1. 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.

2. 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

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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,

6. 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.

7. 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.

8. The Dark Knight:
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.

9. 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.