‘The Uninvited’ film poster swayed away from the codes and conventions I have previously talked about in my other two film poster analyses. When a poster does not follow codes and conventions, it adds an original and fresh touch to the film, and would stand out from the rest. It is impotant that codes and conventions are not completely ruled out as the poster will not be effective and the audience may not recognise this style of promotion.
The layout is as follows; the image dominates the page, which is conventional of all film posters as this is where the human eye will look to first. It is therefore crucial that the image is effective and that it will stand out from a distance. All text seems to have been pushed to one side, the right side, towards the bottom. In other cases, text will be spread around the page allowing the audience to thouroughly look around, taking in all there is to see. Because of the fact that all the text is placed together could suggest the importance of the image in the poster, and could also reflect the narrative of the film, and how the daugher, Anna, has been pushed aside when her father’s new girlfriend enters their lives. If we stick to the rules of the way that the audience’s eye looks when looking at a media text, then the fact that all the text is towards to the right hand side, at the bottom, will allow the audience to take this information away with them, fresh in their minds. This is due to the fact that in western society, we read from left to right, from top to bottom, therefore, this is the last thing the audience will see, allowing this information to be the newest in their minds. This is effective as it allows them to remember the name and tag line, also the release date, encouraging them to go and watch the film when it hits the cinema.
From looking at this film poster for the first time, I became immediately aware of the genre of film that it was promoting. The image itself is eerie and scary, with the blacked out face, dark colours, and the fact that there is a person peering in through a window. Text on the page, such as ‘from the producers of “the ring” and “disturbia”’ also suggests the genre as these are two well known films that are also under the horror genre, therefore you would associate the producers of these films with creating horror films. Again looking at text, the name of the film and the tag line are also signals of the horror genre. ‘Fear moves in’ features the words fear, something you will feel when watching a horror film. The audience would therefore be able to associate the words with the genre and become aware that it is a horror film that is being advertised. The name itself suggests that this film is a horror as ‘the uninvited’ sounds eerie and creepy, like someone is haunting someone for example. It is important for the film poster to clearly signal the genre as it will draw in the correct target audience as they will notice the common codes and conventions associated with their favourite genre of film.
The image is of a woman/ female looking in through a window. Her face is shadowed and you can only really see the outline of her body, with her hands pressed against the window, looking in. She looks as if she is trying to get in, which reflects the name of the film, ‘The Uninvited’ but it also could reflect her trying to get out, reflecting Anna, the daughter and main character in the film, and how she is hypothetically trapped in this nightmare that she cannot get out of. Due to the fact that her face isn’t visible to the audience, suggests some sort of evil and hidden identity. This suggests the genre of the film as well as making the audience feel on edge and scared. The audience will want to know who this woman is, and why she is looking in to someone’s home, therefore encouraging them to go and view the film. The fact that we can see tree’s in the background suggest to the audience that this is set in a secluded woodland area, which is a common code and convention used in all horror films.
The lighting is a mix between low key lighting, where there is a strong contrast between light and deep, dark areas, and back lighting, where a silhouette is able to be formed, as the light comes from behind the individual. The fact that her face isn’t lit and we can see dark shadows suggests secrets and hidden identities. This reflects the film and the twist that the audience find out towards the end. In the background the light is bright, but fog shrouded. This symbolises mystery and makes the poster/film feel more eerie and scary.
The way in which the character is positioned show the audience that this is a person trying to get into this house. She is peering in through the window, cupping her hands, as if it is dark and she is finding it difficult to see. She could represent the character Rachel, the new girlfriend of the character playing the father, and how she hasn’t been invited into this family’s life. As the audience will become aware when watching the film, this is who appears to be the antagonist throughout the film. I also think that this image reflects Anna, one of the daughter’s in the film, like she is trying to get out, suggesting that she has been trapped in some kind of nightmare or life.
The title of the film is ‘The Uninvited’. It has been written in a white font, allowing it to stand out from the dark colours that have been used. The colour white is often used to create the sense/ meaning of purity and innocence, which is then contradicted with the black colours used elsewhere in the film poster as we find out at the end that Anna was the antagonist all along. This could reflect Anna, the daughter in the film as she is seen as the victim, very vulnerable and sweet. But also, when watching the film, the audience soon find out that the character they thought was the antagonist is in fact a protagonist. This therefore makes Rachel, the father’s new girlfriend in the film; seem innocent which can be reflected in the colouring of the font. The font is in lower case, making it look childlike and informal. This could symbolise the real antagonist, Anna, as she is young, suggesting that she wrote this, and that is the uninvited. Adding to the idea that it looks childlike, the fact that it hasn’t been written in a straight line, but is slanted and some letters are smaller case than the other reflects young age.
The tag line “fear moves in” reflects the narrative of the film. It symbolises one of three characters, who are made out to be the antagonist at some point through the film. Rachel is seen to be the antagonist from the beginning, when she moves in to their home to be with their father. This therefore backs up the idea that fear has moved in. Alex, the sister in the film is seen to be the antagonist towards the middle of the film, reflecting the tag line. When the audience find out the real antagonist, and that it is in fact Anna, they are then able to relate this tag line to her, giving this tag line many meanings and outcomes, which I think is very effective as it creates mystery. The tag line is also written in a white font, and in low case, again reflecting innocence as it creates a child like persona.
There is a strong contrast between white and dark colours on this film poster. Dark colours, such as a mixture of grey and black have been used for the main image making this person seem eerie and evil. Then for text, and in the background, light bright white colours have been used, possibly to suggest the contrast in persona’s in the film itself. By this I am referring to the fact that we are presented with a range of characters, which throughout the film are seen in different lights (negative and positive) and colours.
I think that this film poster is effective in promoting this horror film. It successfully suggests the genre from an early stage, as well as setting some of the narrative. It allows the audience to experience some fear and to feel frightened, but also creates tension and excitement, encouraging the audience to go and watch the film. I think that this poster allows the audience to want to know more, for example because the face is blacked out, the tag line is unexplained and so on, creating a sense of wonder and mystery, which will also encourage audiences to go and view the film.
