Insidious Poster Analysis

I will be analysing this poster for the promotion of the film Insidious, a horror/thriller film about a child who is in a coma as his family fight to save him from being trapped in a different realm known as The Further.

Layout

The red line shows the path of the route of the eye, along this line important information or images are placed. The top part of the route of the eye goes through the words “From the makers of SAW and PARANORMAL ACTIVITY” this is to entice fans of these well known horrors to see the film advertised on the poster. By naming well known, popular films on the advertisement it makes people believe that the film will also be as good and will make them want to see it. The use of capital letters for the other films titles gives the idea of importance and that they must be really good to be used in such a bold way. The line then follows through the face of the child (Dalton) this is to draw attention to the fact that the plot is about a child, which, adds a feeling of mystery and added horror as children are normally portrayed as harmless or innocent. The line then finishes by running through the masthead, Insidious, as its last it allows the name of the film to be remembered and it’s bold font makes sure it stands out against the dark background.

The principle of thirds, in purple, shows nothing in the top three thirds as most of the information is lower down. The middle third is filled with the boys face making him the main focus of the poster, this image tells the viewer immediately who the main character is and allows them to guess what the film is about helping them decide if it is something they’d like to see. In the third to the right of the middle third containing the image of the boys face is a quote from a review that says “SO SCARY, I was whimpering in SHEER TERROR” as the quote is positioned here it allows the audience to notice and read it but it doesn’t draw attention away from the main focus. By putting “SO SCARY” and “SHEER TERROR” in capitals it portrays that the film is going to be one of the scariest, thrilling ones you’ve seen, followed by five stars the quote is designed to entice and excite. The primary optical areas and dead areas are left as blank as possible only being filled by the background image, this is so all your attention is focused on the important information. There is also nothing placed in the hotspots, instead they just frame the boys face aiming more attention and focus towards the image.  The bottom three thirds are filled by the Masthead ‘Insidious’ to tell you the name of the film, underneath this however ‘It’s not the house that’s haunted’ is written, this adds mystery to what the film is about and makes you want to watch it and find out what has happened to the boy.

At the very bottom of the poster is information on who the director of the film was (James Wan) and other information to do with the film. This information draws in people who are fans of particular directors or production companies or people who recognise them from other films they’ve enjoyed in the past.

 At the bottom of the poster the age certificate of the film is also shown, in this case a 15. The age certificate not only tells the viewer how old you have to be to watch the film but helps give them an idea on how scary or graphic it will be and whether it’s for them.

Images

The use of images on this poster is very effective. The background picture is of a large house which tells you that this is where most of the film is based. The house is large and old in style which makes you believe that it could be haunted but this idea is questioned by the “It’s not the house that’s haunted” line which leads you onto believe that something ‘spooky’ or ‘evil’ has happened there, raising more questions in the audiences mind that need to be answered.

The use of large trees in the background image encourage the idea of a creepy house as they tower over it creating dark shadows, these shadows add to the darkness of the picture supporting the suggestion of bad things happening. The sky is also filled with dark clouds, rain and clouds are usually associated with bad things whereas a clear sky and the sun are thought of as happy, the use of the clouds is to support the horror/thriller genre.

The main image however is of Dalton, the young boy. Standing in front of the house alone tells us that the story is about him. His emotionless face lets us know that happy things haven’t happened but it also doesn’t give anything away, adding even more mystery. It looks like his eyes have been scratched out or scratched over, possibly by something evil or a spirit. As his eyes have been removed from the image it gives the idea that the boy has been possessed as usually the eyes portray the idea of life and stereotypically in horror films when the eyes are covered or glazed over its because someone else is controlling them.

Colour

The use of colour in the poster is the main factors which contribute to the scary theme. Firstly, there are no bright colours which usually promote happy emotions; instead greys, dark reds and greens make up the images. The border of the poster is faded and darker than the rest of the image this pushes your attention towards the middle whilst giving the feeling of being trapped or enclosed in a small space promoting the idea of fear.

The boy is also dressed in a dark shirt; this makes the audiences attention focus on his face as this is where the attention is most needed as it tells us the most about what happens. His skin is pasty and tired looking, this is to give the impression that he has been through a lot and that he is tired and worn out, making us wonder what has made him like that.

The image together as a whole has been edited to be darker. Like a grey film has been put over the top. This effect darkens the whole poster to give an eerie, questionable feel making the audience want to see the film to find out why it’s so dark and what has happened to the boy and what the house’s connection is to him. 

Font

The use of font in the poster is very basic; it’s mainly white with one line in green. This is because the background image is dark so the colours for the text need to be light to show up. The use of the white is harsh against the dark background but is effective as it draws your attention towards it. The font is Sans Serif in style, this means it’s bold and not fancy this makes it quick and easy to read for people who are only glancing at the poster, the hardness of the font also shows that the film is scary as the curly, fancy style of a Serif font would give the impression of a less frightening film. Different sizes between the texts are also used to add variety and interest to the poster. It also allows for the attention of the person viewing it to be drawn to more important information first and the less important after. The masthead ‘Insidious’ is a different font to the rest of the writing but is still in Sans Serif to follow with the movies genre. It’s slightly distressed in style with breaks and worn out parts to it, this adds a scary feel to the masthead and title of the film.

This is the promotional poster for the ring and although simple and basic it has several elements which make it an effective poster in enticing an audience and creating interest. 


Layout
The audience see's the poster in several sections and firstly scans from the top left to right down to the bottom left corner and along the the right. This 'route of the eye' means that the audience first see's the quote 'Before you die you see' from the film. This immediately creates interest and surrounds the film with mystery fulfilling typical conventions of promotional posters for horror movies.This quote is also reflected just above itself making the poster seem distorted and imperfect. Following the route of the eye the audience next see's the main focus of the poster and the only image used, this gives the name of the film 'The Ring' and the iconic image associated with the film, a ring of light which seems to be appearing from behind an object and is slightly obscured. This again is distorted across the page and almost looks as though it is a consequence of interference, like that on a television. Finally the eye see's any information across the bottom of the poster, in this case it is the credits for the film. The principal of thirds is another rule which the eye follows when looking at pieces such as this poster. The eye is immediately drawn to certain areas, the first being the primary optical area, on this poster, within this area, you can see the beginning of the enticing quote which would lead the reader to read on and in turn creates interest. In the terminal optical area the name of the production company is included, this is Dreamworks Pictures which is a well known name. This would potentially create interest surrounding the film among those who perhaps would have not chosen to watch The Ring at first but have an interest in Dreamworks and there films. In the central optical area we can see the main focus of the poster, the hot spots also cover this section. As the poster is fairly simple the images and words used are placed symmetrically so to cover the largest area and creating fewer dead areas. 


Colour + Image
There are only two colours used within this poster, the background is black which gives the film and poster a dark atmosphere and is a typical colour associated with horror and fear. The writing is white contrasting the background so it is easy to read and stands out, catching the eye. The contrast of black and white also creates the illusion and sense that the ring of white, what could be assumed is light, is appearing from behind an eclipse of some kind or is obscured by an object, again creating mystery as it leaves the audience questioning and wondering what it is. 


Font
The quote used at the top of the poster is in Sans Serif font which adds to the simpleness of the poster putting emphasis on the importance of the words as there is little else included, the fact that this quote is reflected and so can be seen twice adds to there importance. The font used also makes the words easier to read and so they stand out. The font used for 'the ring' is again sans serif however is all lower case and looks as though it has been written by a child. The inclusion of children in horror films is common as it creates a sense of vulnerability and realism which is easily relatable to by the audience, emphasising and instilling fear.  

Layout + Images
Following the route of the eye the audience would first see 'Bruce Willis' from this we can assume that he takes the role of a lead character within the film, this would also entice fans of his to watch the film, immediately creating interest and hype about the film. Secondly the audience would see the two main images included, that of Bruce Willis and one of silhouette against a golden 6, the image of Bruce Willis is in the foreground of the poster and is the larger of the two. This again emphasises his importance in the film, and as he is a well known actor it is important that it is well known he has a part as it opens up another potential audience for the film. The image of the silhouette creates interest and mystery as it is unclear who it is and what their relation and role is within the film. Lastly the audience see the title of the film, credits and the films tagline. The tagline creates an air of mystery around the film as it gives a little information however not enough to completely expose the films story line, therefore creating interest. The title of  the film itself creates interest as in the real world there are 5 known senses and so by creating a sixth it triggers an interest amongst the audience and a want to know what it could be.The principle of thirds does not seem to play a large role in the layout of this poster as the primary and terminal optical areas are dead areas only including the edges of images and the background. Within the central optical area we can see sections of both images used, drawing your eye to them, the hotspots again draw the eye to the same area. 


Colours
The main colour used is black, which, as seen before is common in horror film posters as it gives a feeling of darkness which links with mystery, fear and terror. It seems to cast a shadow over the image of Bruce Willis, and his jacket disappears into the background as if he is sinking into the darkness. The second key colour used is an orange/yellow glow colour which looks like light seeping through a window or cracks in the poster, or it could be seen as fire surrounding the silhouette. This colour surrounds and encapsulates the silhouette which then reflects onto the image of Bruce Willis, as if it has control of the unknown character but influences and comes into contact with Willis' character. The text is in white as this contrasts the dark background and stands out making it easy to read and it also stands out catching the readers eye. 


Font
The font used for 'Bruce Willis' and The Sixth Sense is sans serif meaning it is easy to read and simple, standing out and easily noticeable. It looks as though it has been hand written, a scrawling almost as it is not very neat, giving the sense it may have been rushed or under pressured circumstances. The films tag line is in serif font which gives a slightly more formal feel to it and almost seperates it from the poster.