Poster analysis of "Drag me to hell"

There are three main consistent colours used in this poster; black, gray and orange. The dark 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 therefore is suited to the conventions of horror. The orange and red fire contrasts to the dark colours and therefore is one of the main elements in the poster. This is done purposely as the symbols and connotations associate to the title of the film “Drag Me To Hell” and become one of the main focus of the poster as hell is a place of uncomfortable heat and fire. The fire also suggests that the lead character pictured above is being the victim dragged to hell in the poster, showing that the poster is containing an image of disequilibrium, which reinforces my expectations as this is typical of most posters.

It is clear to the audience that the character in the poster is the victim. The film has followed the stereotypical convention of having a vulnerable woman as a victim as women are seen to be defenceless against the villain and weaker than men. The victim's facial expression convey pain and suffering by the three hands and there's also a sense that she is possessed. This attracts the target audience as the most iconic films such as Paranormal Activity, The Exorcist include elements of the paranormal. The blonde hair of the victim is purposely put over the dark sky so that it stands out. 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 this film will subvert your expectations.

The house behind the character is isolated and surrounded by darkness which suggests that it's the victim's house, as darkness connotes evil and the unknown that is lurking which you cannot see. The use of minimal lighting connotes to the period of disequilibrium that something bad shall occur. The house is an average suburban house which again heightens the fear of the audience as the audience can relate to their own lives.

The tagline reads : "Christine has a good job, a great boyfriend and a bright future. But in three days she's going to hell." This raises questions in the readers mind. The title font does not give anything away but still stands out against the orange background.

The mise-en-scene such as the costume,hair and make - up of the victim is that of an average person's which makes the film even scarier as the audience can relate this to themselves. The three hands inform the audience that the villain is something super natural and inhumane dragging the victim in to the fire.

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 makes sense as it connotes with the denotation of three hands, and 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.

This is a teaser poster as it says "coming soon" rather than stating an official release date. This indicates the audience will have to be proactive in order to find out more information about the film.