Film Poster Analyses

The Collection, made in USA in 2012. It is Horror Thriller Film. In The Collection Movie poster, there are many connotations of the horror genre shown that create a sense of evilness and torture.

The victim in the poster is shown in the top centre of the poster, to show significance of this person. Her arms appear to be being held up against her will, and her hair is shown to be all over the place. I believe that this person is in water, which could suggest she is dead. The poster isn't focused on the victim however, and focuses more on the antagonist shown in the bottom centre of the poster. The fact that the victim is female is a very widely used convention in horror movies, as women are suggested to be weaker than men, and less able to look after themselves in tough situations hence making it more tense for the viewer and they may sub-consciously doubt that the victims will survive. The water that she is in suggests she may not be in control of the situation that she is in, and death could be just around the corner. Her hair being spread out and widely visible like it is could be shown to further ensure that the audience know that the victim is female.

The killer in the poster is shown centre bottom, from behind. This helps create a sense of mystery and eeriness around him as we are unaware of who/what is after the victims. His hands are shown to be tightening his mask which suggests that he is preparing to do something to the victim in front of him as in Horror movies, masks tend to connote the antagonist, and the fact that the mask is now being put on shows that he is now becoming the antagonist.

Final Destination 5, made in USA and Canada in 2011. It is a Gorenography type Horror Film. In the Final Destination 5 Movie poster, there are many connotations of the horror genre shown that create suspense and urgency.

The victims are shown to be right on the edge of the collapsing bridge and seem moments from death. The girl furthest to the left seems to have a lot on show by wearing shorts and giving a ‘sassy’ impression. The five victims appear in danger due to the setting that they find themselves in, which gives a real sense of urgency and also gives viewers an idea to what the film will be about (death).

Since there is no killer in these films as such, it is hard to portray a dominating power over the victims. However, the idea that the bridge is tearing apart quite viciously and aggressively, we see some power within the bridge in a way, or even death itself. We see the people as powerless to death in this poster and since death isn't an organism that can just be stopped and killed like killers in other horror films, we see a situation that appears much more threatening than what others offer with the idea that death is everywhere and will always be there. The coils of wire ripping off the bridge structure appear around the edges like a living organism such as a snake which could give us the impression that this disaster is a lot more controlled and ‘living’

The colour scheme is light blue against black with the black signifying death whilst the lighter blues signifying health and softness. The light blue of the daylight seems to be trying to break through but the black clouds but appears to be struggling. This could signify the dominance of the black colours (death) over the calmness. The release date appears in red, perhaps to show urgency to the audience and make them believe that they must see the film as soon as possible. Red is also a colour that has been proven to attract our eyes more than any other colour so they may be trying to show that the date is the most important feature on the poster and since the franchise has been running for four films and likely has a large fan base, it may not be as important to show features of the film as much as the date since people should already know what the film is likely to be about.

The font of the number five appears to be metallic with the ending of a dagger. This could signify the strong themes of death in this film and help further its genre of horror. The font of the tag line, film name and the majority of other stuff on the poster appear quite thin and serif.

The selling line of ‘Death has never been closer’ gives the impression that death is a prominent theme in this film. It shows suspense in the way that death is coming and no one can stop it.

Overall I would say that the target audience would be people who enjoy a mixture of horror and mystery. Since the patterns of deaths remain a mystery through some of the movie, it can build suspense and keep the audience on the edge of their seat. Since this is the fifth Final Destination movie, there may not be as much mystery around the reason for them dying since it is the same story-line structure each time, it may still appeal to people who enjoy gorenography and people who enjoy seeing different, ‘creative’ ways in which people can die.

Smiley, USA 2012, Slasher Horror. The Victims are situated nearer to the bottom of the poster whilst the Killer is positioned higher and much larger. Both the size and positioning of these can help define the power relationships and can signify that the killer is a lot more powerful than the victims, therefore increasing threat towards them. The central victim is a girl appears to be staring at something in shock which can help create a sense of suspense. The killer seems to dominate the poster, taking up the most space; its face appears to be quite graphic and gruesome while remaining what could possibly be classed as unique and a symbol of the film and a motif towards the character.

The Colour Scheme appears to be mostly grey, with most other colours having a dull shade of grey added to them. The poster is grey, dull and depressing to signify the horror that the movie is to bring with it. The name of the movie ‘Smiley’ is written in red and has serif font, the red perhaps signifying danger or blood.

The Tag Line is “The New Face of Fear”. This could signify that the movie brings originality to the screens and also could bring attention to the killer’s face which appears to be quite symbolic of this movie.

The Target Audience of this poster, I presume, would be fans of the slasher-type horror. With the killer being displayed on the front cover, yet covered by a mask, we get the impression that this character may be a psychopath and is after the people in the foreground.