Film Poster - Horror

Film Poster

The Conjuring

This trailer immediately stands out due to the massive dark tree that seems to overshadow half of the trailer, in contrast to the light grey behind it draws the audiences attention in - the tree in the foreground is the focal image that draws in the audiences attention with the spooky house in the background being an enigma in the background, along with the noose that is hung from the tree.

The title is very big and bold and placed at the top in clear black font standing out from the otherwise dull background and making sure the audience don't miss it - if it had been placed at the bottom it may have faded a bit too much into the darker grass and shadow of the tree so to glance at putting it at the top makes it much more effective and eye catching.

This poster also clearly defines the genre of the trailer as although it has high key lighting (unconventional for horror trailers where black is usually the predominant colour) the spooky looking house as well as the noose and shadow of the young girl along with the dark black title signify this is a horror film. An action trailer would have some characters shown or some action whilst a comedy would be much lighter in colour and a romance would have the two love interests.

The release date is also very clear and is one of the first things you spot when looking at this poster along with the titles and the tree and noose - it is written in bold white font so it stands out from the darker grass that it is placed over, the poster makers have done a very good job as the audience now clearly know when this film is coming out. Next to the date (or above it) there is the standard information block meaning the trailer conforms to conventions.

There are no reviews on this poster possible because this poster was made before seen by critics but conventionally it does have two other films listed at the top which were directed by the same person drawing in a larger audience as people who may not have been interested before are now thinking of going to see the film because of the director who they like, it impresses and intrigues audiences. 

There is also the conventional tag line "based on the true case files of the warrens" - it's placed just below the title showing it's not as important and can't stand alone at the bottom of the trailer as it may not make as much sense. Other films draw more attention in the poster to the tagline then the actual title of the film because people can associate more with that as it may have become so iconic - the listing of the two other films directed by the same person is far more important and tries to bring the already established audience who love horror and transfer them over to their film.

Theories: 

Barthes hermeneutic code is used in the poster as their is a noose hanging which causes audience to wonder it's importance in the film. The enigma of the noose causes the audience to ask who it's for or whether someone is committing suicide or being murdered and if it's for the victim or the spooky creatures inevitably lurking in the house. There's also the enigma of the shadow of the girl - is shoe a victim or a monster, conventionally little girls are very creepy and used to create tension. The semantic and symbolic code is used as the noose is hung over the house suggesting it will be what happens in that house which lead to death for one of the characters, alternatively something so bad could happen (loss of a relative) that the character wants to kill themselves - hence the noose. The action code is also used - the house in the background is not immediately obvious and may not seem important to begin with as the audience are worried about the noose and the girls shadow, it's simply lurking in the background.

Conforms to Conventions = dark colours, several enigma codes, bold title, other films by same company/director/producer
Subverts from conventions = no red (which connotes blood/death/danger), no spooky creature (only a shadow), no face or sinister looking creature