How Horror Posters have Developed through the Ages?By Izabella Tulip-Parkin

The main focus of the image

is the monster the

combination of the tittle

looming over the monster

head casting a shadow

creating sinister and eerie

image. The tagline is simple and

to the point states a vary

basic summary of the

story.

The title is bold and

vibrant using red and

yellow creating this

feeling as if the letters

are on fire maybe

relating a key scene in

the film or hinting at the

storyline.

The illustrations at the

bottom left and right of the

image bring to light the

other main characters of

the film and try to further

convey to the audience

hints at the storyline and

prompt some form of

horror in them and

anticipation when going to

see the film.

The page itself isn’t very

cluttered , the layout is

simple, but the variety of

colours and the bold

images is what brings the

poster to life.

Also features a list of

actors/actresses and the

director for the film.

194

1

1959The images are key to the

poster the concept of a

women hanging her self and

this large looming skeleton

standing over her and the

house , would have

effectively shocked and

horrified the audience of the

time. Also the horror is

amplified by this delicate

figure of a women she looks

like the damsel in distress

and quite angelic, which is

convey through the way in

which the delicate yellow

dress hangs off her.

The titles font perfectly

forms into the hill and the

man stood behind the

lettering, it looks as if is has

naturally grown their. It

follows along with the wind

swept look that the top part

of the image conveys.

The angle at which the house

has been drawn creates this

feel as the viewer that it is

looming over you and trying to

lure you in. The ay in which

the skeleton stands looking

over the hole image creates

this feel that death plays a

large part in this horror film.

The images at either corner

hint at key character and

aspects of the plot. The

mysterious and ghostly lit

figure holding the eyeless

head creates a sense of

horror for the audience along

side the small image of the

man drowning as a fisherman

watches sets the mood for the

film . Convey it will be filled

with mysteries, secrets and

the men can not be trusted.

This poster in comparison to

the last is a lot more daring for

the time as the imagery is a lot

more daring and horrifying. The

key women on this poster is a

lot more seductively dressed.

The poster itself is a lot more

detailed and includes more

imagery give the audience a

better idea of what the film will

include.

1980The rotates around the

most famous scene

from the film. The

movement within the

image effectively

brings the image to life.

The juxtaposition

created by the horrified

look on the woman's

face compared to the

satisfaction and crazed

look of joy on Jack’s

face effectively

enhance the shock and

horror of the audience.

The font used for the title

is bold and

simple, seems that the

designer have created

their own style of font for

the film, which meant it

became quite an iconic

font type.

The actor/actress and

directors name are bold

and simple. The layout is

simple , but effectively

gives the viewer an

insite into what the film is

about. What works

extremely effectively is

the designer has let the

film speak for itself and

left the viewer to make

their on decision on what

the storyline entails.

When comparing the last poster

to this one although their was a

massive leap in date, concept

are still the same, yet designer

have refined the poster it isn’t

as cluttered and they have

given audience the chance to

use their imagination, instead

of giving a basic outline of the

movie. They have also reverted

to images instead of illustration

which works more effectively

when trying to bring the poster

to life. Simplicity is key to this

poster .

1992The tagline is simple

and gives the audience

a hint into what the

concept for the storyline

is, although I feel the

tagline maybe be a bit

overly simplified.

The eye seamlessly

fades into the white

background creating

a perfect canvas for

the lettering.

The extreme close up of the

eyes work perfectly in

encapsulating the audience

as you can see all the hair

follicles and the finer details

on the eye. The reflection

on the eye is simple, but

effective way of showing a

key character yet keeping

them a mystery as they are

a silhouette . The fear is

create by the wasp touching

her eye as the concept for

most people of getting

something trapped in your

eye or someone touching it

sets horror in

people, makes them feel

squeamish. A perfect

example of that is ‘Un Chien

Andalou’ directed by Dali

which consists of a vary

famous where by someone

cuts another persons

eyeball. The concept is

horrifying .

The font for the title

angular shapes look

as if they are

supposed to

represented some

form of bee/wasp

hive. Its quite an

iconic font, as its

looks to have been

designed specifically

for the film. In comparison to the last poster

the designer have seemed to

revert back to using a lot more

words, but the layout is still

simple. The image itself is a lot

more cryptic as it makes the

audience work harder to

understand what the film is

about. The difference with this

poster is that you would have to

watch the film to understand

the references. However overall

the finer details in the poster

effectively draws the audience

in and creates an eerie and

horrifying atmosphere.

2013

The image is

haunting with the

large country house

in the background

smother with fog , to

sprawling tree which

has a noose hung

from its branch, it’s a

classic set up for a

horror film. The image

almost looks like the

front cover of a novel.

The finer details are

key to this image

specifically the

silhouette of what looks

like a child in a night

gown being hung on

the ground, giving hints

to the audience about

the storyline.

The novel like poster

is further emphasized

through the simple

font used for the title.

The tagline hints at the

fact the director may

shoot the film in a

documentary style or

could be trying to miss

lead the audience into

believing the horror of

the film which enhance

the fear of the audience

as the film may use a

realistic story line.

Finally through the out the

imagery has slowly developed

and become more technical in

this final poster we can see how

technology and editing has

become key to posters. As the

finer details seem key to creating

the horror. The imagery itself is a

lot more life like. Follow on from

the 80’s one thing that seems to

be a constant is the simple

layout of the poster with on the

necessary words and imagery

on. They key thing which they

have developed and become

more effective with doing is not

going away to much of the

storyline and leave such an

amount of mystery that the

viewer feel they need to see the

film