Deconstruction of film poster 1

Insidious film poster

I chose this film poster as I feel that it is quite unusual to others and goes against a few of the codes and conventions of horror and in general film posters. One of the ways in which it does this is the title, although it is located in the middle, it is quite small and vertical, whereas usually they are much larger and horizontal to the page so that they are easily recognisable. This could be to make theirs unique and that the 'insidious' could be represented to be inside the boy who is the main image to show that he has been possessed, also following the forms and conventions of giving hints into what happens in the actual film. The main image also goes against the forms and conventions of horror film posters as it has one of the protagonists as the main image, whereas usually it is the antagonist which is the main image, although they have given theirs a unique touch by altering it in a way that is still effective as the evil is within the boy. Also, a little boy is usually used to signify innocence but this connotes that the evil forces have ruined this normal stereotype.

The use of colours are very effective also, the dark gloomy look clearly highlights the evil within the film and the young boy, almost like a pathetic fallacy. There is also a use of red in the title and on the boys pyjamas which signifies blood and anger, although this could be seen to be different as this is a paranormal film and not a gory film, but the use of red usually signifies danger, especially in the horror genre. The use of white also goes against the forms and conventions as it signifies innocence and heaven, but this is used to contrast good and evil (Staruss' theory) and show that the evilness has transformed the boy from innocence to evil. The main image is very effective because although it is quite different, the little boy is directly looking into the camera, the possessed look and dark lighting work well into almost making him look like the antagonist. The eye contact between the audience and the boy is done to make it more scary as his eyes look very evil, this is done to scare the audience but also feel sympathy for the boy and entice them into watching the film. 

In conclusion, I feel this is a very good and effective film poster as it goes against a few forms and conventions but does it in a way that isn't bad but in a way that gives their poster a unique and exciting twist to give a unique selling point to other horror film posters. This is definitely something I will use in my film poster to make it stand out and give the audience something new and different.