Poster Analyses

The Purge

This is the official poster for ‘The Purge’ (2013).  This is the first of the purge films which implies that the audience don’t know any characters; this adds to the creepy factor of the poster as the character is masked and this indicates they don’t want to give much away about the film.   As this is the first of films this also means there’s a lot more pressure on the designer to captivate the terror of the film.  The mask featured on the poster is the one of the first and most important masks seen throughout the film, this making the character recognisable to the audience automatically as the villain.  

Focusing on the layout of this poster, the only thing in the image is the mark which takes up ¾ of the page.  This is an extreme close up of the villain’s mask which emphasises the creepy features – only showing the eyes of the villain.  By emphasising the mask this shows it is an important factor of the film and also the importance of the character himself.  The mask helps to keep his identity a secret and can create suspense as he may be revealed in the film.  The villain is making direct eye contact; this adds to the creepy factor and also helps to catch the audience’s attention.  The villains head is slightly tilted downwards this makes him look sinister and intimidating.  The use of the text “One night a year, all crime is legal” helps to establish the genre and the content of the film, by using all caps this also shows that it’s important to the movie and to the audience.  The background is just dark; this implies the movie may have a dark setting and this also helps to establish that the movie is of the horror genre.  Also the small scratches featured over the poster makes it look like a night vision camera, this is because the first half of the movie only really features the villain through security cameras and this adds to the theme and predictions of the film.

The most common colours in this poster are white, black and purple shades.  These are conventional colours for the horror genre.  Also conventional to the horror genre is the mask which the villain is wearing; it’s creepy and can trigger fears for a lot of people as many people fear masks/costumes. The lighting helps to create an isolated atmosphere as the image is very invasive, the lighting is low key and directed onto the left hand side of his face – this illuminating the key features of his mask (the smile, cheek bones etc) and his eyes under the mask.  The white text is half on the face, this makes it more noticeable as it’s on the focal point, it’s very bright
and it’s in the view of the light. 

It is clear that this poster uses the conventions of the horror genre to establish the clear ambition of the film, this is shown through props, positioning, colour and text. 

Friday the 13^th

This is the movie poster for ‘Friday the 13^th’ (1980).  As this is the first film of the 12 film franchise this implies that the audience are unaware of the characters, plot and appearance.  Because of this the creators can make the poster mysterious rather than scary or gory, but because this is the first film this does mean that there is pressure on the creator as it needs to make an impact and be remembered. 

The composition of the poster outlines the character as being the villain and the main feature, by placing him in the middle of the poster this shows his significance in the film and implies his importance.  This is also shown as he is featured alone and in complete focus.  The setting of the poster being in the woods implies further that it’s a horror film and is perfect for the genre.  

The shot is used to reflect the dominance and the character as the villain of the film; this is enforced by the use of a high angle and the placement of the camera being on the floor to show what a victim’s point of view and make him appear to be more intimidating.  The lighting has been used to create a silhouette effect around the character, the light coming from between the trees and illuminating his mask.  The mask’s mysterious nature makes the audience question the identity of the character and who you can trust in the film.  

The most dominant colour in the poster is black which is conventional for horror movies as it conforms to mystery, loneliness and death, which links to the poster and genre very well.  The darkness helps to create an isolated atmosphere and to illuminate the main character.  By using this effect the darkness covers most of the character which also conforms to the mystery feature.  The other prominent colour is red in the title; this is to indicate death and blood and helps to show the genre. 

This poster’s props and costume is very iconic, such as the use of the hockey mask worn by the villain.  This mask will be remembered throughout the viewing of the film and the other films, also by using a mask it creates suspense for the audience as they may wonder if the villain will be unmasked in the film.  The other prop is the blade in his right hand, this is his weapon pairing and shows the audience that he dangerous and the film’s villain.  This also implies the film may contain blood and gore, which is further implied by the title colour.  

The conventions of this poster show that they follow the rules of the genre specifically and they accurately portray the genre/film through the poster.

 LET ME IN 

 

This is the poster for the 2010 movie ‘LET ME IN’, this is the only movie of its franchise and this implies that the audience know nothing of the plot or characters, although the movie was heavily based off of a Swedish film the viewers may have seen that film and they may have a general idea of the plot.  The poster isn’t gory or generally scary so there may have been pressure to make it memorable, especially as it’s a new franchise. 

The composition of the poster outlines the character in the center of the page, indicating that she is most likely the main character ‘Abby’ as it says in red at the top of the poster.  By being present in the middle of the poster and being completely in focus it shows how important she is to the story.  Abby isn’t looking at the camera and is alone, showing she is timid and secluded as a character.  

The background is faded black to red and contrasts with her white dress.  The dress indicates innocence; this is implemented by her being a child and in a fetal position – showing she needs to be cared for as a child; it’s also possible she’s scared or hurt.  The red background fading into black follows horror movie conventions and the red and white lettering with the old fashioned font helps to give story to the image; the colours imply that the movie has dark settings.  The contrasting colours help to catch the audience’s eye and a child being alone in the image creates maternal instincts within the audience.  By placing her upside down it reveals that she isn’t normal and implicates she sleeps like a bat, this helps to identify this movie as a vampire movie.  Abby is shown as an innocent girl; she isn’t intimidating or threatening in any way – helping to establish her character role as the protagonist.  The use of an aerial shot establishes her loneliness and shows how secluded she is, it seems to have key lighting to focus on her more.  The text helps to give information in the movie to the audience but not enough to give away the entire narrative structure; the use of “Innocence Dies, Abby doesn’t” implies she’s either immortal or a vampire which helps to establish the movie. The most important pieces of text are in red such as the quote, title and release date, while the actors/actresses names are in white and everything else in grey – all contrasting colours and within the horror conventions.  The use of red and white implies the binary position of this film will be good vs. evil or innocence vs. evil. 

This poster clearly used the conventions of horror to establish its ambitions of the film and clearly portray the genre/film setting on the poster.