cold and even death.

The main character is in the foreground. With the majority of the attention drawn to him. However, in the background of the main character there is a dark hooded figure. This brings suspense already as the main character has his back to the hooded figure which shows he is unaware of the danger which is behind him. The way the dark figure is positioned bring curiosity to viewers as it brings a more intrigued attitude to who this dark figure is and is it as scary as it seems. There is also a house set in the background which indicates that this film may have the majority of its film set in that specific house, which already looks creepy and edgy.

So much is going on in this poster however it doesn’t give too much away. It invites viewers enough to be involved with it and encourage them to watch it when it comes out in cinema. It adds more mystery.

There is a lot of mist added to this poster, which adds a creepy effect to it. There brightness of the cover has been darkened which has drowned out the colour and life. Its gets rid of any positive atmosphere.

This the horror film poster for the 2011 horror movie Scream 4. On this poster there is only one main focal point which is the scream mask. The backdrop is all back and opaque making the mask the full centre of attention. Using black against white really stands it out.

This poster works very well and the editing is so flawless. The mask itself blends into a knife right at the end, which can be symbolic to say that the mask is just as dangerous as a murder weapon itself.

This can also indicate that the murder weapon could be a knife and in addition the murderer’s trait to kill.

Moving on to the movie title. The font is bold but it isn’t big. Unlike some the title format takes up a big space. In addition to this, the movie is the fourth in the film series and within the film title, instead of having the “A” in scream, they have replaced it with the number 4, so just like the image, it has all blended in quite well together. Which makes this film poster flawless?

The mask is very gaunt, it reminds me of an outline of a human skull but just slightly elongated and more death like. It also reminds me slightly of the grim reaper, which is often see before someone’s death.

This film poster is very simple but effective. It draws viewers in with its creative blends with images and words but also because it’s just focused on the murderer’s gives the poster a more eerie atmosphere.