Poster Analysis - Insidious

 At the top we see ‘from the makers of Paranormal Activity and Saw’. This reference is used on the poster to attract audience which is already familiar to those films as it is made by the people who produced well known films.

The title of the film stands out well as the colours used contrast each other well as usage of black background and white text opposites the two colours. This colour choice may imply danger, as its dark. With the word ‘insidious’ means ‘intended to entrap’ which suggest what the movie is about.

The tagline ‘It’s not the house that’s haunted’, is a quote from the film and the teaser trailer. This persuades people to see the film as they want to know what is haunted. Barthes’ theory can be linked to this with the use of enigma codes.

The poster is conventional with the way credits at the bottom are presents, squeezed and undersized so it wouldn’t take much space, containing companies, directors and other cast members and crew. Potentially attracting their fans and widening the target audience of people that could be interested in the film. Above that, three actors’ names are seen; this is placed there to attract their fans which may interest them in watching the film.

The main image includes a creepy looking boy and in the background, an old house. This is a typical convention of horror, large house. People may interpret the young boy being good, which may relate to binary opposition theories as dark scenery may suggest he is not a good boy, Potentially drawing audience’s attention to the poster making them want to watch the film. A subtle hint is given about the film as the boy is the focus, oppositely to the house, setting the scene for the movie location, leaving the audience curious.

Colours in this poster are weakened, resulting in a darker sight. The pyjamas worn are red, suggesting danger towards the boy. Audience is left thinking why he is in pyjamas outside making them curious and wanting to watch the film.

A special effect is used when looking at the boy’s eye, making the viewers thinking something is supernatural about him, as the audience is left with a creepy inheritance making them want to find out why he is like that.