This is a poster for the film ‘Rec’. You can tell this film is a horror because of the image used; a close up of a only half a face. The close up helps to show extremes in emotion such as fear and terror, and by only showing half the face a feeling of unease is created; the characters identity is not completely revealed. The character seen is looking out of the shot, suggesting the presence of something or someone else. Their hair is draped across the face, distorting the picture and creating even more mystery and fear. The high contrast of the photo makes the image dramatic creating impact.

The horizontal lines across the poster give the suggestion of an armature or ‘home made’ video. Which connotes the hand held camera perspective the film is shot in. This also adds a grainy distorted effect to the image further emphasising fear.

The title ‘Rec’ is large and central so the viewer can easily establish it. It’s written in the form of the ‘record’ icon seen when filming on a camera further suggesting the hand held perspective and an event that may have been caught on genuine footage. This helps to bring in an audience that may have an interest in the ‘true-story’ genre of horror.

The tag line ‘Experience fear’ clearly connotes horror. Giving the viewer an indication of what genre of film it is – this helps to get the attention of their target audience (horror fans). It also acts as a lure to make the viewer want to see the film and ‘experience fear’.

The billing block is in small text centred at the bottom of the poster. This is a convention that most film posters use. By keeping to this convention a viewer can easily find out about the production of the film. The directors are in a larger font above the billing block. This allows a viewer who may be influenced by the films producer to find it quickly and easily.

This is the poster from the film ‘The Blair Witch Project’. The images used for this poster give an indication of setting as well as the theme. The dark looming trees imply a feeling of dread as well as suggesting the setting (a forest or wooded area). As the trees are silhouetted, fading into the black below, not much detail is shown. This creates a spooky atmosphere as the viewer cannot be sure of exactly what they are looking at. The close up of the persons face/eyes suggests fear and/or intense emotion. The use of motivated lighting from a torch creates dark shadows on the face abstracting the picture and making it hard to work out. This both creates a mysterious and spooky atmosphere as well as making the viewer think about what the person is scared of and why.There is a red ritualistic shape in the centre of the poster. This suggests the genre of horror; demonic, ghost, spiritualistic. The text in the centre of the poster (“In October of 1994…”) gives the viewer an indication of the narrative. By keeping this text short and snappy the viewer doesn’t need to look too deeply into the poster and will notice it by simply scanning their eyes over it.As with most posters the billing block is centred at the bottom of the page. There are no directors or actors in a larger font suggesting the film may not be ‘mainstream’ – maybe an smaller independent production.The title is in a larger font making the viewer aware of it.

This is a poster for the horror film ‘Saw’.Unlike many horror posters the colour white is heavily features, breaking the usual conventions. By using white the viewer gets a very cold feeling and chilling feeling. It could also be interpreted as a connotation for hospitals or surgery – something that is featured in a twisted horror style in this particular film. The decapitated hand instantly screams ‘horror’ to the viewer. It also suggests gore which helps to bring in a target audience of ‘gore’ fans.The title is large in the centre of the poster where it is clearly visible to the viewer. The font used is distorted with what look like slash marks surrounding it. This further implies the horror genre. It is written in bold black contrasting with the white background giving it impact.Again the billing block is centred at the bottom of the page following the usual conventions of film posters.

This poster has no directors or actors highlighted in larger fonts suggesting it may be an independent or ‘small’ production. It also keeps to the minimalistic style used – there isn’t even a tag line.

This minimalistic style keeps the viewer thinking about the film. There is no indication as to why there is a decapitated hand, but the image itself is enough to entice an audience and get them eager to see the film.

This is the poster for the film ‘Paranormal Activity’. This poster is an unusual one, there is no billing block seen and the only production value you can see is the tiny logo for ‘Paramount’ in the bottom right hand corner. Personally I don’t think this works well for the poster. By breaking the conventions in this way it looks armature and a little cheap. However, this may have been an attempt to keep the continuity of the ‘real story’ vibe of the film itself; leaving out actors and directors etc.

At the top of the poster you can see a short review from ‘Bloody-Disgusting’ telling the viewer about the horror of the film. This entices horror fans encouraging them to see ‘the scariest movie of all time’.

The featuring image is a still from the film of the main characters scared in their bed. By showing two seemingly ordinary people in a relatable place the viewer can identify with the horror, making them feel partially connected with it. A creepy shadow cast on the door lets the viewer know the film may be based on ghosts or demons which helps to draw in an audience that enjoy paranormal horror.

The poster does follow the standard convention of having a large title of the film and also having a tag line (‘What happens when you sleep’ ‘Don’t see it alone’). These tag lines intrigue the viewer. By using an open question already the viewer is thinking about the film.