Lydia Bedding

The overall mise en scene of the film poster is dark and unknown with the clear red and orange flames at he bottom of the poster relating to the title drag me to hell. The background of the poster is dark and you can distinguish dark houses behind the girl in the foreground the houses appear to be in a sepia effect to symbolise the girl being dragged away from her home. The main colour which stands out to the audience is the red/orange flames which can symbolize many things such as death, hell and danger, the idea of danger/fear is also shown in the girls face showing that whatever is dragging her down is not pure. The masthead of the film reads the title drag me to hell The font is fairly plain and is juxtaposing as it is in the colour white, white is typically a pure angelic colour however it is set on top of the red flames therefore it stands out. The masthead does not need to have a fancy font style as the words themselves are very dark and will stay in the audiences mind thus making them want to watch the film.

The main image of the film poster is a of a young blonde woman, clearly in distress. This relates to Laura Mulveys theory of the male gaze and the stereotype of women being vulnerable in horror films.You can see the creature like hands on her shoulders dragging her downwards to the red flames. These photoshopped effects relate to the title of the film Drag me to hell as the hands are in a dragging like position with the red flames connoting hell. The image has been placed in the middle of the poster following the rule of thirds. The image is eye catching connoting the horror genre, thus encouraging the target audience to go and see the film. The credits are written underneath the Masthead in an orange font. The colour ties in with the overall mise en scene and colour scheme of the poster being red/orange which connotes the idea of hell. There is no release date on the poster which is unusual as most film posters show this, instead it just says COMING SOON followed by the website. This will create suspense and tension amongst audiences and also ties in with the selling line which connotes the idea that anyone can be dragged to hell and you wont know when its coming just like the release of the film is unknown on the poster.

Underneath the main image is the selling line Christine brown has a good job, a great boyfriend And a bright future but in 3 days shes going to hell. This selling line has a very real feel to it as if it could happen to you. This will intrigue audiences. The text is sinister which relates to the overall dark mise en scene and title of the film, again focussing on the word hell.

The tagline is in the same font as the masthead and reads Discover how the activity began this relates to the idea of a circular narrative, as this is the 3rd film but you are now finding out how the beginning of the narrative starts. Loyal audiences of the films will be able to understand this, however audiences that have not seen the first two films will be intrigued by this and will want to know what happens. The overall mise en scene of the poster is very dark and suspicious with the dark shadow in between the beds and the blurry main image. The mise en scene also relates to the realistic style of the film which uses mainly hand held cameras and cctv images, this style is also seen in other films such as The Blair Witch Project. This style can be very intriguing to the target audience as the sense of reality is always there throughout the film. The main image of the film poster appears to be a shot from cctv footage. As this is the 3rd of the paranormal films, loyal fans of the film will know that the use of cctv footage and hand held cameras are a predominant feature within the films. The image is dark and eerie, showing two young girls asleep in bed, this adds a sense of reality to the image. There is a dark shadow in-between the two beds which adds the dark sinister feel to the main image. Loyal fans of the paranormal films will work out that the two girls are in fact the protagonist Katie and her sister whom are in the first and second films this suggests a circular narrative and also relates to the tagline of the poster. The selling line of the film is again in the same font as the masthead and tagline. The selling line reads it runs in the family this connotes that the film is based on a real family and real events that happened to them. There are no credits which is unusual, but this is done to relate to the idea of the film being a home movie style and about real people. There is however the release date of the film and the film website which will allow audiences to find out more information about the film.

The masthead reads the title of the film paranormal activity 3. The font is the same as the other text on the poster to show continuity. The font is in red which symbolises danger, death and many more. The number 3 is in a white/blue colour which makes it stand out from the rest of the poster, showing viewers that this is the 3rd film.

The overall mise en scene of the poster is very dark and supernatural the colours are dull with the only brightness being the colour red of the release date. The background is a grey wall which looks old and damp, the cracks in the wall also connote the eerie supernatural feel to the poster. The background also symbolises a dark unknown place. This will intrigue audiences into watching the film.

The tagline, which has been placed at the top of the poster does not take any attention from the main image. The tagline reds Based on a true story. This tagline is also the selling point of this film as this idea that the events in the film are based on true life events appear horrific to the audiences and that this could happen in real life. This added fear will persuade audiences to see the film.

The masthead of the poster reads the title of the film the possession. The font chosen for the title is very effective as it looks scratched out and there is a splatter over the letter o. this font conveys the horror genre and connotes a supernatural feel. The word the is very small where as the word possession is much bigger this attracts the audience and will make them want to see the film as the title is so eye catching as it really connotes the horror genre.

The selling line is positioned under the masthead of the poster, the emotive language and the word darkness relates to the whole mise en scene of the poster. The release date is in red bold font which stands out the audience. There are no credits shown which is unusual but this adds to the mystery of the film.

The main image has been placed across the poster taking up of the page. This had been done as the image is so eye catching it needs to be big to stand out to audiences. The image has been edited on photo shop to make it appear as if a hand is coming out of the girls mouth , this shocking and horrific image is eye catching and audiences will remember this, thus making them more intrigued to see the film. The image is dark and there is a dark shadow down the left side of the girls face which also adds to the overall dark mise en scene of the poster.

From analysing different horror film posters I have been able to identify the key codes and conventions of horror film posters. The main images on the posters are always shocking and horrifying which immediately shows the target audience which genre of film this is. The masthead is usually large with a spooky style of font which also connotes the genre. The overall mise en scene is always very dark and mysterious with shadows and dark lighting, this adds to the unknown supernatural horror feel to the poster. There is usually a innovative tag line or selling line which will directly relate to the film and give information on the narrative. The release date is often a predominant feature on film posters, it is usually bold so that audiences can remember the date.