CODES AND CONVENTIONS

OF HORROR MOVIE

POSTERS

THE EYE

One of the first conventions that is commonly used in horror movie posters is the extreme close up of the perpetrators eye. The eye is usually edited to create an unnatural and spooky look, drawing the audience in due to it being so un-usual. Cropping the image of the eye to fit the page also adds mystery to the poster. This leaves the audience wondering who's eye it is and why its so creepy. The editing enhances the effectiveness of the poster. Looking at the likes of "The Darkness" movie poster, in which the pupil is dark blood red and there is a silhouette of a dark male figure with the red bloodshot effect edited into it and the silhouette image of a male in the pupil. Other posters with an eye as their main feature often include disturbing features such as tears of blood, hands and fingers coming out from beneath the eyeball and even fire and flames on the eyelids and eyeballs. Although this disturbs and bothers audiences, it does however attract their attention.

THE HAUNTED HOUSE

Many other movie posters include a haunted house as its main feature. Often it would be situated in the background, behind the main character from the film, and other times simply on its own. The house symbolises mystery and are often situated in a foggy and gloomy locations in the moonlight. They are often traditional looking houses that have the potential to be haunted. The posters that feature a house like this often make viewers feel uncomfortable and has them wondering if its the people that live in the house that are dangerous or if its them that are in danger from spirits in the home.

THE USE OF MASKS

Another huge tradition when it comes to creating a horror movie poster is the the use of a mask. A mask can add so much doubt to a humans brain and as soon as they set their eyes on an image of someone in a mask, their brains straight away go into overdrive. They think about who’s under the mask, what they are hiding and why they are hiding. Some of the greatest horror films such as “Scream” and “IT” revolve around someone in a mask.