Magazine Cover Analyses

The Masthead of this magazine appears to be quite symbolic of a dagger, with the F and the A leading off into a sharp point. The colour red could be symbolic of blood or danger and the font seems squeezed and irregular, perhaps to portray the oddity of the horror genre. The name of the magazine is FANGORIA, which could mean ‘fan’ of gore’, or could even relate to fangs which is a stereotypical feature which vampires tend to have.

The Colour Scheme appears mainly of red and green, with some splashes of yellow. Red and Green are typical colours used in the horror genre since red can easily represent blood whilst green can seem unearthly and represent the more sci-fi aspect. The yellow stands out from the two main colours, which can help bring importance and attention to the different features on the front cover.

The Main Cover Line ‘The Crazies’ is red and appears in a font quite big and bold with an outer glow of yellow. This cover line appears to be dripping so is likely to represent blood, especially since it is red. The font seems symbolic of the military or some sort of war-type theme. Perhaps this could represent that ‘The Crazies’ is based around these themes. The outer yellow glow could show some form of alien-like theme, since it makes the main cover line looks science fiction.

The Main Image shows some type of deformed man with veins sticking out of his face and red eyes, which composes an overall rather shocking and disturbing character. He is using a direct gaze and can help create fear due to his haunting appearance. 

The Colour Scheme appears a shade of black, yellow and red. The black could signify the darkness which is a key feature in the horror genre, while red could portray blood and danger. The yellow appears to help the masthead and some of the other text on the magazine and could simply be there to help it stand out amongst the background.

The Masthead seems rugged and rough-edged as if to show the magazine to be informal and out of the ordinary. The name ‘Paracinema’ could be a play on words between Paranormal, which means themes beyond the ordinary and Cinema which refers to the building in which films are shown.

The Main Cover Line ‘The Exorcist’, is written in tall letters with a kind of stone-like texture, perhaps to symbolise gravestones which are common in the horror genre.

The Main Image appears to be a girl that is out of the ordinary. With green eyes, scruffy hair, blood stained shirt and teeth and an evil smirk on her face, we are forced to see that this girl is not normal. The fact that blood is a horror element due to the like between blood and pain, and also the evil smirk can appear quite creepy, we are given the sense of horror that this girl is to be feared.

The Colour Scheme appears mainly of red and light blue/greys. The red is most likely symbolic of blood or danger whilst the light blues and greys could represent the mystery element of the poster by symbolising fog and mist.

The Main Cover Line ‘Shutter Island’ is in big, bold, red font and again has a ‘dripping’ kind of effect to most likely represent blood. It is even smeared in this one.

The Main Image shows a man with a gun looking down in deep thought. He seems to be the victim and appears threatened, most likely by the lighthouse in the background which looks to have spotted him. The lighthouse is tall and dark, looking as if it has more power than the man who is short, lit up and vulnerable (if you consider that the lighthouse is in the background).