Poster Analysis: Drag Me To Hell

 There are three main colours used in this poster; black/grey, orange and blonde/yellow. The colour of the sky at the top of the poster suggests that this film will be a horror film because they tend to take place at night, and with the sky being dark this tells the audience that this film is too. The red of the fire relates to the title “Drag Me To Hell”, as hell is a place of uncomfortable heat and fire. The orange fire also being at the bottom also suggests that the lead character pictured above is being dragged to hell in the poster, showing that the poster is containing an image of disequilibrium, typical of most posters.

     The character in the poster has blonde hair which is purposely put over the dark sky so that it stands out. This is not only to highlight to the audience that the character in the poster is the lead character, but also that this film isn’t going to be your everyday horror movie. In horror films, it is known that the stereotypical “blonde bimbo” is usually one of the first people to be killed and the survivor is usually male or a woman of another colour hair. (As blondes are stereotyped as damsels in distress, etc). This tells the audience that if the lead character is not stereotypical, than perhaps the film isn’t, causing the blonde hair to be one of the main attractive colours on this poster.

     There are not many symbols in this poster. The only noticeable one would be that of the three hands dragging the character downwards. This is strange because rather than two hands there are three, and by reading the caption it says “But in three days, she’s going to hell.” This suggests to the audience that perhaps in each day something is going to drag her closer to hell and each hand is placed on a different part of her body and the general fact there are three hands. Each of the hands looks the same, so this suggests to the audience that whatever is dragging her to hell is the same thing rather than three different things.

     The main objects in this poster are the main character, the three hands pulling on her, and the two houses either side of the main character in the background. The main character is represented photographically because she is the lead character and needs to be highlighted. The hands are graphically represented because they have been graphically modified and have a look about them to suggest to the audience that they will play a slightly smaller role in the film. The houses in the background are represented illustratively and I think that this has been done to set the scene and be almost like an illusion in the back

From looking at the film poster the intended audience they would be targeting will be people who are interested in horrors. According to Pearl and Dean the age group would be 15-24, also slightly more males would rather go and see the film, this could just be because of the genre as males are more likely to go and see a horror than females are.   

              

The genre of Drag me to Hell is a horror. We know this due to the dramatic images on the poster. The star in the poster has been used as the USP (unique selling point). There are no expert witnesses quoted on the poster. pleasures that are promised by the poster will be danger, fear, fire, possibly death if not someone trying to kill. The attention is gained threw shock. As the images are graphic and different it draws the viewers in as they have not seen a poster like it before. It will make the audience think what will happen and will want to see it to find out. The tag-line on the poster, “Christine Brown has a good job, a great boyfriend, but in three days, she’s going to hell”, shows that the character (Christine Brown) has got a bad spirit after her and wants her to die as she has done something bad. This makes the audience sure that the films genre is horror.   

The poster has important information on it, for example it shows who is the production company (Ghost house productions). This is important as the production company will get more noticed, also if they have a good reputation for their films they will get more people going to see the film as they will believe it has come from a good production company. 

I believe the poster is effective as the images are believable and look dramatic. This poster is also very different to a lot of horror posters, this would make me want to see it. I believe it connects effectively with the audience as it gives information in the tag-line which the audience would be interested about. The tag-line gives a bit more information on what the film is to do with. I do not believe the poster is offensive in any way.     

Poster Analysis; The Last Exorcism

     The main colours used in the above film poster for the movie “The Last Exorcism” are black and white (Grey scale). The black and white make the poster look hard, old and scary. This presents the genre to the audience through the scary feeling the poster gives. The person in the poster looks like a little girl which gives you a sense of emotion and pity towards the girl in the poster. The red text above and below the image reminds me of blood. Again this helps the audience understand the genre of the film. The title “The Last Exorcism” is bigger than the rest of the text and is eye-catching. It makes the viewer think why is it the last one? Also the words makes us understand that the film is going to be about the devil. Finally, the words “Believe In Him” is written in black and is just above the crucifix which again relates to religion and suggests that the caption is referring to the devil rather than God, as to be exorcised involves having the devil within you. 

     The crucifix on the wall above the girl also makes us think that there is some form of religion in the film which creates a very startling image. Her body is twisted and awkwardly shaped and the crucifix is directly above her heart, suggesting she is going to be killed by God or some religious figure. What you read from this image suggests an unholy alliance between the girl and the devil.

The crucifix looks like a dagger with the handle. The crucifix used in the poster is more pointier so looks more like a dagger. The dagger blade reminds me of the end of the crucifix that is pointing down towards the girl's heart.    

     The main objects that have been used in the poster are the crucifix and the girl. The girl being in the centre suggests to the audience that she is the main character in the film and the crucifix makes the audience understand that the film has a religious theme. The crucifix is directly above the girls heart like the crucifix is trying to enter the girls body due to the sharp edges on the ends of the cross. The viewers eyes look at the crucifix and follow the shape and look at the girls body at the same time. This links the two objects together. 

     The messages in the poster are both visual and verbal for example the crucifix and the tagline etc. There is a tagline just above the crucifix of the poster “Believe In Him” This suggests (with the title) that religion has something to do with the film and the girl. This hints to the audience that the film has religious content. 

         I think that the intended audience for this poster is both males and females (mainly males) aged between 15-25. This is because horror and thriller films are normally aimed at this specific audience, but looking at the people what went to see it, we can see that in fact females went to see the film more that males did. This shows that the a posters target audience isn’t always necessarily the target audience for the film.                   

     None of the actor’s names are used in the poster to create a USP, because none of the actors staring in the film are particularly big stars, but there is a slight USP which is “Eli Roth” who is  known for Hostel(2002) and Cabin Fever(2005). I think that the poster has his name on it in order to attract more people to come and see the film including his already existing fans.

     There are no critic's quotes used in the poster, and I think this is not necessarily because there was not any good reviews, I feel this was because the editor of the poster wanted it to be plain, simplistic but very eye-catching this is because the audience do not know much about the film and have to go and watch the film to find out what actually happens. 

     There are two gratifications promised on this poster. One is the girl that is bent over in the middle of the poster; this tells the audience that she is the main character of the film. This is going to make people want to see the film so they can find out what happens to girl and why religion is involved. The other gratification on this poster is, again, the image of the girl but also the rest of the poster too. The fact that it is dark and dull and there is blood on the girl tells the audience that this is a horror film and promises the audience that they are likely to be scared and feel uncomfortable.

     The attention is gained through shock and surprise, this is through the girl in the poster. This is intended to shock the audience into thinking will the girl survive or will she die, and also the horror of the fact that the devil may have possessed an innocent young girl.

     The tagline works effectively because we are given a little clue towards the film being about religion. But still not giving too much away so that the storyline has not been revealed.  “Believe in Him” only tells the audience that religion may be involved in the film, which is a good borderline between telling the audience too much and not telling them enough, as the clues they have will make them want to go and see the film and the clues they do not know will be the reasons for them going to see it.

     There are not many examples of information given in the poster, except the main one being the image of the girl bent over. This is important as it automatically gives the audience a sense of the storyline which is vital for the audience as they will know some of the information in the film. Also having the title of the film on the poster means that the audience will know that the film has a religious side to it, this gives the audience another piece if vital information. The most important piece of information (the image of the girl) takes up half of the space where as the other important piece of information the title (The Last Exorcism) takes up most if the bottom space of the poster.        

          

       This poster is very important for the advertising of the film. The poster and trailer and the two and only main forms of advertising for this film. This is very important to the film makers because they need to advertise their film so that people will go and see it. The main places the poster would have been advertised would have been for example bus shelters, busses, telephone boxes, billboards, on television and on the internet, spreading to as many different audiences and people as possible.

     I don’t think that the poster was very expensive to make as the simple shot of the girl bent over has no specials effects used which would suggest that the poster did not cost a lot to make. This suggests that the marketing did not have much money to spend and this might also suggest why there are no names on the poster, although again the poster editor may have wanted the poster to be plain and simplistic in order to keep the audience's attention on the main features of the poster. 

  

     I feel that the poster is extremely effective because the poster does everything needed; it suggests to the audience what the film may be about, it helps the audience understand the genre of the film is a horror and also that the film has religious content. From the poster we know the film title. It communicates effectively with the audience because the information that is not on the poster is the information that the audience wants to find out. We are not given a general outline of the film or who is in it as this is the information the audience will want to find out, but we know the director, writer and the name of the film. The information that is not on the film poster is what the audience want to know the most. This is what makes the audience want to come and watch the film, as they want to find out this information; if they knew this before they watched them film they are more likely to not want to watch the film.       

     

     There are no examples of any readings harming the message of the marketing campaign for this film poster, there is nothing on the poster distracting the audience  from the main and sub messages of the poster, keeping all of the audience's attention on the main features of the poster.

     The poster if offensive because in a religious sense because some Catholics may see this as stereotyping Catholics, causing them to be annoyed at the film. Also, the poster is quite horrifying for people who are easy to scare i.e.: children because of the demented and contorted girl on the front of the poster would be seen as scary and nightmarish.

     

     

Film Poster Analysis; Devil

     The main colours used in the above film poster for the movie “Devil” are black and grey with the significant use of the red. The black and grey are used to present to the audience the genre of horror through the themes of darkness. The red is used to emphasize to the audience the upside down crucifix which relates to the religious title “Devil” which shows us that the film is going to have some sort of religious significance to the genre of horror. Also highlighted in red is the number “6” above the door. The number 6 is relative to the devil and devil signs, adding to the theme of religion. Finally, the down button on the lift is highlighted in red, ie: pointing towards the ground or where there devil is situated in Hell, further adding to the religious and anti-christ themes of the genre horror.

Upside down cross

as shown in an

artist’s impression

of Baphomet, a 

main figure in the

Satanist religion.

     There are some key symbols in relation to the film title and theme of religion in this poster. As said in the above paragraph, the upside down red crucifix on the lift represents the anti christ which is showing the audience the central theme of the film is to do with religion. The number 6 above the lift doors relates to the illuminati symbol of the 666 which relates back to the devil and the title of the film. Finally, the down button on the lift is highlighted red, representing the lift and/or the people in the lift are going down ie: to hell, again referring back to the theme of religion.

Famous pop

singer-songwriter

Lady GaGa making

the “666” symbol

around her eye with

her hand

The Illuminati symbol of the

All Seeing Eye, a huge 

Satanist symbol

     The main and only object in the poster is the lift. The lift suggests that the film is to either take place of have some significance with a lift. It also suggests that the people that might be in the lift are either going up or down, as lifts only go in two directions. This is showing by highlighting that the doors are closed and there are two buttons on the lift, one going down and one going up, meaning that the fate of those inside is decided upon the lift itself.

     The messages in the poster are mostly visual for example the satanist symbols and messages, etc. There is a tag-line at the top of the poster “Five strangers trapped. One of the is not what they seem.” This suggests (with the title) that one of these strangers is the devil, hinting to the audience the themes of religion in the film.

     I think that the intended audience for this poster are working and middle class males and females (mainly males) aged between 15 and 30. This is because horror and thriller films are usually aimed at this specific audience, but by looking at the people that went to see it, we can see that in fact females went to see the film more than males, showing that a poster’s target audience isn’t always necessarily the target audience for the film. 

          There are some persuasive techniques used in the poster to attract the target audience. The dark colours used and the film title “Devil” instantly shows the audience this is a horror film, so the main audience for horror films (male and female teenagers) will see that this is what Devil is about, making them want to go and see it.

     There are a few genre conventions used in this poster. The main one being that the setting is dark, which is stereotypical for a horror film as most horrors films tend to take place at night or in a dark place. Also, the lift doors are closed which brings in the sub-genre of claustrophobia, which is used in a lot of horror films to scare the audience. If the doors were open, this would perhaps have a different effect on the audience because they then wouldn’t have that claustrophobic feeling, whereas the doors closed is giving this hint to the audience.

     None of the actor’s names are used in the poster to create a USP, because none of the actors in the film are particularly big stars, but there is the USP with the use of the name of the famous horror film creator M. Night Shyamalan. Known for his big horror hits such as The Sixth Sense, Signs and The Happening. I think that the poster has his name on it in order to attract more people to come and see the film.

     There are no critic quotes on the poster, and I think that this wasn’t necessarily because there weren’t any good reviews, I think that it was because the editor of the poster wanted to keep it plain and simple so it is plain for the audience to see what the film is about and what might be in it, without any manipulative opinions from critics.

     There is only one gratification promised on the poster, and this is that the inside of the lift in on fire and the button says it’s going down, perhaps telling the audience that people are in there, so this is going to make people come to see the film so that they may see whether or not people are stuck in the lift. This gratification promises the audience they could be scared if they go and see this film and this is done by bringing the theme of claustrophobia into the poster and the dark colours.

     The attention is gained again from the above paragraph, the fire in the lift. This is intended to shock the audience into wondering if there are any people in there.

     The tagline works effectively because we are given a general outline about what the film may be about, but not too much therefore making sure people don’t actually know the storyline in order to make them want to watch the film so that they know. “Five strangers trapped. One of them is not what they seem.” This lets the audience know that the film will has a twist relevant to the title.

     There are not many examples of important information in the poster, except the main one being the image of the lift. This is important as it automatically gives the audience a sense of the setting which is vital for the audience as they now know a decent amount of the film for them to want to come and watch it. Also, having the title of the film on the poster means that the audience knows that the film is going to have some religious significance, giving the audience two vital pieces of information, enough to draw them in to want to watch it. The most important piece of information (the image of the lift) takes up the most amount of space whereas the other piece of important information (the title “Devil”) doesn’t take up as much, showing that the editor of the poster wanted the audience to see the lift over anything else.

     The poster is quite important for the marketing campaign. The poster and the trailer are the only two forms of advertisement in the marketing for this film, so the poster had a big role in the advertising. The poster has been placed in several different advertising spots; it’s been seen on phone boxes, buses, train stations on the internet and on television as well as many other public places. This shows that the poster has had a significant role in the advertising for Devil, because if it wasn’t so big it wouldn’t have been placed in so many different places.

     I don’t think that this poster was very expensive to make; the simple shot of the lift with the special effect of the fire doesn’t look as if it cost a lot to make. This suggests that maybe the production team didn’t have much money to spend on advertising, which ties in with the fact that there aren’t any stars names suggesting that perhaps the poster was in fact on a budget to make.

     I think that the poster is extremely effective because the poster does everything needed; it suggests to the audience what the content of the film may be, and also gives in hints not only of the genre of horror but also the sub genre of religion and the devil. The poster also draws the audience in by keeping it plain and simple, making the audience want to know more whereas if the poster contained a lot of information and was designed in a busy fashion, this could put the audience off as they may not want to find anymore out.

     It communicates quite effectively with the audience in a sense that the audience are given the vital information a poster is to give without giving too much of the plot away. From the poster, we know that the film title, a general outline of the story and the setting. We are told these so that the audience has something to want to come and find out. The things we are not told are not put on the poster on purpose so that the audience has something to want to come back and see. We are not told who is in the film, any character names/picture, what the possible outcome could be etc. This is what makes the audience want to come and watch the film, as they want to find out this information; if they knew this information already it might put them off wanting to see it.

     There are no example of any readings harming the message of the marketing campaign for this poster; there is nothing on the poster distracting the audience from the main and sub messages of the poster.

     The poster is not generally offensive, although some Christians may take offense to the upside down cross as they may see this as an attack on their religion. Other than this, there is nothing really much offending on this poster.