Side by Side Poster

When creating my horror poster, I wanted to make sure that I followed the conventions of a horror poster so that my poster would fit within the genre. One convention I have followed is the use of low key lighting which is a common device used in horror films and therefore their posters because of the dark themes that are usually present. I also used the iconography of a phallic symbol in my poster with the weapon shown. This is similar to the Child’s Play 2 (1990) poster shown above, however this poster shows the villain holding the weapon whereas mine shows what appears to be the victim, as she is tied up. I used this image because I wanted the plot to be a little unclear which would attract my target demographic because I’ve subverted the convention of victims being weak, powerless females. The expressionist angle in the image also ensures that the focus is on the knife and only shows the lower half of the victims body so they don’t get to have a face.

Another convention of film posters that I have used is the layout, with the billing block at the bottom of the poster. I have also included a tagline on my poster, “Love Hurts” which hints at a relationship between the victim and the villain, however due to the image I have used I decided to have this tagline on the right hand side rather than at the top which is where it usually is.

The colour red is a convention of horror posters because it signifies blood and danger. The red is subtle in the poster for Child’s Play 2 with only the ‘2’ and parts of his clothing being the colour, whereas I have used the red as the predominant colour in my poster because I wanted the blood to be a main feature.