Poster Comparison - Slasher Horror

Comparisons:

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  Most horror films have the title in the lower third of the poster, in this case, 'Prom Night' and 'A Nightmare on Elm Street' support this convention. However 'Asylum' and 'The Hills Have Eyes' don't. This maybe because they are trying to make the film stand out when marketing it, or that it may go better with the picture used in the poster, It certainly does in 'The Hills Have Eyes'. The composition goes really well.




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  All of the films have one main image which is also a convention in horror posters. 'A Nightmare on Elm Street' however uses more than one picture and fades them together to create an eery effect. This is the same with 'The Hills Have Eyes', at the top you can see what looks like to be some trees, or possibly a line of people, connoting the possible setting for the film.




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  'Asylum' and 'Prom Night' are the only one out of the four posters I have chosen not to have the Steel Spring credits that you usually find on a poster. They are usually situated at the bottom of the poster in the centre. 'The Hills Have Eyes' doesn't follow this and puts the credits to the left at the bottom.
• They all follow the conventions of the colour schemes associated with horror movies (blue, green and brown). 'Prom Night' has a blue theme, which is pretty obvious. 'A Nightmare on Elm Street' and 'The Hills Have Eyes' have a brown theme, although 'The Hills Have Eyes' supports a lighter, more bage look to it. And 'Asylum' has a subtle light green theme to the poster, this allows the blood that runs from the bold black title to stand out more effectively
• Accept for 'Asylum' they all use low key photography. It makes films look darker and more gritty. This is a convention found in horror posters. However 'Asylum' opposes this with the use of the high key lighting. This may have been done for a number of reasons. It could be to reflect the feelings of the character in the poster, who looks pale, cold and distressed. It may possibly be down to nature of the film too. There is no right or wrong answer to how a film poster should be designed, they usually reflect the nature of the film.