Poster Analysis – The Human Centipede

The Human Centipede has become infamous as one of the most creepy and ‘messed-up’ horror films ever. It revolves around a twisted German Doctor who dreams of creating a half-man-half-centipede type creature. When his dogs ran away after his first experiment, he decides to take it to human testing.

The poster contains colours that are typically not seen on others of a horror film. The shade of green, something that is not normally associated with the horror genre. These colours give off a clinical feel, very fitting due to the nature of the film. Also, the small splats of blood show the danger that the characters are in.

When we look at the main image of the poster, We can clearly see that something is wrong. We’re able to see that the figure that we can see is human, with six arms spread out to create the shape of a centipede. As soon as the viewer sees this, they can tell that this isn’t a normal horror film, but more a psychological film. The viewer immediately becomes intrigued as to what the film will contain.

The typography that has been used on this poster shows the urgency of the films nature. The way that “The Human Centipede” has differing font sizes represents the abnormality of the Doctor’s brain and the insanity of the situation that the victims are in. Even the name of the film is fairly chilling.

Overall, this is a very effective poster. Mainly due to the fact that all of the elements featured add up to create a quite unnerving image of what the film will consist of.

Poster Analysis – Chernobyl Diaries

Chernobyl Diaries is about a group of 6 tourists who hire an “Extreme Tour Guide” to take them around Chernobyl. This trip soon goes wrong and discover that they are not the only people in the abandoned town.

This is one of the better posters for a horror film. This is because is subverts the general perception of what a horror poster should contain. Instead of featuring the characters of the film, it instead shows the location that the film is set.

Above the town, there is a floating Nuclear sign that represents the devastating event that happened in this town. But, it’s also displayed as if it were a ghost. This to further show to the viewer that there is something strange going on in this deserted town.

The colours that have been used on this poster help to illustrate that this film, or the town, is eerie in nature. It also shows the genre of the film. The colour of some of the text also helps to show that this town contains danger or evil. the colour red is often associated with this.

The typography that has been used on this poster further helps to represent that the town is abandoned. This can be seen through the use of the slightly distorted and destroyed font that has been used on the title of the film.

Poster Analysis – The Crazies

 

The Crazies is a film about a small town names Ogden Marsh. This town’s water supply becomes infected and turns the people who drink it insane and murderous.

As is often the case with horror posters, a person can be seen on the poster. But, what’s different is that this isn’t a main character of the film. This is a person who has been affected by the water. But this wouldn’t really be known but someone who hasn’t watched the film. So, because of this, the person on the poster doesn’t really have much of an impact.

However, the person on the poster is holding a pitch-fork in his hand and his shirt is splattered with blood. This helps to represent what type of film this is going to be. For example, the viewer is able to tell that it isn’t a ghost film. They are clearly able to see that this is a Splatter Film.

The typography used in this trailer really represents the overall tone of the film. The chaotic font that has been in “The Crazies” helps to represent hectic nature of the film and the feeling of the towns people.

There is also a blood stain on “Happiest Place” This helps to that the town within the film is not a place that one would expect to see a film of this type take place.

Poster Analysis – 30 Days of Night

 

This is a film about a small town that is cut off by snow for thirty days and nights each year. But one year, a group of vampires inhabits the town, leaving a group of survivors, to, survive.

This poster really subverts the general conventions of horror posters and really pushes the boundaries of what the viewer would expect.

Most other posters show some, if not all of the main characters that are in the film. Whereas, this one only shows a black silhouette of, what could be, a vampire or a survivor in the town. This really allows the view to speculate as to what the film is going to be about.

There are only two colours that have been used on this poster. They both represent something that features in the film. They both represent blood. The black being the colour of the blood of the vampires, and the red being the colour of the blood of the humans. This helps to represent the general tone of the film and the general colours that are going to feature in the film.

Overall, this is one of the better posters that I have seen for a horror film. I think this because it allows you to get the general feeling of the film, without reveling any of the plot or main characters.

Poster Analysis – Smiley

Smiley is the story of a group of people who are being stalked, and murdered by a serial killer who has nothing but a carved smiley face, on his face.

The poster follows the general conventions of a horror trailer because it shows the protagonist at the front of the group of people, the supporting characters around and behind her and finally the villain of the film above them all.

The fact that the villain is above the group shows that he is ‘looming’ over them as suggests that he is a key character to the plot of the film. It also suggests that he is above all the other characters in the film and even controlling them to some extent.

The typography that has been used in this poster is also a type of font that is used on a lot of other horror posters. It isn’t one that really stands out as being something different or amazing. However, it does stand out against the darker colours that are featured on the poster.

Overall, this poster is very similar to a lot of the other posters for horror films. But it does allow the viewer to get an idea of the different roles that each character plays within the film.