Movie Poster Analysis
Sinister has a cover showing key characters from the film however it has been done in a way that is not in your face. The ink manipulation which forms the face of the key antagonist (the boogeyman) is black, showing that the face must be evil due to the colour connotations. The fact that a child is the one dragging the ink portrays that maybe the children are not innocent in this film. The use of the child group suggests how even the most innocent in this world can be changed and be used as a weapon.
The child looks to be in her early teens, which is an age group when kids start to rebel or act out. This changes the earlier connotations, to the idea that teens, who have more stubborn ideas and are on the brink of adulthood can be manipulated away from their families and towards the darkness that is usually thought to be from childhood. The font used for the main title is the most commonly used font in horror and is a type of variation on the font Times New Roman. The colour of the black on the white is suggesting a loss of innocence/childhood. The white wall, contains cracks, and that can be suggestive of the kids already having a darkness which the antagonist is taking advantage of
The child looks to be in her early teens, which is an age group when kids start to rebel or act out. This changes the earlier connotations, to the idea that teens, who have more stubborn ideas and are on the brink of adulthood can be manipulated away from their families and towards the darkness that is usually thought to be from childhood. The font used for the main title is the most commonly used font in horror and is a type of variation on the font Times New Roman. The colour of the black on the white is suggesting a loss of innocence/childhood. The white wall, contains cracks, and that can be suggestive of the kids already having a darkness which the antagonist is taking advantage of
Dracula untold has the main character, Vladimir Dracula, standing on the edge of the cliff where he got turned into a vampier looking down at his castle. This is effective as it it shows he is the strong character of the movie as he is the hero, but also the monster of the movie. the cape he is wearing is slowly turning into bats which are travelling down to his castle, showing the link to him being a vampire, this is also effective as it shows the connection between his home place and why he turned himself into a vampire in the first place. The red of his armer could symbolise blood and death, however it is not a scarlet red which could link to the darkness within him. I think this poster is effective as it shows you some of the plot of the film but doesn't give you all the detail, and leaves the person who has seen it wanting more.
The Ring uses a image of as ring, but looking distorted. This fits in with the key plot of the film it revolves around a movie and the distortions look similar to those you would see it an old tv. The name of the movie is the ring and the circle is a representation of this. However it could be called abstract as the ring is actually referring to the telephone ringing, not an actual ring. The backdrop is black, which has connotations with death and mystery, and then the ring is white which usually portrays innocence. The font is childish which also reinforces this idea of innocence, yet also gives the idea of being told what to do and things being out of your control, as they are when you are a child. The poster also includes a couple of words to sort of sum up the movie. These words are smaller and in a more common font, leading you to believe that they are not as important as the rest. Finally at the bottom of the cover you have a list of the opening titles, in a darker text so as to not draw attention to them.
Unlike the modern day posters this poster for Bram Stokes Dracula, the most famous vampire story of them all, has a very old feel to it. The writing looks like it is written in blood symbolising death, danger and lust, which technically sums up the hole film in a nutshell. The other uses of old looking paper, ads to the effect that this is going to be a old film, and hopefully not like any other, and the gargoyle looking statue adds to the haunting effect that the poster gives. Another thing that stands out is the the author of the original book, Bram Stoker, is written in a very faint and simple writing so it does not stand out as much as the scarlet red writing of the title. Over all I think this is a effective poster as it doesn't show any hints about the film and leaves the mystery about it to the imagination and what we already know about the story.
The Woman in Black uses the image of the main character. They used this image as Daniel Radcliffe is well known and that can be used to draw more of an audience. The film focuses on the death of children, which can explain the use of white in the title. The poster also portrays the protagonist as being slightly dark, and in the film he is portrayed as the cause of the children's deaths due to his interference. The lack of colour could also represent the time period in which the film is set. The poster also shows nature instead of any technology which is another indication to the time period. In the background you can clearly see a black figure next to a grave. This is a clear indication that the figure could be the woman, and that she causes death. However her position and hight indicate that she is not gloating but instead kneeling and mourning this particular loss. This is backed up by the movie which states that she became a spirit after her son was killed in a bad carriage accident and his body could not be recovered. Finally you have the list of important names that helped make this film in the bottom. It is in a grey font, so as to not draw attention away from the images.
Like the majority of most movie posters the writhing is written in red with symbolises death lust and danger, summing up the main plot of the film. One thing which is quite interesting about the font of the writing is that the "F" and the "T" is made to look like fangs which links to the plot as it involves vampires. They way the background is pure jet black adds to the mystery of the film as you can only see the plain pail face of the evil vampire of the film in the foreground, with blood surrounding her mouth. The colour of her lips, nails, eyes and the blood all match the title, though they are not scarlet red, they are blood red, giving the hits of death and most of all lust. Over all I think this poster is effective as id doesn't show any part of the film making the "mystery" of it seem a lot more real.
The poster is effective in many ways. The black and white was a good choice as it highlights the innocence of the character shown. this contrasts greatly with the darkness that surrounds her. The trees being black with the sky being white represents that they are dark, and so like to either trap the light and extinguish it, or that they like to simply keep it out with the promise of bad things. This personification of the trees is a great aspect of the poster. The only colour in the poster is that of the red person/symbol. Red can symbolise blood, hate and pain, we believe that these are the connotation shown, as the red is surrounded by black, a colour that represents death and mystery. The red also highlights how important this symbol will be in the film.