- Natasha
Poster Analysis 3
Dead Silence
The reference to the directors is a convention of a horror movie poster, in this case referring to other horror movies creating expectations amongst the audience and drawing the audience from an existing film to the new one.
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The colour scheme is dark with accents of red and white, red indicating blood and danger, while white seems ghostly. This is a typical convention of horror movie posters. White could also indicate purity, a feature which could imply the protagonists in the narrative as well as the small quantity of it portraying the little good in comparison to the overwhelming evil in the film. The darkness in the poster creates a mysterious tone, making it unknown to what is happening around the doll. This makes the audience want to find out what happens in the movie. It also signifies the darkness in the film, giving the idea that the movie is very dark and evil.
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The dominant central image on the poster is the antagonist, the ventriloquist dummy. It's hand is sinister looking, made from textured wood and sustaining extreme injury. The rotten hand over the dummy's mouth is a connotation of the word silence or be quiet, this links with the title 'Dead Silence', portraying the narrative, where screaming can lead to your death. Also the dead looking hand suggests that there is to be much death in the narrative of the film and that maybe ghosts will be involved. Children's toys in horror movies are often manipulated in order to create a contrast between the good which they should be and the evil which they are, making their devious acts more shocking and menacing. Ventriloquist puppets are seen as a scary image in Horror and are widely used. The doll is looking directly at the audience, making them feel as if is watching them with a threatening presence. This is also effective as it does not give to much about the film away.
The tagline directly references death and addresses the audience using the word 'you'. This is a typical convention in horror movies. The tagline also reinforces the idea of the film being about silence or death, it effectively creates suspense while not giving too much away, leaving the audience wanting more and questioning why. It creates a sense of curiosity and fear.
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Additional information is shown here to allow the audience to find out more about the film.
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