Initial Poster Ideas

Looking at Horror Movie Posters

As part of our coursework, in conjunction with our teaser trailer and website, we need to create a poster advertising our film as part of a whole promotional package.

In order to get ideas for poster conventions within the horror genre, I'm looking at existing posters for real horror films.

One of the most common conventions seen in horror movie posters is a close up of the eye, usually with some kind of deformity. For example, in this poster for 'The Return' the eye is clouded over and a hand can be seen inside as if it is trapped. Eyes are so commonly seen as the portray a lot of emotion, and can therefore show fear to the audience. They are also good for teaser posters as they give away very little about the film while clearly conveying the genre.

It's also very common for posters to feature an image of a house as the main focus. The plot of many horror films, particularly supernatural, revolves around a family moving into a new house and the issues that come with that. Using scenery as the main image also allows you to set the seen and with the correct editing can make a very scary and tense atmosphere.

Another very common poster type involves a dark silhouette. Having the character mainly blacked out creates an enigma and makes the audience more intrigued about the film. The stance and the way they take up most of the poster reinforces their power within the film and makes them seem like a character to be feared.

It's also common to have the title at the bottom of the poster with the image taking up the centre, as well as having a small tagline at the top. All the other information such as release date and billings block is at the bottom, drawing most of the attention to the image.