Tag line at the top, a little less visible because of the faded blue, ‘Welcome to a World Without Rules’ doesn’t give much of a the story away but keeps to the thriller genre. A possibility is that the Poster Assumes that the audience have seen the trailer notice it is one of the Joker’s lines. Implying how the villain is in control and more of a threat

The Dark Knight title is smaller than most but is prominent because of the white colours against the dark making it stand out. It is placed on the iconic dark knight logo with white light shining behind it either placing emphasis that batman is the dark knight or perhaps infers that he is a beacon of hope.

The burning bat symbol in the background may imply that batman is going to burn metaphorically; it also reinforces the conflict between hero and villain.

The dark background suggests the dark atmosphere of the film, the smoke and shrapnel flying around is also suggestive of the action and thriller that takes place.

The cast list is in bold to bring in fans of the actors and to imply how big the blockbuster is by having big names in the film

The billing block has the names of directors, producers and other crew which may bring fans in to the film. Also it contains the name of the studios, while smaller companies like Syncopy helps with the budget the major, more prominent, studios like Warner Bros. is there making the films because they have the rights to DC comics films

The release date dominates the bottom of the poster as it suggests the key information that the audience should know. Placed in bold and stands out in white against the dark colours

The protagonist Batman is dominant in the poster and the low angle suggests the power that he has. Also, like many hero films he stands alone as to show that it is him against the world and reinforces the tragic hero stereotype. However, he stands in the foreground with his back to the explosion which either implies that he fights against the chaos or that he is the cause of it.

Not much information at all about cast or crew, just the name of the film and the release date

Main title is in a large font to cover the poster and is done in a disturbing font similar to a ghost

The Tagline, Inspired by a true story brings audiences in as they would ask questions like what true story? What happened? This leads to them wanting to see the film.

A small font in a faded gold informing of the release dates perhaps suggests that this all the information they need to now. This more a teaser trailer and so will not give many details away

Most of the poster is covered in darkness which adds mystery and highlights the face. The mask or face, difficult to tell as it is in darkness implies a demonic and therefore evil being. Plus, the direct mode of address unnerves audiences and leads them to want to know more

The main title is in bold with a sub line beneath ‘the beginning’ suggesting the first film or going back to the origins. The title is gritty and reflects the page as it is made to look old and tattered.

The tagline: ‘witness the birth of fear’ is direct to the audience as if telling them that they will witness it. Also it suggests that there has never been anything as terrifying as this film and is used to persuade the audience to go.

The background is the sky with dark clouds above creating a dark or gritty atmosphere; it may also suggest that a storm is coming, like something big meaning this film.

The main figure in the scene has his back to the audience creating a sense of mystery around him and not giving too much away. He walks away to the sun suggesting his work is done. To those who are unfamiliar with the franchise may confuse him as the protagonist but the chainsaw he holds suggest that he is the antagonist. He holds the chainsaw loosely which implies dominance and power.

The information at the bottom gives the audience logos of the studios involved and the website address in the centre directing the audience to go online to find out more.

The knife weapon shines in the light which is suggestive that he is about to use them. The shine also places emphasis on the blade showing it is a key part of the film and is use more dominantly suggesting that is being used to sell the film.

The tag line ‘welcome to your new nightmare’ makes it obvious that it is a reboot of the original franchise but ‘new nightmare’ indicates that it has been made more scary and fearful to the new generation. In a silver colour to mirror the blade

The figure’s face appears burned and dead creating a sinister character. The low angle hat implies mystery and power. Like most horror films the antagonist has a big reveal at the end which is why we cannot see the eyes but there is a feeling he is watching you. Also the smile shows he takes delight in this and is happy to see you indicating you are a victim

The main colours of the poster are red and black which represent blood and death. They also mirror the top that the figure in the poster wears. Also the title is in red but more defined so it is readable along with the ‘coming soon’

The other information about the studio, cast and crew is at the bottom and in a less visible font wanting the other part of the poster to be the main selling point and appeal to horror audiences

Linking back to the poster of the original film; it shows the victim in the centre and the knife like claws around her and a dead looking fear in the background. This was to show she was in a state of danger but all posters for this film is dominated by the main antagonist of the original series, he is the main selling point the convinces the audience to go see because if they see the character they’ll go see the film.

The battery in the left hand corner of the camera screen is nearly out of battery which could be a representation of the film makers life is about to end

The camera box with the battery life and the record sign in the top corners shows that the film is from the perspective of a handheld camera and is done to the poster to add to the realism. Like the shot was taken from the actual footage.

The title ‘Grave Encounters’ is in bold and in a red colour which is common to represent blood, but the disorientation implies the prescience of supernatural beings, this is also found in other paranormal horror films.

There are reviews and a star rate system by reputable sources. Giving their opinions of the film which is used to persuade audiences, the more stars there are the more chance the audience will see the film.

Pull quotes are uses at the top and bottom of the poster to persuade the audience by using phrases like ‘phenomenon’ and ‘22 million trailer views’ also stating how scary it is which will bring in horror fans

Just above the title in smaller writing are the creators of the film to bring in fans of them or to promote themselves as this seems like a less known film due to the fact there is no mention of cast or crew or studio.

The colour scheme is black and white with a green tint displaying that is night time and are using thermal imaging as to see, again reinforcing it could be a real event.

The little girl figure is faded and disoriented with a ghostly completion, giving the impression of the paranormal. Children are normally used in horror films to create a more sinister atmosphere. Compare to the other poster there is only a hint of someone in the background with the main characters in the foreground; this poster gives the perspective from the camera and looks directly at the audience.

The whole poster is taken up by the face of the main character, but unlike the 1976 remake, where they had a before and after shot of her at the prom which could symbolise her split personality between good and evil, this poster screams out that she is the villain.

In the bottom left corner of the poster it gives an idea of when it will be released to cinemas. This demonstrates that this is just a teaser poster and details are not definite.

The tag line takes up the whole poster and is in a faded white colour, visible but not distracting over the main image. ‘You will know her name’ is in capitals and in structured as a declarative, the audience have no option, it links that her name inspires fear and also links to her story of bullying and her revenge.

The iconography links back to the famous scene at prom when she is drenched in pigs’ blood for a prank and she goes a little crazy. The blood in the poster is more realistic because of the updated technology and effects. This blood indicates she is evil but there is more blood on one side than the other which may show she has a good and evil duality.

She looks directly at the audience but her eyes are black and soulless with blood around the pupils suggesting evil and demonic possession, making her the antagonist instead of misunderstood.

The poster is a teaser and gives no details apart from the image, tagline and release date implying that it is playing off the iconography and success of the original film. It uses the original film to persuade audiences to go watch but the original poster gave more mystery behind it and sense of duality but this poster gives an evil portrayal of the character and assumes the audience knows what this poster means,

The Main title is in red and in bold capitals, not unique but with the red colour does indicate the horror genre

The Actors names appears above the title along with the other details including cast and studios underneath, in a small font to emphasis the image and the tagline at the top

The tagline is a question that could be directed at the audience. It is used as a persuasion tool as this line will appear in the film and the audience might be curious to see far these characters go.

The entire poster’s background is black as they want focus on the key elements but it might be symbolic of mystery.

The main image is of a woman who looks afraid and has a metal contraption to her head. It places more mystery on the film as the audience do not know the meaning of this from the trailer. Also a black and white effect is used to highlight the characters face.

This poster does not link much to the plot of the film unlike the other poster where a severed foot or hand are used which links to the trailer where one character says ‘he wants us to cut through our feet’ along with the background. But this poster does show the elements of horror it does not link too much to the plot.

The Dark Knight:

The poster contains no details apart from the Director, Title, the release date and links to online. The title is the same colour as the background and the online is for the audience to find out more. The poster has a focus on the antagonist, which is why he is featured in the centre of the poster with the iconic mask and signature weapon, the character is always in shadow because there is always a mystery surrounding him. The colour of the background is a light red which could represent blood. This poster normally features the tagline ‘Every evil has a destiny’ this fits in with the image as the character stares at the mask in the distance looking at his future. The mask in the background is made up of images and newspaper articles which may imply an origin story or to show that he will be infamous.

The other posters for the film also have a main focus on the infamous antagonist. One has a black and white design but the character and title in colours placing focus on him. The tagline ‘the evil has returned’ is similar to the original poster as it talks about him returning. The other poster has a more gritty colour and has the tagline ‘evil unmasked’ suggesting the audience will know what evil lurks behind the mask. We can see and image of a child which links back to his origins and gives a sinister atmosphere to the film

The original poster had to persuade the audience to see it for the first time and so could not show the antagonist as it would ruin the big reveal. The tagline ‘the night he came home’ places emphasis on ‘he’ with capital letters like an unspeakable evil. The main image has a dark background to place mystery around the film; the pumpkin mask looks evil due to the fiery eyes and the sharp teeth also producing a sinister sensation with the knife catching the light. The hand seems to have scaring hinting at disfigurement but the audience will never know.

The more important information of the poster is highlighted in bold and emphasis is place on it by using white against dark colours, this is why the title, cast and the release date are highlighted so much so that the audience keeps that in memory because it stood out more. The institutional information of this poster is that the Studio, Warner Bros., own the rights to DC comics superheroes to make feature films of them, so their main backing and production company is them. With the viral campaign and other advertisement it must be an expensive project to appeal to audiences but with the success of the previous film the budget must have been more. The poster does communicate the darker atmosphere of the film which shows it is no longer aimed at families but a more mature audience. The poster must have been successful due to so many going to the cinema but the film had a ranger of other poster that focused more on the Joker character.

Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Poster is designed to match the time period in which it was set and for the audience to believe it is something that has actually happened which is probably the reason why the poster looks old and tattered to make it believable. Also, it tries to create the iconic character without giving to much away as, like most films, like to leave it to surprise the audience which is why he has his back turned to the audience but we can see him with his chainsaw. My main opinion is that the distributors want the poster to unnerve audiences as to build up expectation of the film which is why there is the use of the chainsaw in one and close up of the demonic mask in the other.

A Nightmare on Elm Street: The studio new line cinema was actually one of the studios for the original film, which perhaps means that it is the same story but remade with updated technology and modernised to appeal to the new generation. Like the trailer it uses lots of iconography from the original to use to persuade audiences to view the film. Also how the figure is positioned is like he is waiting which shows the audience he is nearly in cinemas waiting for them. The Poster isn’t that effective, while it has good elements that sell the character it is the selling of the character that is the problem. The Original poster works because the audience could see the victim and tell that she is scared, this poster is an invitation to just see the character in action again.

Grave Encounters: This Poster came after the first few and after the reviews, because the use of reviews and star rating convinces the audience that this is a good film and they should go see it, It also plays on the phenomenon that the trailer has had so many views to persuade the audience. Instead of having a traditional poster like its previous posters it has the same camera perspective as the film reinforcing the realism of it and how the film is all shot the same way. The use of a child, who is more formed than other ghosts, is a convention of horror as it creates a more sinister atmosphere as evil is being done by an innocent child.

Carrie:

This poster plays off the success of the original film which is why there are no details of cast and crew and why it is the simple iconography of the famous prom scene used to persuade audiences. It does have a good effect as you know its horror and it’s sinister but unlike the original poster there is no duality for her and represents her as evil.

Saw:The dark and white colours link strongly to the horror genre but not to the main story. Unlike other posters that highlight severed limbs but these were not used because there may be a chance that young children may see this poster. Plus the poster may be trying to emphasis the antagonist putting victims in life threatening situations. This film was more independent and would grow to become main stream horror but the poster doesn’t sell as much as the trailer which gives the unique storyline.

Halloween:I chose to analyse a number of the Halloween posters because it demonstrates how the studios focus on the antagonist to sell the film, this particular film tries to challenge it by using the character to sell the idea of an origin story an angle not done before. I also chose to analyse the original poster because the original films were successful because audiences went to see the film and so the poster must have persuaded them somehow. The posters play heavily to the angle that the character Michael Myers is the face of evil which is why it features so much in the taglines. I think the poster is successful because it only implies what the antagonist looks like but does not reveal much at all to keep mystery around the character and for a dramatic reveal in the film.