This is the official poster for the movie ‘Silent Hill’
which belongs to the supernatural/psychological sub-genre. I think it is a
great poster to analyse as its layout and content follows the traditional codes
and conventions of supernatural horrors. It may not be particularly scary but I
feel it intrigues the audience to find out more about ‘Silent Hill’.
The main image is unconventional within the supernatural
sub-genre because most posters use a medium or a medium-long shot whereas this
image shows an extreme long shot. This could be done to present the woman in
the image (presumably the protagonist) as completely alone, and so she has no
one there to help her; this provokes fear within the audience. The environment
around her is completely isolated; all the audience can see is an open ended
road. Isolated locations are a typical convention for the horror genre and are quite
a popular technique in scaring the target audience. The welcome sign overpowers
the image and the phrase upon it seems ironic to the audience as ‘welcome’ is
meant to make the audience feel safe and excited but instead it is meant with a
sinister undertone further frightening the audience. The font is serif which
creates a formal look, this could be because the title is placed on a welcome
sign which traditionally are made to look appealing for newcomers; this is
ironic as the sign looks far from welcoming. The image is extremely simple and
does not give away too much of the narrative, this is an excellent technique to
activate the target audience’s curiosity and so conversations will begin
amongst the target audience about the movie, further pushing its promotion. The
lighting also breaks conventions as usually posters use profile or back
lighting to create terror or emphasise the character on the poster however in
this poster the light is emanating from behind the sign that welcomes visitors
to ‘Silent Hill’. This makes the audience feel uneasy as it is if what lies
behind the sign and in ‘Silent Hill’ is unknown, eerie and ghost-like. As an
extreme long shot is used and because the character is walking away from the
camera, we are unable to see her face and facial expressions, this adds to the
ambiguity element of the poster. Her costume seems to be an outdoor coat of a pale,
beige colour which almost blends the character into the background, this can
represent how she is about to be enveloped into the dangerous world in which
she is entering. Also the pallid colour could mirror the lifeless and drained
face of someone when they are frightened. An interesting effect used in the
poster is the mist that takes up the majority of the frame. Similarly to the
lighting, the mist creates a ghost-like and sickly atmosphere for the target
audience and makes them wonder is they are seeing the image in its true light.
Mist connotes unfamiliarity and ambiguity and so implying that there is
something to hide and perhaps that all will become clear once the movie has
been viewed.
‘Silent Hill’ is the name of the movie and so the title of
the poster. The audience are able to draw several meanings from the title of
the poster; the big welcome sign show the audience that ‘Silent Hill’ is the
name of a town/ city but also ‘silent’
could represent that people in that town are keeping quiet or hiding a secret
and so this is why they are ‘silent’. This links back to the lighting and mist which
also indicate that there is something to be revealed. The words themselves are
the largest piece of text on the poster and an unusual typeface has been used
as the letters look like they have been distorted; just like life in the movie
is distorted and unclear. They appear to be dripping like wet paint, which
could symbolise blood dripping or the draining of a human soul. The colour
black is used to emphasise these images and represents something quite
sinister. Also it contrasts with the light background making it eye-catching
for the target audience. The serif font on the sign, being
traditional, also suggests that the sign is old and that the town, therefore,
has a history. With horrors, this could suggest an ancient curse or paranormal
happenings. 'Hill' does not sound particularly scary but it could indicate the idea of the
protagonist having to overcome something big that is about to loom over her or
the idea of not knowing what it coming (when you mount a hill, you don’t know
what sits on the other side). Furthermore the title is positioned near bottom of the
page so that it does not steal focus from the main image as the image is going
to play the biggest part in luring the target audience into watching the movie.
The tagline ‘ We've been expecting you’ successfully anchors
the main image by reinforcing the idea that the character is walking into a new
town. This makes the target audience think that the antagonist has something
frightening planned once she enters ‘Silent Hill’; sending a chill down the
audience’s spine. The tagline also disturbs the audience and satisfies their
thrill-seeking needs whist simultaneously stirring their curiosity as it
cunningly teases the target audience. It is placed just above the title as it
will have affect on the audience that the title itself. Similarly to the
lighting, the tagline is in a ghost-like white colour. The poster is successful
in using innocent colours and portraying them in a negative way. This is a
typical convention for supernatural horrors; it leaves the audience thinking
that the antagonist has the power to turn anything into evil.
At the very bottom of the poster, in a small typeface is the
production information, it is placed there because it is of no significance to
the audience and so therefore should not take away any attention from the main
image.; placing the institutional information is another traditional convention
for horror posters. Horror movies usually use unknown actors and normally do
not expose the names of the actors they do use, on the poster so the actors can
remain unknown; this means the protagonist could represent anyone.
White, grey, and beige are the main colours which dominate
the poster. They all re-enforce the sub-genre of the film as they look
ghost-like, lifeless and drained and also create a dull, dim and death-like
mood.
All these techniques combined have made a successful film
poster which can lure in the target audience with the main image and also
provide just the right information about the narrative. The title, image and
tagline successfully anchor each other making the poster clear to understand.
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