Film poster analysis: The Devil Inside

(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 6^th’ 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.

Film Poster Analysis: The woman in black.

The film that is being promoted in this poster is ‘The woman in black’ directed by James Watkins, the story centres around a Lawyer Arthur Kipps, played by Daniel Radcliffe, he is struggling at work as he is still grieving for his deceased wife who died whilst given childbirth to their son Joseph. His employer gives him the opportunity to redeem himself in his career his employee sends him to a isolated village to sort out the estate which belonging to a deceased woman the villagers attempt to make him leave the town however their efforts fail as he refuses to. However to his horror he discovers that the house is haunted by the ‘woman in black’ a woman who kills the children of the village because of the grief she has because her own child’s death. The woman in black belongs to the gothic/supernatural genre it is similar to the type of film I want to create as my film will have elements from the gothic/supernatural genre too. I have choose this poster as I think it is appealing as it shows the various scenes from the film this poster has been used to advertise the DVD and the audience will be able to identify the different images from various iconic scenes from the film, making the poster appealing to eye. I think the poster is mysterious and haunting as the images used around the frame of the main image of Daniel Radcliffe link into the tagline of ‘What did they see?’ This film poster maintains common layout conventions such as the main title of the film is the second most predominate item on the page except from the main image the text is easy to read, The font of the text used is in an old fashioned serriff font reflecting the time era that the film is set in and also that the genre of the film is gothic, furthermore the main image maintains conventions of featuring the main character as the main image however the poster also breaks conventions as it features smaller snapshots from the film around the frame this is because this poster was the official poster not a teaser poster which in comparison did not feature the main character Daniel Radcliffe. This poster also breaks conventions in its layout as it is common for horror films to use unknown or low key actors so the film is more realistic however the woman in black’s main character Arthur Kipps is played by worldwide known actor Daniel Radcliffe famously known for his roles as Harry Potter. I believe that the producers and directors of the woman in black have chosen to use Daniel Radcliffe as this horror film was originally released as a 12A however although this film is targeted at a pre-teen and upward audience as they received 120 complaints to the BBFC. Moreover the poster features the main actors name across the top of the poster this breaks the convention of actors remaining anonymous, however I believe the poster has been advertised this way as the producers may aim the film at a similar target audience to the Harry Potter films moreover the Harry Potter films are from the Fantasy genre and contain elements from the gothic genre. The main image featured in the poster of the woman in black show’s Daniel Radcliffe peering through a window, throughout around the edges of the window different snapshots of the film appear, the first is of a child’s doll which has been abandoned this reflects the deaths of all the children the woman in black has captured, the second is the woman in blacks house eel marsh establishing the setting of the film to the audience, the third is threatening writing on the wall reading ‘you could have saved him’ this reflects that the woman in black is attempting to communicate with Arthur Kipps and her presence is threatening and bitter, the fourth shows two young girls who lives were taken by the woman in black showing that her victims are innocent, the use of children within horror is a significant piece of iconography as children are often seen as innocent it is therefore twisted and unexpected that they would be associated with evil entities it is also thought upon that children are more vulnerable to supernatural the next image is an action shot of Arthur Kipps running showing that perhaps he is fearful of the woman in black, the next shot is of the woman in black and her son their eyes have scrawled out suggesting that perhaps they have no souls and are supernatural beings, the final image is of Daniel Radcliffe as it shows him holding a lantern he looks bewildered showing his reaction to the woman in black. All of the images are in black and white except for the colour focus on Daniel Radcliffe’s eye I think this is an effective piece of editing as it relates to the tagline of ‘What did they see?’ through the images around the frame the audience see through the eyes of Arthur Kipp and his memories he has collected from eel marsh house. I think this image is effective however it may be too much of a revelation for those members of the audience who have not seen the film yet they will not identify the scenes the images come from however they will still understand what the images symbolize and this may give away too much of the plot and not leave enough sense of mystery for the audience. However the poster does not feature any images of the Woman in Black so therefore it still maintains a element of mystery as the force of the happenings is not revealed leaving the audience questioning ‘What did they see?’.

Film Poster Overview

Film Poster Overview

Questionnaire

I carried out a questionnaire in order to find out more information about my target audience below I have embedded a copy of the questionnaire, I have also scanned four copies of the questionnaire as an example of some of the responses I recieved, Furthermore I have overall summarised my findings through charts and graphs aswell as an analysis of the open ended questions and what I have learnt from the questionnaire.

Questionnaire from Ambergoonesekera

Focus Group (Research into Target Audience)

To gain further insight into my target audience I carried out a focus group to intensify the responses and to add to the information I found in my questionnaire analysis, below I have embedded a copy of the questions I asked the participants aswell as the film trailers I showed them, furthermore I filmed the responses I gained and I have made a summary of what I have learnt. Focus Group Questions

Target Audience Profile

The target audience for my film will be not be limited to males or females but both genders, as watching horror films is a form of social bonding for both couples and friendship groups. The age range for my target audience will be 15-25 years old. The target audience will be prodimantely students or those who were students as the main characters who will feature within my horror will be history students thus the film will be more effective if the audience can identify with the victims as they can empathise with the characters also they may imagine themselves going through a similar situation  adding to the overall scare factor of the film.

Some members of the target audience will be 'in a relationship' and will enjoy watching horrors curled up next to their partner, other members of the target audience may be 'single' and may enjoy gathering with their close circle of friends preparing for the andrenaline rush of being scared.

The Target audience are your average students in their spare time they will enjoy socialising with friends, visting clubs, pubs, and gigs. However the Target Audience are intelligent and academic they enjoy reading, and take an interest in current affairs around the world, they are daring and inqusitive they may have been travelling or may be planning to travel in the future. They enjoy new experiences and crave the scare and adrenanline rush that horror films offer. They may already hold an interest in the Vampiric genre and may watch modern adaptions of the vampire legend such as 'The vampire diaries'.

They are avid horror film watchers they enjoy the experience that going to watch the latest horror films offer them. Some horrors they have seen and enjoyed include the paranormal activity series, drag me to hell, the haunting in conneticut, grave encounters, and the woman in black.

The favourite sub-genre of the target audience is the supernatural genre thetarget  audience find this genre the most thrilling as the force is invisible and uncontrollable in comparison to other genres such as Slashers were the killer is a merely a human.

Choosing a sub-genre

The first step into my research and planning was to choose a sub-genre of Horror. After looking at the main genre's of horror including slasher, physcological, and gothic.  I have opted to make a trailer for the supernatural genre with elements of gothic.

The supernatural genre revolves around the concept of victims being terrorised by a supernatural force. It is a common feature for innocent victims in many cases children to be possessed by a evil spirit. This became a popularized convention of supernatural horrors with the release of The Excorcist in 1973, the story line features a innocent young girl who becomes possessed by a demonic spirit. Furthermore religous imagery is often used within the supernatural genre as often excorcisms by priests are seen as the remedy to evil/demonic happenings, the Devil is also a common symbol used within the supernatural genre. Most recently the documentary style film the 'Devil inside' released in 2012 was filmed within the Catholic vatican in rome and showed a young woman investigating whether or not the murders committed by her mother were due to her being possessed. Moreover the use of documentary style filming/found footage has become a common style of filming used within the supernatural genre to create a more realistic setting for the audience. Audiences are often plagued with special effects within films that they soon become desenstized to it and can distinguish between what is real and what is false. However when audience are given raw footage it is much harder to distinguish whether it is genuine or not. The Paranormal Activity film's are most famous for this as they show found footage of families which document the supernatural experiences they have.

                         (A still taken from 'The excorcist' the main character a possessed young girl)

(A still taken from 'The Devil inside' showing demonic nuns around the vatican in rome)

(A still taken from 'Paranormal activity 4'  raw footage of a girl being recorded by her webcam being lifted into the air by the force of a possessed child)


I also want to include elements of the Gothic horror as my storyline will feature a legend of a vampire. The gothic genre is a mix of Goth literature and the horror genre. One of the earliest and most iconic films of the horror genre was 'Dracula' a cultural icon of the vampire genre. Dracula was famous for being handsome although his apperance was decieving he wished to lure his victims into a false sense of security before he attacked. Within film and television currently the vampiric genre is gaining popularity through vampire fiction including The Twilight Saga and The Vampire Diaries. The most recent Gothic horrors released was 'The Woman in black' which follows the haunting of a woman who kills the children in the village in revenge for her own sons life. The gothic genre interelates with the supernatural genre as it features hauntings, curses, legends, supernatural beings and evil.

(A still taken from Dracula luring his female victim)

 

(A still taken from the Twilight Saga Bella a modern day vampire)

(A still taken from the woman in black currently the most recent Gothic horror)