Poster analysis no1

The sub-genre this poster belongs to is a psychological horror

The Film is ‘Halloween 2. It is a teaser poster as it has only given a medium shot of the killer and hasn’t given anything away especially the location he is in.

I have chosen this poster as it has a lot of unconventional traits and isn’t appealing as a horror poster; however the film itself is an inspiration to my movie idea.

The poster isn’t particularly scary and looks more like a fantasy film poster; the only indicator for a horror film is the knife in the killer’s hand.

The colour:
The colours that dominate the poster are orange and yellow. This effect gives the illusion that the time the film is set in is autumn, of which Halloween falls in. It also links the colours of a pumpkin, which is associated with Halloween. The dark clouds surrounding the scenery make the image seem dark and dangerous, as though that we should be weary of the times ahead. The rain makes the image look blurry, which makes the killer look distorted. Creating the effect that we don’t know who he is or what he looks like. The lighting behind the killer is seen to be lighter than the rest of the scenery; this is ironic as the light seems to be falling on him, like an angel, when he is in fact the killer.

The tagline
‘Evil walks among us’. This tagline is effective as it creates the illusion and fear that evil could be anywhere. Evil is personified in the tagline to indicate that Mike Myers is evil, that he is rotten to the core, 100% sinister, this would therefore make him more terrifying as a character. It combines with the image very well, as we can’t see the antagonist very clearly, we wouldn’t be able to describe what he looks like, making it seem like he could be anyone, ‘among us’. It doesn’t reveal too much about the narrative, as it is the sequel there is already a plot line here that the audience would know about. It suggests to the audience that the last time they saw the antagonist wasn’t actually the last time, letting a hint of the narrative suggest that he is back, and is near us.
The tagline anchors the audience understanding and interpretation of evil as in society any outcast who is physiologically disturbed with sociopath tendencies, who is also a murderer will be seen as pure evil and will understand that this film will feature all these traits.
The style of the text isn’t scary or creepy; it isn’t like other texts in horror posters. The colour is white making it stand out from the background, catching the audience’s eye. The pace in which t is situated isn’t effective as it, just looks like a big block of words placed over the antagonist, taking up a third of the poster. It would have been more effective if it was situated in one line at the top of the page (Like normal conventions).

The title:
The title of the film is actually split up into two parts and in two different sizes: The Letter H and the number 2 are the biggest of the title, with the word ‘Halloween’ in block letters in the middle of ‘H2’. The way in which the two are incorporated don’t stand out as each individual titles as the same colour have been used making the two merge and blend in together. Which isn’t effective in explaining what he actual film is called or making it clear that is ‘Halloween 2’.
the text is really distressed and tainted, this indicates the narrative of the story and may even refer to the first instalment, that the surviving victims of Mike Myers are tainted with distressing memories of what has happened to them, and is a indicator as to what his next victims will be feeling also,

The title doesn’t reveal too much about the narrative of the film only that it is a sequel to Rob Zombie’s Remake of Halloween. Therefore the audience can guess what the story is going to be about. Also the name of the director strikes fear, and works in perfectly with the genre he is working within.

Where the title is placed is a normal convention for a film poster. He size of it however is different compared to other posters as it is a short title it is in the middle of the poster. The colour that has been used links in again with the colour of Halloween; orange and as it is placed on a pumpkin it reinforces the title of Halloween.

The main image
The setting within the image seems to be in a field; in the middle of nowhere this is a horror movie convention in its self as, murders and haunting always happen in an isolated area, therefore the setting of this is crucial to stick to conventions of a horror film. The field is covered in pumpkins re-enforcing the title of the film ‘Halloween’, the pumpkins used can be seen as a warning for the amount of victims Mike Myers may encounter. the flesh within the pumpkin, and pumpkin carving which is done at Halloween may be a symbolic link to a knife going into human flesh, this is a subtle yet empowering link with the narrative of the film. Also the pumpkin are a part of the meis en scene element to the poster, its setting a scene, and an indicator to the narrative that all the scary parts and horrific events are going to take place on Halloween night. The long shot of the antagonist create an illusion that we cannot see his face properly suggesting that the killer could be anyone. His face looks distorted as though he is wearing a mask which is essential for conventions of a horror film as it heightens the fear of the audience and the victims as they don’t know who this ‘evil’ person is. The knife is used for iconography for slasher films as the killer usually has a horrible way of killing his victims; such as butcher knives. His costume makes him appear to be able to blend into the darkness and a convention of a horror film is that what the characters fear most is what the darkness holds and what the darkness brings; in this case evil. The position of the antagonist is set so that we cannot see who it exactly it is, I believe this is because if we don’t know who it is the audience can speculate and be weary as to who is the killer, building up the suspense during the movie.

Other texts:
The production information can be used to lure in an audience as if they can know who produced the film it may entice them to see the film as they may recognise a producer or a director and may like their work and will see a movie based on their reputation. This can been seen in this poster as above the title it has the directors name ‘Rob Zombie’ as it is the sequel viewers/fans will see it due to liking the first in the series. So using this is an effective way to lure in viewers. The name of the director is a bold font compared to the surrounding text making it stand out even more.
The release date of the film is in a bold font and in the same colour as the title of the film. The reason as to why it is a bold font is to make it stand out from the rest of the information given so it will stick in the target audience’s minds as it is the most important piece of information.

Overall evaluation:
The poster can be identified with the horror genre and further more the sub-genre slasher. It meets codes and conventions in some areas, with the dark lighting and the eerie background. Also with the ‘antagonist’ as the only human feature in the poster. I think it will succeed in luring in its target audience as the narrative of the last film has been altered due to the new release of this poster, making the audience want to see that has happened with Michael Myers and his victims.
The slogan ‘Evil walks among us’ is successful in luring in the audience without given too much of the narrative away as it was a line in the previous movie as well as a predominant saying in Halloween 2. We cannot see the location suggesting that he could be anywhere with maybe a new set of victims rather than the previous ones (his sister).
The pumpkins and the title suggest that the plot will take place at Halloween again, giving away a snip of what to look out for in the movie.
Overall the poster is effective if you are a fan of the Halloween film series, however if you are new to the films it doesn’t lure new audiences in, as it can be seen as confusing as to what halloween has to do with evil.