Movie Posters

I have researched and analysed two movie posters to extend my understanding of horror movies and their aspect. This also helped me to think about how the films are portrayed through their titles without giving too much away.

The women in black:

The title for The Women in Black has incorporated all the aspects of horror movies. Firstly it has a tree and bushes on the left hand side and the top of the title, this shows that the film is set in a place near a forest or maybe in a forest itself. This goes with the stereotype of horror films as the film is normally set in an abandoned area and in most cases it is a forest. Furthermore the background also has a castle this again carries out the horror theme as the place itself could be hunted which is what happens in most horror films as the place is normally abandoned and set in a place where help can’t get there fast or people can’t hear the characters scream. One of the main things in the background is a hooded figure, this is very significant as the film itself is called “The women in black”, which hints to us that hooded figure is most likely the thing that the film is based on. This again follows the stereotypes of the horror film as it is mysteries and adds fear of the unknown another thing that ads to the fear of the unknown is the title, it is edited to make it seem foggy which again adds to the concept that there is mystery in the film and also adds to the horror aspect as there is a fear of the unknown which makes the film even more scary. The title is also glowing and it looks as if it is trying to outshine something this could symbolise a few things these are, there is hope within the film as it is shining through darkness or it can also add to the mystery as the title looks as if it is trying to outshine something which is adding to the mystery and hinting that there is more to be found out. Furthermore in the background there is also a cross which again could symbolises two different things firstly it could symbolise Christianity, this is staying very true to the theme because in most horror movies religion is traditionally used to get rid of whatever ghost or demand character that is present the second thing the cross could symbolise is death as it is traditionally used as a tomb stone. Again this stays true to the horror theme because in most horror movies death occurs very frequently. The tomb stone can also link to the hooded figure, this is hinted to the audience by the fact that the hooded figure is standing directly next to the stone and the fact that it hooded could mean that the figure is a demand that has come back to possess someone.

Sinister:

The title for Sinister has followed the stereotypical horror title theme. The main selling point of this title is the outline of the face that has been drawn with drained blood as it is being dragged along by a blond girl’s hand. This image is very disturbing and terrifying which suggests that the movie is in fact very violent and unsettling. This is very significant for many different reasons and these are, the fact that the movie is very gory and has a lot of brutal deaths in it this is staying true to the stereotypical horror movies in terms of the goriness and killing in the movies the figure is also very significant as it does not look like a face but instead a mask or some sort of demon that could possess people or kill them another reason that the face is significant is that it  symbolises evil and death which are two main things that tend to be in horror movies. is also significant for other reasons they are the Another very significant thing about this is the girl that is on the left hand side of the screen this is another significant thing as the girl looks very young which is another important aspect to the horror movie as young people are always seen as innocent. Another significant thing about the girl is the fact that she is wearing pyjamas which suggests that the killing only occur at night this is staying true with the horror genre and its aspects as in most horror films the significant events only happen at night. Another thing that follows horror conventions is in movies as a young person is always used to make the audience even more scared as young people are always symbolised as innocent and very vulnerable people. Another conventions of horror movies is not using a character that is well know as central protagonist this means the audience can relate to the fact that it could happen to anyone this is shown by the girl where we can not see her face which means anyone else could be in her place. This also  helps  the audience to focus on the narrative of the film and its story line instead of the actors that are in it.  The background is very simple as it is a grey wall with cracks on the sides and at the bottom. It may be simple but also very significant as it symbolises decay and destruction and maybe also hint at the fact that it is something old and maybe historic which suggests the film includes something old come back from the dead to do some unfinished business. As the background is grey it is very dull and plane which gives an opportunity for the face and the girl to stand out. The writing is also very significant, it is written in a simple yet bold font in the colour black. The black is dragged further down onto the background. Again this is somewhat significant as it symbolises death and decay.