Since films have been shown, film posters have been created to promote them. They started out simply as cards handed out inside a movie theatre, and by now are displayed in many locations, including outside and inside cinemas, on billboards, in magazines, flyers and websites and may come in a number of sizes. They typically consist of a single picture and text, including the title of the movie, the tag line, and some production information. Studios often print several different posters to appeal to different audiences, particularly for advertising internationally.
The film posters I have been looking at are for the American thriller horror film ‘The Strangers’. Rated 15 in the UK, the film was written and directed by Bryan Bertino and produced by Rogue Pictures, Intrepid Pictures, Vertigo Entertainment and Mandate Pictures. The film budget was estimated at $9 million and made $20,997,985 in the USA and £1,250,634 in the UK on the opening weekend. Filmed in South Carolina, USA, the film follows a night of terror for Kristen McKay (Liv Tyler) and James Hoyt (Scott Speedman) when they spend the night at a remote vacation home owned by James’ father after returning from a friend’s wedding. They soon find themselves being chased and attacked by a trio of strangers.
There are 9 main posters for The Strangers, the one seen above being the most familiar among many people. The image in this poster comes from one of the scenes in the movie, in which the three strangers tie the couple to chairs in their living room in order to torture them. A wide angle shot is used in order to fit the entire scene in and the shot is captured at a slight low angle; this connotes a position of power for the killers. This is supported by the fact that due to their positions, the killers have to look down at the couple.
The image is set in the living room of a cabin, as we can see from the brick fireplace in the background. This can have a number of connotations involved in invoking fear in the audience. On one hand, it plays on the fear of being attacked in one’s own home. People view their homes as a comfort zone so to imply that even within their own home they cannot be safe is a common feature of horror movies. On the other hand, the fact that the setting is made out of bricks reminds us of old buildings, which are considered to be more frightening for a number of reasons. This is why many houses used in horror movies are old and traditional looking.
The lighting in the poster is low key, with any lighting appearing to be artificial, which gives the scene a more unnatural look. Low key lighting is often used for dramatic effect and to set mood, particularly in mysteries, thrillers and horror movies, especially since these types of movies are often set at night.
Both of the men in the poster seem to have more formal costumes than the women (both wearing suits), which may be seen as playing on the stereotype that men are of a higher status than women. However, as the women are dressed more casually, this makes them – including the killers – appear more normal and innocent looking. The fact that the male killer is wearing a suit while the females are dressed more casually also tells us that he is the leader of the trio. The female killers’ costumes appear to be opposites. The one on the left wears a black top and dark jacket whilst the one on the right wears a pink blouse, unusual as one connotes cold weather while the other connotes warm weather. The fact that the killer on the left wears a jacket may represent her trying to ‘cover up’, that perhaps she is less sure about what they are doing while the one on the right is more open and accepting of their crime. In the movie we see that this is in fact true, so perhaps her costume in this poster hints to a smaller part of the storyline as well as telling the audience the main plot with the image itself. The fact that the killers wear masks and we never see their faces makes them appear more threatening. Without being able to see into their faces, particularly their eyes, they become dehumanised to the victims and the audience, almost like supernatural beings. The female victim however, is wearing much less clothing than the others. In this poster all we see is the straps of her nightgown; most of her flesh is exposed. This makes her appear more vulnerable and makes the audience sympathise with her more.
The notable prop in this poster would be the rope binding the victims to their chairs. Seeing the couple unable to move or fight back gives them the appearance of being completely helpless. This plays on the fear of being trapped in a dangerous situation as well as causes the audience to sympathise more with the audience. The poster also makes us ask questions - how did this happen and what happens next? Do they escape somehow or are they killed? This makes people want to see the movie in order to answer these questions.
Non-Verbal Communication is a very important aspect of a movie poster. Unlike the movie trailers, a poster’s image does not move, so NVC in essential in telling the audience what is happening. In this poster, the male killer stands in the middle of the three; this supports the idea that he is their leader. The fact that all three killers are looking down at their victims implies that they have plans for what they are going to do to them next. The male victim looks down rather than up at his attackers. This tells the audience that by this point in the movie, he has already given up hope of escape. This information sets a creepy scene for the audience to view, making the movie appear interesting in order to make people want to see it.
The text used on the poster is a serif font. Serif fonts are used more commonly than sans-serif fonts because they are considered easier to read. Using this logic, this is the ideal font for a movie poster because people will be more likely to read it. A serif font is considered to have connotations of tradition, reliability and trustworthiness. This may be considered ironic in a horror movie, where life for the characters becomes different and scary, though this does link in with the fear of something upsetting the normal balance of life, of being a victim within your own home. The title, tagline, and names of the lead actor and actress are large and set in the centre and at the top of the poster, which again makes them easier to read and stand out more. This is important as these three items are often very important in persuading an audience to see a movie. The production and rating information generally has to be included on a poster, but as these items are often less important in persuasion, they are set in small font at the bottom of the poster. The font is shown in varying shades of yellow. This both fits in with the colour scheme of the poster and makes the text stand out against the dark background. The title also has an unusual glow/shadow effect on the sides of the letters, making it appear unique and interesting. They are also faintly reminiscent of the candles or car lights in the film. The title of any film is important. ‘The Strangers’ not only gives the audience an idea of what the film is about, but it again plays on the audience’s fear of the unknown. An audience is more likely to want to see a horror film if it links to a fear that they personally have, and this is important as the point of a horror movie is to frighten people. The tagline reads ‘because you were home’. This creates an enigma, causing the audience to question the meaning of the sentence. It also reveals the reason that the killers chose their victims. This fits in again with the theme of the fear of something terrible happening within the safety of one’s own home.
This second poster has largely the same effect as the first. A long shot is used to show the female character, Kristen, standing in the living area of the cabin with the killer behind her – a common horror movie convention. She is wearing a different costume to the first poster; the plaid shirt and jeans fits in more with the traditional look of the cabin. Props also play a part here too. The lamp in the background shows us the source of the artificial light while the deer head on the wall represents hunting – in this case, the killers hunting Kristen and her boyfriend Jamie. We can also see two mugs made to look like skulls on the counter, again representing the two victims in the movie. In this poster, Kirsten stands straight, looking ahead with no particular expression. Unlike the first poster, though she still seems vulnerable due to the killer standing behind her, she seems less vulnerable, almost strong. In this poster, there are two separate taglines. One reads ‘inspired by true events’, which is a common theme in horror movies. This phrase is often used whether it is true or not, because the events seem more frightening to the audience if they think it really happened; they lose the ability to tell themselves it is just a movie. The second reads ‘we tell ourselves there’s nothing to fear but sometimes we’re wrong’ and has the same effect.
This poster is a lot different from the first two. It is set to look like an older movie poster, which may be more appealing to an older audience or an audience that tends to prefer older movies. It is in black and white and the font is sans-serif, unlike the first two posters. The knife held by the killer also fits in with these ‘older movie’ conventions. Showing the weapon in a film poster is a common and useful technique, as research has shown people have a tendency to focus on weapons, though showing weapons in the poster are becoming a less frequent occurrence in modern film. There is also a grainy effect over the poster and it has the appearance of being folded, again fitting in with the look of an older poster. The tagline reads ‘Lock the door. Pretend you’re safe.’ This again not only gives the audience a hint to the plot of the movie, but again plays on the audience fears. The shot used is a medium close up.
This poster again is different in many ways. Like the third poster, the font is sans-serif. Unlike the other posters, the lighting is high key. This is unusual as high key lighting is often used in comedies rather than horrors and does not add any dramatic effect, though more horror films have begun using high key lighting, possibly because it shows more detail. This lighting is also harsher than the low key lighting of the other posters, and may in that case fit in better with the mood of the film. There is also an effect placed over the poster that is reminiscent with that of old film. This fits in with the movie trailer, which shows shots as though taken with an old camera. In this poster, the character Kristen’s costume is a white nightgown. The colour white has connotations of purity and innocence, which gives the idea that she did not deserve whatever happened and causes the audience to sympathise. The amount of flesh shown and the fact that she is covered in blood also makes her look weaker and more vulnerable. This is supported by her non-verbal communication. She is lying on her stomach with her arms reaching in front of her, an expression of shock and fear on her face. The top half of the poster is blank. There is a yellow filter over the image which matches the colour scheme.
The shot in this poster is a medium close up. We see the character’s face clearly; it is dirty and she appears to have been crying, her make-up is smeared and she seems to have a trail of blood beside her ear. This tells the audience that she has been attacked. The audience is made to question what she is looking at; her NVC shows a look of fear in her expression. The artificial light seems to be on her from the direction that she is looking in.
This is the poster for one of the Asian countries. It uses the same image as the previous poster with a few differences. The low key lighting is darker and the protagonist is made to look paler than the Western version of the poster. This is most likely because in Asia pale females with dark hair are more common in horror movies, though this is typical to the antagonists rather than the victims. The effect of the make-up around her eyes has been increased and blood has been added at her mouth for the same reason.
This is another Asian poster and again is different. The effect used in this poster fits in with the camera theme and idea of being stalked; it appears that the shot is being seen through the camera lens. This image shows a medium long shot of the three killers with other houses in the background. The use of red font is also common in horror movies as it represents the colour of blood.
This is one of two Spanish versions of the poster. In a way it is very similar to the first two posters and any particular differences we may assume are due to the cultural differences in what appeals to an audience. In this poster, we see a long shot of the male killer approaching with an axe. We also see an image of Kristen’s face looking frightened. The image is a bit unusual and is clearly edited from at least two other images; it does not necessarily make sense as one image itself but does build the audience’s interest.
This is the second of the two Spanish posters. We see the killers in the background, approaching the couple with weapons. The idea that the killer on the right is less comfortable with the killing is supported by the fact that she has no weapon. The couple sit together on a chair, apparently naked apart from the blanket. This fits in with the common horror convention that couples always die after sexual activity. The expression on Kristen’s face, though she does not see the killers, gives the audience the idea that she knows something is going to happen. This fits in with the plot of the movie, where originally only Kristen thinks they are in danger.
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