Codes and conventions of horror film posters

By George Sulaiman

The extreme close-up of the eye

• The first convention that is commonly used for horror film posters is a extreme close up of the eye. There is often a manipulation to the eye to create an unnatural and eerie look, drawing the audience to it because it is un-usual. The crop of the eye filling the frame also creates impact and expresses the emotion of fear, as the eyes are often widened with fear. This makes the it relatable to the viewer and creates enigma due to the fact nothing else can be seen other than the emotion and what-ever manipulations have been applied. The editing can enhance the effectiveness of the image, for example with the “Candyman”poster, in which the iris is a deep red, and the pupil has been replaced with the silhouette of a dark figure, creating further enigma as we know the eye is seeing something we cant but we don't know who or why.

• There are also parts where additional things have been added onto the eye, for example the hand coming out from underneath the bottom eyelid in “The Eye's poster. This makes the audience look at it in a different way, due to the unnatural and disturbing nature of the image, therefore making them drawn to the poster and the film. The eye is often that of the victims, as they are the character that feels fear along with the audience, as we almost see what they see. The close crop and close up zoom means the viewer only gets a small sense of the themes and storyline of the film, making it a teaser poster, leading the audience to want to find out more and see the film. I feel this an effective convention due to these factors, and can be very effective for supernatural horror films.

House photography for setting

• Many horror films use a house as a setting, so there are a number of horror film posters with a eerie photograph of the house, either with the protagonist in the foreground or the house on its own. The main genre which uses houses are psychological and supernatural horrors, like paranormal activity and insidious, however there are also slashers which take place in a house. The background around the house used is often dark and the sky is foggy or manipulated in order to look strange and unnatural. They are often traditional looking houses that are large and have the potential to be haunted and creepy looking. The house as a setting also unsettles the viewer because of the feeling of safety linked with the home. Posters in which a house is used often create enigma because we do not know whether it is the people who live in the house or the house itself that is causing the disequilibrium.

Character with a Dark figure (Turned their back to the viewer)

• Another effective convention used in horror posters is a dark figure with their back turned to the viewer and their head slightly turned to be able to see part of their profile. This pose is particularly effective at creating enigma, and is mostly used to portray the villain. The lighting is usually quite dark and is sometimes backlit in order to highlight certain parts of the outline, often in unnatural ways to make it seem more eerie. The fact the identity of the villain is concealed and there is only a hint at what they are wearing, doing and what they look like creates enigma around the character and can be considered a teaser poster through this technique, as it makes the audience want to see the film due to the enigmatic nature.

• This convention is often used for slasher films, as the villain is the key to the plot and is usually a serial killer with a weapon, opposed to psychological horrors where they may be no actual villain and no psychical weapons. When this convention is used for a slasher film, there is often a hand raised to the figures back with the weapon in their hand, which tells the audience there will be violence and danger, and will appeal to a target audience. Additionally, there is Low-key lighting and red text paired with the dark outline to carry on the mysterious atmosphere that this convention forms.