(Film poster)
(Screen shot from offical website)
(Screen shot of App available)
This is the film poster
for ‘The Devil Inside’ released in 2012 a documentary style horror based on a
young woman documenting her encounters of exorcisms on her trip to Rome to discover
whether the murders her mother committed were down to demonic possession directed
by William Bell Brent it belongs to the supernatural genre, it is the official film
poster. I have chosen to analyse this poster so I can gain some inspiration for
the key elements needed to make a successful film poster for the supernatural
genre.
The poster fulfils the
general layout conventions for a film poster the image is the most predominate
item followed by the film title, furthermore the poster features a tagline and
a release date additionally there is a link to promotional website
‘devilinsidemovie.com’.
The main image featured
within the poster is of a demonic nun, I think this is an effective image as
first of all the image is extremely striking Nuns are normally associated with
religion, God, purity and love. However these expectations are diminished in
this poster as the Nun is presented as demonic this image will be disturbing to
the audience and therefore will intrigue them. The nun relates to common
conventions of supernatural horrors, religious imagery is a common convention
of supernatural horrors as exorcisms are often sought after to rid people of
evil spirits, more over the nun’s glazed over white eyes are a common feature
of possessed people creating expectations for the audience that the film will
involve demonic possessions and exorcisms. Overall the nun looks inhumane and
evil as her face is expressionless and her eyes are soulless. Although this is the only image used within
the poster this is extremely effective as it is striking and unconventional.
Over the image a scratched etched effect has been used this could relate to the
scratching of the victims of the exorcisms as the demon tries to cling onto its
victims.
The film title is ‘Devil
Inside’ religious imagery is used with the name of the Devil, which within Christianity
Is described as the chief of evil spirits Satan. Furthermore the name of the film suggests of
a theme of demonic possession as the ‘devil’ is ‘inside’ revealing that the
films narrative revolves around exorcisms which are used within Christianity as
a way of ridding a person of the evil spirits that possess them. The title of
the film is in a serif style font this mirrors the text used within the bible,
and official documents, the ‘Devil Inside’ is the largest piece of text on the
page as it’s the most important piece of text used on within the poster. The
text is unusual as a backwards ‘D’ is used this could be a symbol that
something is wrong. The title is in white, used to contrast against the black
background of the nun, white is often is linked to peace and purity the
opposite of the Devil however white could also symbolize the absence of colour.
There are two taglines
used the first is ‘Inspired by true events’ this tagline is used to further the
audience interests the fact that ‘The Devil Inside’ is based on true events is
more intriguing and bewildering, as the audience wonder whether they could encounter
the same situation themselves and creates a greater sense of realism. Moreover the
tag line is also linked to the style of filming as the devil inside is filmed
in a documentary style. The same style of font is used for the tagline as in
the header for consistency and to keep the text used interlinked, however this
tagline is in red to differentiate that it is not the main tagline but a piece
of information. The use of the colour red is significant as red can symbolize
the devil, blood, passion and hell.
The second tag line used
is ‘No soul is safe’ again suggesting that even pure and holy souls such as the
nun who is featured on within the poster is not safe from the Devil alarming the audience from this evil. It also
relates to the films narrative as it reinforces the concept that the film is
surrounds the idea of demonic possession and exorcisms. However the tagline
used is not a complete revelation to the audience as it leaves a sense of mystery
and wonder as to what it is that ‘No soul is safe’ from. The tagline is in the
same colour and font as the film title which reflects that it is the most
important tagline featured furthermore the tagline is placed just under the
title the main piece of text within the whole poster.
Other text used in the
poster includes the release date ‘In theatres January 6th’ this is
important for the audience to plan when they are going to go watch the film,
moreover cinemas have introduced pre-booking systems for popular films so fans
can get their tickets for the date of release. In addition to this the official
film website is listed at the bottom of the poster devilinsidemovie.com this is
another important promotional piece of information as the website features the official
trailer and allows you to share with friends via social networking sites
Facebook and Twitter. There is also a small summary About the film, furthermore
you can view a gallery of horrific movie stills which you can also share, there
is a link to the apple shop where you can purchase the devil inside app
furthermore you can sign up to updates.
Overall I think this is an
effective film poster as it clearly demonstrates the genre of the film and informs
the audience of the general narrative and genre of the film without giving too
much away, however if the audience do seek further information they can visit
the film website and watch the trailer. Also I think the main image used for
the poster is really powerful and disturbing it will definitely attract members
of the audience who are seeking the adrenaline rush and the scare.
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