The film poster for The Conjuring unconventionally portrays
the diegisis of the film through an establishing shot, rather than a victim or
killer which is typical of most other posters. This could be to establish that
the property is a significant element of the film, where the horror manifests
inside. The bare tree has lost its leaves and is juxtaposed in the forefront of
the image, representing the notion of death and decay, which is reinforced by
the noose hanging from it. It creates a sense of mystery as the audience are
unsure what happened so by feeding their curiosity, they may be more enticed to
watch the film. Furthermore, the noose is an iconic aspect of the horror genre,
often most commonly associated with supernatural occurrences, thus allowing the
audience to identify the basis of the film. The shadow underneath the tree
depicts a figure which is not apparent in the actual scene, presumably
suggesting that the main concepts within the film will focus around a secret past haunting the house and
family living in it.
The
house itself is conventionally creepy and larger than what may fit the average
norm in reality, as more spacious rooms tend to add more fright in scenes of
the horror genre. Demographics show that horror films are aimed at an audience
of a working class community, aged 15-25 and mostly male orientated. Taking
this into consideration, including a larger house in The Conjuring could be for
more ideological reasons as the audience tend to idealise larger properties and
aspire to have one in the future, thus potentially adding more appeal for the
film.
The
lighting of the poster is very dull with a variety of bland colours, mostly
browns and stained whites. It connotes pathetic fallacy through the dismal mood
of the scene as its foggy and grey, which further reiterates its horror
dimensions and gives it a ghostly feel.
As
the potentially most important aspect of the poster, the title of the film - The Conjuring - is structured at the top
in large, bold lettering to capture the audience’s attention and further the
poster’s overall appeal. The font itself is a mix of old and new, similarly to the
Oculus poster for the same reason of intertwining the film’s significance of
the past in with the present. The black reinforces the darkness of the
narrative and the key themes within the film, further feeding into the
audience’s curiousness. The date of JULY 19 depicted underneath the billing
block is also in a larger font, suggesting its significance for the audience.
The colour white contrasts against the grass and may help to specify the genre
of horror the film is focused on.
The poster does not give any
mention of who produced the film, but does however state two popular horror
films made by the director which suggests that The Conjuring may have conventions similar to Saw and Insidious.
Moreover, if people enjoyed these two examples, they would most likely enjoy
The Conjuring which subtly adds more audience appeal by enticing people to
watch the film.
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