Horror movie magazines:
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Horror movie posters:
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Trailers analysis:
Splatter:
The movie "Poltergeist" was released on 22 May 2015 in the UK; the film director being Gil Kenan. The movie wasn't actually the original. The first one was shot in 1982 and was directed by Tobe Hooper and Steven Spielberg. The gross for the original was $76, 606, 280 in the US. The movie is about a woman who one day switches the TV however it displays static. The following night, a white hand emerges from the TV followed by a violent earthquake. Strange things start to occur such as glasses randomly breaking, forks bending. Once these phenomenons escalate, Carol Anne is sucked into her closet into a portal. The family realises that she's speaking through the TV and is not alone. Eventually they get her out but on their last night at the house, they are attacked again. They try to escape, however, the cemetery is now erupting from the ground. Eventually, they find a way to escape the country as the house "implodes into the portal" and get rid of the TV. The poster used for this film has very minimal lighting connoting darkness which further connotes ideas of evilness. It also denotes a TV with static, the only source of light, which brings attention to it. The static in a way represents pathetic fallacy as it connotes disruption and causes uneasiness in the audience. The child putting their hands on the TV reverses the ideas of innocence and enforces the ideas of possession as they are drawn to the TV. The font used is glowing which brings forth ideas of supernatural forces as it is emitting some kind of energy further representing a ghostly energy/vibe. The trailer starts off with an overvoice and montage of the city before bringing us to a shot of the couple in bed. It then shoots a little girl approaching the TV and the sound becomes more sinister. The shots jump from scene to scene with mysterious violin sounds and flashing lights. All of this is done to build adrenaline and tension for the audience. The film reviews vary quite a lot. Some thought it was worth a 5/10 and was over rated as the plot didn't hold together, however, others gave it a 10/10 as the acting was credible and was "very scary".
The movie "Poltergeist" was released on 22 May 2015 in the UK; the film director being Gil Kenan. The movie wasn't actually the original. The first one was shot in 1982 and was directed by Tobe Hooper and Steven Spielberg. The gross for the original was $76, 606, 280 in the US. The movie is about a woman who one day switches the TV however it displays static. The following night, a white hand emerges from the TV followed by a violent earthquake. Strange things start to occur such as glasses randomly breaking, forks bending. Once these phenomenons escalate, Carol Anne is sucked into her closet into a portal. The family realises that she's speaking through the TV and is not alone. Eventually they get her out but on their last night at the house, they are attacked again. They try to escape, however, the cemetery is now erupting from the ground. Eventually, they find a way to escape the country as the house "implodes into the portal" and get rid of the TV. The poster used for this film has very minimal lighting connoting darkness which further connotes ideas of evilness. It also denotes a TV with static, the only source of light, which brings attention to it. The static in a way represents pathetic fallacy as it connotes disruption and causes uneasiness in the audience. The child putting their hands on the TV reverses the ideas of innocence and enforces the ideas of possession as they are drawn to the TV. The font used is glowing which brings forth ideas of supernatural forces as it is emitting some kind of energy further representing a ghostly energy/vibe. The trailer starts off with an overvoice and montage of the city before bringing us to a shot of the couple in bed. It then shoots a little girl approaching the TV and the sound becomes more sinister. The shots jump from scene to scene with mysterious violin sounds and flashing lights. All of this is done to build adrenaline and tension for the audience. The film reviews vary quite a lot. Some thought it was worth a 5/10 and was over rated as the plot didn't hold together, however, others gave it a 10/10 as the acting was credible and was "very scary".
Slasher:
The movie "Nightmare on Elm Street" was released on 30 April 2010; the director was Samuel Bayer and was actually a remake of the original filmed in 1984, director being Wes Craven. The original collectively grossed over $457 million at box office worldwide making it a financial success. The story originates from a newspaper article written in the 1970s in the LA times. A group of refugees in Cambodia were having recurring disturbing nightmares. The film is about a child molester who had finally been caught by the parents of the children he had molested and was being chased into an abandoned building which was set alight where he was burnt alive. The parents then began to suffer from disturbing nightmares preventing them from sleeping. Freddy Kreuger, the molester, then started killing off these children for exposing him and finally reached Nancy (one of his victims) and was finally killed, his remains burnt. The poster used denotes Freddy with his head bowed, hat hiding his face. His hands are clasped and we can see his claw. This claw connotes phallic imagery as it pierces through skin which I think is a suitable mis en scene due to the synopsis and his background. The lighting is minimal and his clothing is red and burnt all denotations which connote evilness, blood, death and violence - all very suitable for a slasher movie. The font used is red and is quite sharp looking further emphasising the connotations made. The trailer starts off by denoting a quiet abandoned surrounding with fast paced thudding music used to build adrenaline in the audience. The lighting is minimal to connote darkness and evilness. There's a lot of yelling which further builds that adrenaline. All of the clothing is very dark which could potentially imply that bad things are to come. The short cut of children jumping rope and the sound of a child singing a childhood song is used to subvert the idea of children being innocent. The camera cuts from scene to scene whilst the music's pace also changes from fast to slow creating a sense of uneasiness. The writing's font used for the title and pieces of texts throughout the trailer is red to represent blood and violence. The target audience for the movie would be for teenagers/young adults as they are the same age group that frequently go to cinemas and all the stories and songs once learnt when an infant now being subverted would have a greater impact in terms of emotional pleasure. The film reviews and crits were largely positive; people enjoyed a classic horror and the impression it left them.
The movie "Nightmare on Elm Street" was released on 30 April 2010; the director was Samuel Bayer and was actually a remake of the original filmed in 1984, director being Wes Craven. The original collectively grossed over $457 million at box office worldwide making it a financial success. The story originates from a newspaper article written in the 1970s in the LA times. A group of refugees in Cambodia were having recurring disturbing nightmares. The film is about a child molester who had finally been caught by the parents of the children he had molested and was being chased into an abandoned building which was set alight where he was burnt alive. The parents then began to suffer from disturbing nightmares preventing them from sleeping. Freddy Kreuger, the molester, then started killing off these children for exposing him and finally reached Nancy (one of his victims) and was finally killed, his remains burnt. The poster used denotes Freddy with his head bowed, hat hiding his face. His hands are clasped and we can see his claw. This claw connotes phallic imagery as it pierces through skin which I think is a suitable mis en scene due to the synopsis and his background. The lighting is minimal and his clothing is red and burnt all denotations which connote evilness, blood, death and violence - all very suitable for a slasher movie. The font used is red and is quite sharp looking further emphasising the connotations made. The trailer starts off by denoting a quiet abandoned surrounding with fast paced thudding music used to build adrenaline in the audience. The lighting is minimal to connote darkness and evilness. There's a lot of yelling which further builds that adrenaline. All of the clothing is very dark which could potentially imply that bad things are to come. The short cut of children jumping rope and the sound of a child singing a childhood song is used to subvert the idea of children being innocent. The camera cuts from scene to scene whilst the music's pace also changes from fast to slow creating a sense of uneasiness. The writing's font used for the title and pieces of texts throughout the trailer is red to represent blood and violence. The target audience for the movie would be for teenagers/young adults as they are the same age group that frequently go to cinemas and all the stories and songs once learnt when an infant now being subverted would have a greater impact in terms of emotional pleasure. The film reviews and crits were largely positive; people enjoyed a classic horror and the impression it left them.
Psychological:
The film "The Shining" was released 13 June 1980 and was directed by Stanley Kubrick. The gross for this film was $44, 017, 374 in the US in 7 months. It wasn't the hugest financial success however still made more than double the money invested into it. The film was a recreation of its novel. It's about a man who once was an alcoholic and has now mentally been disturbed due to dreams. He is then triggered by something and traumatises his wife and son once his bad side has "awoken" until they find a way to escape the hotel in which they were trapped in. The poster used for this film is of the alcoholic, Jack, with his head through a partially broken door. This emphasises the destruction throughout the film. It is further connoted through his facial expression which is very menacing. The font used for the text is large however is 2 different sizes to perhaps show how uneasy you would feel throughout the movie. The white further stands out from the rest of the poster and is bright which could perhaps represent Jack. The trailer denotes shots of the hotel with the over voice of a psychiatrist. There's eerie sounds with sudden screechy sounds and zoom ins to his face. Furthermore, there are violin sounds with cuts from scene to scene. This is all done to make the audience feel uneasy and to build suspension and adrenaline. The film crits found the movie to be one of the scariest. I strongly agree and believe that this was only said as ideas for horror movies hadn't fully developed and over a decade ago, this film would've been considered scary as there weren't many horrors filmed.
The film "The Shining" was released 13 June 1980 and was directed by Stanley Kubrick. The gross for this film was $44, 017, 374 in the US in 7 months. It wasn't the hugest financial success however still made more than double the money invested into it. The film was a recreation of its novel. It's about a man who once was an alcoholic and has now mentally been disturbed due to dreams. He is then triggered by something and traumatises his wife and son once his bad side has "awoken" until they find a way to escape the hotel in which they were trapped in. The poster used for this film is of the alcoholic, Jack, with his head through a partially broken door. This emphasises the destruction throughout the film. It is further connoted through his facial expression which is very menacing. The font used for the text is large however is 2 different sizes to perhaps show how uneasy you would feel throughout the movie. The white further stands out from the rest of the poster and is bright which could perhaps represent Jack. The trailer denotes shots of the hotel with the over voice of a psychiatrist. There's eerie sounds with sudden screechy sounds and zoom ins to his face. Furthermore, there are violin sounds with cuts from scene to scene. This is all done to make the audience feel uneasy and to build suspension and adrenaline. The film crits found the movie to be one of the scariest. I strongly agree and believe that this was only said as ideas for horror movies hadn't fully developed and over a decade ago, this film would've been considered scary as there weren't many horrors filmed.
Supernatural:
The movie "Sinister" was released 12 October 2012 and directed by Scott Derrickson. The film's gross in the US was over $48 million making it a financial success. The plot of this film was inspired by "The Ring" (another horror film) by the writer C. Robert Cargill. His idea was for the creature to be both "terrifying and seductive to children". The film is about a man who moves into a home with his family. Ellison finds a box in the attic of which contains a projector and footage. He later figures that the footage depicts different families being murdered by a mysterious character who would then kidnap a child. Things happen and they move back to their old home which only makes them the creature's next victim. The protagonists don't win in the end and one of their children are kidnapped by this creature. The poster used denotes a child dragging their hand across the wall leaving a trace of blood which forms a face. This blood connotes violence and death which is very suitable for the film. The cracks in the wall further represents some form of evilness and broken history. The title's font also appears "draggy" as if to represent blood dripping. The trailer starts with a dark surrounding and short explanation of what has been happening. The cuts between the scene and the suspenseful music increases adrenaline. The unusual sounds and flickering of scenes creates uneasiness in the audience along with the continuous sounds of clicking which further builds suspense.
The movie "Sinister" was released 12 October 2012 and directed by Scott Derrickson. The film's gross in the US was over $48 million making it a financial success. The plot of this film was inspired by "The Ring" (another horror film) by the writer C. Robert Cargill. His idea was for the creature to be both "terrifying and seductive to children". The film is about a man who moves into a home with his family. Ellison finds a box in the attic of which contains a projector and footage. He later figures that the footage depicts different families being murdered by a mysterious character who would then kidnap a child. Things happen and they move back to their old home which only makes them the creature's next victim. The protagonists don't win in the end and one of their children are kidnapped by this creature. The poster used denotes a child dragging their hand across the wall leaving a trace of blood which forms a face. This blood connotes violence and death which is very suitable for the film. The cracks in the wall further represents some form of evilness and broken history. The title's font also appears "draggy" as if to represent blood dripping. The trailer starts with a dark surrounding and short explanation of what has been happening. The cuts between the scene and the suspenseful music increases adrenaline. The unusual sounds and flickering of scenes creates uneasiness in the audience along with the continuous sounds of clicking which further builds suspense.
Monster:
The movie "Cloverfield" was released on 18 January 2008; the director was Matt Reeves. The film was a financial success as in the US, its gross was $80, 048, 433 in only 4 months. The film doesn't originate from an actual story, however all started when J.J Abrams visited a toy store with his son and saw toys of Godzilla and King Kong but wanted to see something more "insane and intense". The film "Cloverfield" is about a city under attack by a huge monster. The main character Rob, receives a call from his high school lover desperately looking for help and he goes off on a quest to rescue her despite the battle between the army and the monster. The poster for this film denotes the statue of liberty with its head broken off. In front of it is the city under destruction with smoke and flames emitting from the buildings. The lighting is dark which altogether emphasises the force of destruction and violence in this film. The lighting being minimal just connotes evilness. At the top of the poster denoted is a quote - "Some thing has found us". The words "some thing" emphasises the mysteriousness of what monster has destructed the city. The title of the movie is quite blurred. Some kind of special effect has been used to give it a digital look which is very suitable for the synopsis of the film as it's all based on the recordings made by a camcorder. The trailer starts off by denoting text on the screen explaining the camcorder being found. The text font in which it was intentionally done to, yet again, suit the camcorder theme. The recordings all have minimal lighting to connote evilness. The camera shots are unsteady to resemble a real camcorder. There are cuts between the guy speaking to the camcorder and scenes of the mass destruction taking place. The sound of digital corrections is frequent along with lots of scenes and the sounds of screaming, guns and explosions along with the sounds of the monster itself. All this contributes to the feeling of uneasiness in the audience and the build of adrenaline. The film crits seemed to have loved the build up of tension and suspense however the odd few found the synopsis very unrealistic, saying the camcorder wouldn't have survived etc.
The movie "Cloverfield" was released on 18 January 2008; the director was Matt Reeves. The film was a financial success as in the US, its gross was $80, 048, 433 in only 4 months. The film doesn't originate from an actual story, however all started when J.J Abrams visited a toy store with his son and saw toys of Godzilla and King Kong but wanted to see something more "insane and intense". The film "Cloverfield" is about a city under attack by a huge monster. The main character Rob, receives a call from his high school lover desperately looking for help and he goes off on a quest to rescue her despite the battle between the army and the monster. The poster for this film denotes the statue of liberty with its head broken off. In front of it is the city under destruction with smoke and flames emitting from the buildings. The lighting is dark which altogether emphasises the force of destruction and violence in this film. The lighting being minimal just connotes evilness. At the top of the poster denoted is a quote - "Some thing has found us". The words "some thing" emphasises the mysteriousness of what monster has destructed the city. The title of the movie is quite blurred. Some kind of special effect has been used to give it a digital look which is very suitable for the synopsis of the film as it's all based on the recordings made by a camcorder. The trailer starts off by denoting text on the screen explaining the camcorder being found. The text font in which it was intentionally done to, yet again, suit the camcorder theme. The recordings all have minimal lighting to connote evilness. The camera shots are unsteady to resemble a real camcorder. There are cuts between the guy speaking to the camcorder and scenes of the mass destruction taking place. The sound of digital corrections is frequent along with lots of scenes and the sounds of screaming, guns and explosions along with the sounds of the monster itself. All this contributes to the feeling of uneasiness in the audience and the build of adrenaline. The film crits seemed to have loved the build up of tension and suspense however the odd few found the synopsis very unrealistic, saying the camcorder wouldn't have survived etc.
Zombie:
The movie "Zombie" was released on 27 June 2002 and was directed by Danny Boyle. The gross box office in the US was over $45 million making it a financial success. The film is about a man who has woken up from a coma and is in a deserted city where everyone is infected and he must survive by escaping being infected too by the other zombies. The poster for this film denotes a red background. This connotes blood which further connotes violence and gore which is shown in the film. The hazard symbol placed behind the title represents what the film will include and the image of the main character walking across the city further depicts what the film consists of. The font used on the title is bold and resembles the fonts used on chemical labels etc which means it may have been used for that reason; to hint to people what the film is about by just looking at the poster. The trailer starts with animal sounds, screaming, alarm sounds and ambulances. The mixture of these sounds just emphasises how hectic things were however soon after, there's just silence which immediately builds suspense for the audience. The cuts between each scene cut are quite quick causing further uneasiness. The manic music in the background is then followed by some quiet gospel sound before going back to the loud music which builds adrenaline.
The movie "Zombie" was released on 27 June 2002 and was directed by Danny Boyle. The gross box office in the US was over $45 million making it a financial success. The film is about a man who has woken up from a coma and is in a deserted city where everyone is infected and he must survive by escaping being infected too by the other zombies. The poster for this film denotes a red background. This connotes blood which further connotes violence and gore which is shown in the film. The hazard symbol placed behind the title represents what the film will include and the image of the main character walking across the city further depicts what the film consists of. The font used on the title is bold and resembles the fonts used on chemical labels etc which means it may have been used for that reason; to hint to people what the film is about by just looking at the poster. The trailer starts with animal sounds, screaming, alarm sounds and ambulances. The mixture of these sounds just emphasises how hectic things were however soon after, there's just silence which immediately builds suspense for the audience. The cuts between each scene cut are quite quick causing further uneasiness. The manic music in the background is then followed by some quiet gospel sound before going back to the loud music which builds adrenaline.
Thriller:
The movie "The descent" was released on 4 August 2006 and was directed by Neil Marshall. The gross in the US was $26, 024, 456 making it a financial success as its budget was only roughly $3.5 million. The movie is about a group of ladies who go hiking however one of them gets trapped and the others go to try help her out however the walls cave in, trapping them all underneath the pile of rocks and rubble. One of them starts to notice animal and human bones and a creature hidden away watching them. At first no one believes her however come to the realisation that they are not alone. A few of the girls are killed of by a group of these creatures and violent ways (the ripping of necks etc.), one eaten alive. An altercation between the 2 girls left leaves one of them injured and left for the dead. Eventually, the final girl, Sarah attempts an escape however is knocked unconscious; she wakes, escapes the cave and as she's about to drive off sees her friend (hallucination), screams and wakes up back in the cave as the creatures approach her. The poster used denotes a lady looking towards the sky probably screaming whilst standing in a pool of what seems to be blood. The minimal lighting connotes evilness as it is dark. Furthermore, the red represents blood and since there's so much all around her shows the audience that there's a lot of death and possibly violence shown throughout the film. The font used for the title, in my opinion, isn't suitable for the film as it's bold white therefore not connoting much in regards to the film. The trailer starts off normally; girls trip out hiking and soon plunges into darkness. The sound is very eerie which builds a lot of adrenaline and tension for the audience. The sound of the monster/creature builds more adrenaline however there's pauses in the sounds to emphasise how isolated they are in the cave and also contributes to the idea of mysteriousness. The film reviews given are mostly 9 and 10/10s; people loved the adrenaline it built and further called it "purely terrifying".
The movie "The descent" was released on 4 August 2006 and was directed by Neil Marshall. The gross in the US was $26, 024, 456 making it a financial success as its budget was only roughly $3.5 million. The movie is about a group of ladies who go hiking however one of them gets trapped and the others go to try help her out however the walls cave in, trapping them all underneath the pile of rocks and rubble. One of them starts to notice animal and human bones and a creature hidden away watching them. At first no one believes her however come to the realisation that they are not alone. A few of the girls are killed of by a group of these creatures and violent ways (the ripping of necks etc.), one eaten alive. An altercation between the 2 girls left leaves one of them injured and left for the dead. Eventually, the final girl, Sarah attempts an escape however is knocked unconscious; she wakes, escapes the cave and as she's about to drive off sees her friend (hallucination), screams and wakes up back in the cave as the creatures approach her. The poster used denotes a lady looking towards the sky probably screaming whilst standing in a pool of what seems to be blood. The minimal lighting connotes evilness as it is dark. Furthermore, the red represents blood and since there's so much all around her shows the audience that there's a lot of death and possibly violence shown throughout the film. The font used for the title, in my opinion, isn't suitable for the film as it's bold white therefore not connoting much in regards to the film. The trailer starts off normally; girls trip out hiking and soon plunges into darkness. The sound is very eerie which builds a lot of adrenaline and tension for the audience. The sound of the monster/creature builds more adrenaline however there's pauses in the sounds to emphasise how isolated they are in the cave and also contributes to the idea of mysteriousness. The film reviews given are mostly 9 and 10/10s; people loved the adrenaline it built and further called it "purely terrifying".