Esteban Hernandez

Writing 2

T and R 3-4:50

10/16/2019

When Looking Into The Eyes Of Fear, What Do You See ?

A group of friends is standing outside of a movie theaters bickering about the movie they

want to see. All they can agree on is that they would like to see a slasher movie, but since it is

October, there are quite a few slashers to choose from; their options being Halloween, The Texas

Chainsaw Massacre, and Scream. They decide to pick the film with the best poster. The only

question is how would they even consider which is the best?

In order to answer this question we must first understand the slasher movie poster as a

genre. Naturally, people are inclined to believe that genre refers to a type of fiction. However,

the definition of genre that I’m referring to is the category in which an art piece or piece of

literature can be placed. However in order to be considered a genre, the piece must answer a

repeating question/problem, be targeted to a specific audience, and adhere to a predetermined set

of rules. It is important to keep this definition in mind when analyzing a slasher movie poster

when trying to determine if it’s effective in accomplishing its goal to attract viewers and capture

their attention.

To the casual movie goer, the best slasher poster would be the one that captures their

attention and scares them. In order to do that an effective slasher movie poster would include a

sharp object, an obscured face, and it would use as much negative space as possible.
 Slasher movie posters need to be able to portray that the characters in the film are in

immediate and imminent danger. A simple way to be able to do that is by plopping a knife

somewhere in the poster. Take the poster for John Carpenter’s 1978 classic “Halloween”. In the

dead center we see a lit jack-o-lantern hold a large kitchen knife, the cold steal glistening in the

light of the jack-o-lantern’s fire. Due to the knife being so large and being the focal point of the

piece, the viewer’s eyes are immediately drawn to it creating a sense of dread as knives are

correlated with cutting. However, the sharp doesn't always have to be on display in order to

make the audience feel unsettled.

The sharp object could also be obscured or slightly out of focus and still be effective in

presenting the danger the cast is in. For example, Tobe Hooper’s “The Texas Chainsaw

Massacre” has a poster where the sharp object is Leatherface’s chainsaw. Unlike “Halloween”’s

poster, the chainsaw is not the focal point, but, rather, it is used to disrupt it, enhancing the

danger the weapon poses. Some posters, however, go a different route and don’t include a

weapon. Wes Craven’s 1996 film “Scream” has a poster that lacks a weapon and instead uses the

“M” in the poster’s title as the sharp object. Doing this makes the threat of danger more subtle

and hidden, much like how Ghostface operates in the film. The restrictive part of using sharp

objects in the slasher posters to present danger is that other slasher films will be mistaken for

different kinds of horror films if their poster does not feature something sharp.

While sharp objects are an effective way to be able to make onlookers feel uneasy, an

obscured face can also have the same effect. According to Benjamin Radford’s article “Why

Hollywood Serial Slashers Wear Masks” Radford states that what makes serial slashers so

terrifying is that their faces are obscured by their masks. By not being able to see their faces, the
audience becomes terrified because they are not able to identify who the killer is or what their

facial expressions are. By applying this logic to posters, a very terrifying one can be created. For

example, in the poster for “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” we see Leatherface wearing his

human skin mask standing menacingly in front of one of his victims. Aside from the fact that

victim is screaming, what makes this image so terrifying is that we cannot see what he has

intended for her. He’s just standing there, cold and unfeeling, completely devoid of any human

emotions.

Obscured faces don’t have to be completely hidden behind a mask to make a poster

effective however. In the “Scream” poster we see Drew Berrymore’s character staring out

beyond the 4th wall with her hand partly covering her mouth as she gasps in horror. What is she

looking at? What is she scared of? What is going through her mind? The inability to read her

facial expression leaves the audience worried about what she is witnessing, with the only way to

being able to find the answer is by watching the film. Human faces aren't the only type of face

that can be obstructed to unsettle the audience. In the poster for “Halloween” we see the face of a

Jack-O-Lantern hidden behind a knife and the darkness. Those two things work together to hide

the Jack-O-Lantern and give it a sinister look scaring the audience by making it seem like the

Jack-O-Lantern is going to attack them.

When one views one of the three slasher posters, something that can make their skin

crawl is the unsettling tightness. Being confined in a small area is never a pleasant experience as

it can leave people uncomfortable and struggling for breath. A good example of this would be

the poster for “Halloween” the Jack-O-Lantern and the knife are the centerpiece and they take

up a large amount of space. This leaves no room for the viewer to look at anything else other
than the knife or lock eyes with that of the Jack-O-Lantern. There is no where else to look thanks

to the use of the negative space. This leaves the viewer with no other option other than to stare at

the two objects, the feeling of uneasiness and dread filling them as the claustrophobia subtly sets

in.

Using negative space doesn't just have to leave enough space to comfortably fit the title

or credits. Take a gander at the poster for “Scream”. When creating this poster, the designer

decided to blow up Drew Berrymore’s face to take up the entire poster, forcing them to cram the

credits, a hook, and the title into the poster. This may look messy at first, but really this gives the

audience the opportunity to look deep into Berrymore’s eyes and see that there is only fear and

shock in her eyes. Even if the poster is crowded, it unsettles the audience as it gives them no

breathing room and superficially traps them with Berrymore. One can also go the “The Texas

Chainsaw Massacre” direction and use only a small amount of space and leave the rest occupied

by words. This emphasizes how alone and stranded victims are. However it is not as effective as

the other posters due to this. The overuse of negative space in posters leaves people associating it

with a slasher so when a person sees the poster for “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” they are

expecting a different kind of horror, most likely a gore horror due to the title.

Slasher movie posters are meant to terrify and intrigue anyone who is looking at the

poster, but you can’t just clumsily peice one together like it’s Frankenstein’s monster and expect

it to work in your favor. Designing a slasher poster is a very precise job and, due to the

restrictions that were previously expanded upon, can be easily done wrong. This would leave the

audience not afraid, rather rolling their eyes. When done correctly, however, it can entrance

thousands of viewers and practically guarantee ticket purchases.

Works Cited

● Radford, Benjamin. “Why Hollywood Serial Slashers Wear Masks.” ​LiveScience,​ Purch, 13

Feb. 2009,​ ​https://www.livescience.com/3323-hollywood-serial-slashers-wear-masks.html​.

● Tarhan Creative. “Scream (1996) Poster.” 2019,

http://www.impawards.com/1996/scream.html

● Gleason, Bob. “Halloween (1978) Poster.” B.D. Fox Independent, 1978,

http://www.impawards.com/1978/halloween.html

● “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) Poster.” 1974,

http://www.impawards.com/1974/texas_chainsaw_massacre.html

Images For Reference