Insidious Poster Analysis

Insidious Poster Analysis

Introduction

I will be analysing the poster for Insidious to gain some insight into what codes and conventions of both the Horror genre and the Possession sub-genre are used in a multitude of features found on a poster.

Poster Conventions

The poster uses many different conventions of posters, from layout to colours and to text. The layout of the poster is typical of many posters since it features the main image filling the frame while having the title placed near the bottom of the page.  Beneath the title is the tagline and then the institutional information.  One unconventional use is placing the actor's names below the tagline since it is normally placed at the top of the page.

The main image is very conventional of posters since it fills the frame while also making the character give direct address.  Giving direct address makes the audience feel like the poster is being directed towards them, leading them to pay more attention towards it.

Main Image

The main image is the most important part of the poster since it helps to create the overall look, style, mood and feel for the design; allowing the audience to identify what type of genre the film promoted is in while also enticing them to see the film.

-Setting

Setting is hinted to us through the background of the main image.  We see a large modern house behind the main character, telling us that the character lives there.  Since we only see this one house, we can determine that the film is set in an isolated location which is typical of the Horror genre.  The reason isolated locations are used is because it means that the characters cannot get any outside help from the evil that is haunting them.

Blue is used around the edges of windows to give the house a more chilling, cold and scary feel.  The colour blue represents isolation and loneliness as well, further linking with the isolated location that the film is set.  The sky that surrounds the house is a dull blue colour, further promoting the idea of isolation and loneliness.  It also represents the characters mood, telling us that the boy feels isolated and lonely which does explain his blank facial expression.

We see hedges and trees around the house which are associated with forests, another typical isolated location.  However the idea of an isolated location is broken since there is a pavement near to the bottom of the main image, suggesting that the house we see is on a street somewhere surrounded by other houses since there is no other reason for a pavement to be there.

The style of the house, from is architecture to the colours hints that the film is set in a sub-urban town in North America.  This is help by the way the character looks, since he also looks North American through the shirt he is wearing and his skin tone.

-Lighting

Lighting is used to great effect within the main image to represent a number of things.  First of all it tells us that at least some sections of the film are set during the dark hours of the day, perhaps the scary moments in which we see some possessions.  Having dark lighting represents the evil that is featured within the film, almost as if the evil is taking over the town, the house and the boy.  This idea is further promoted by having the darkest sections at the corners of the page, suggesting that the evil is creeping in and ready to take over the boy.  Light seems to be coming from the above due to the shine on top of the boy's hair, representing the good fighting against the evil and that good is winning or will win.  Light coming from above also represents heaven in the Christian faith, suggesting that some Christian religious imagery will be used in the film, complying with even more conventions of the Possession sub-genre.

-Mise en Scene

--Costume

Costume is used to represent where the boy lives.  His shirt is designed in a way to look North American, with the red fill and the black lines.  This shirt has a very typical design that is stereo-typically seen on North Americans.  The boy's collar is bent over and the top button is unbuttoned, suggesting that he uses the shirt for casual wear for when he is in the house.  The shirt also looks like it is part of his pajamas, showing that he feels safe in his home.

--Facial Expression/Body Language

Standing upright, with a blank but slightly scared looking facial expression, the boy looks innocent, weak and scared.  He is giving direct address by looking directly at the camera, connoting the idea that he is scared of the audience or something directly in front of him.

In the boy's eyes there are, what seems to be, scratches in the shape of some unknown demonic code.  Tying into the fear of the unknown, it makes the audience scared since they don't know the reason for why the scratches are there and what they mean.

--Colour

The colours mainly used in the poster are white, red and a dull blue.  Colours represent many things and can give us hints about the location and the feelings that the characters are experiencing.  Setting his hinted to us through the use of red, white and blue, the colours of the American flag.  This idea is supported through the character's costume. Red is often associated with danger, anger and blood, linking in with Horror iconography. White is also used and connotes purity and innocence.   Dull blue can be seen in the background, surrounding the house and the sky above it.  Depression, sadness and lifelessness are all associated with a dull blue, giving a chilling feel to anything that is coloured with it.  The colour surrounds the house to represent that the house or something inside it is giving off these emotions to the characters and the audience.

--Positioning

Positioning and layout is very important in terms of posters because it can make the creation look more professional and easy to read.  "Insidious" follows many positioning conventions to create an effective poster that clearly displays important information for the audience.  Having the boy centre frame allows the audience to clearly see him, making him stand out.  The house is placed directly behind him, suggesting to us that the boy lives there.

Title

The title is placed in a very conventional location for Horror posters since it is placed near the bottom.  This is done to allow the audience to clearly see the main image while also clearly seeing the title.  "Insidious" means "proceeding in a gradual, subtle way, but with very harmful effects" according to Oxford Dictionaries. Negative connotations surrounding this word grants the audience insight into what the film is about and what genre it represents.  It could mean that the evil being featured in the film is being insidious or it could even be the boy who is seen in the poster, suggesting to the audience that the boy is the evil being.

Tagline

"It's not the house that's haunted" is the tagline for the film and is placed just underneath the title. This allows the audience to read both the title and the tagline in quick succession.  Since the tagline is short, it increases the chance that the audience will remember it.  It also ties into Horror conventions because many people believe that houses can be haunted, however "Insidious" breaks this convention by drawing attention to the boy who is possessed.

Other Text

Institutional information and the date are placed at the very bottom of the page because it is the last thing that the audience will read.  In this case the date is placed at the bottom-centre of the institutional information with a larger font, making it stand out.  Having this contrast in size draw the audience's attention even more, giving them that very important information for when the film will be released.  The main actor's names are placed below the tagline and this draws in more of the audience because if they like a certain actor, they will be more inclined to see the film. Another conventional piece of text is "From the makers of 'Paranormal Activity' and 'Saw'" and this is stated because if someone likes one of these films, they will be more inclined to watch "Insidious".

Other Colour

The title is interesting in terms of colour since it is coloured White, with two of the letters (S and I) coloured in red.  This connotes the idea that evil and danger is within the purity of the boy featured on the poster, suggesting that while he looks innocent on the outside, he is actually evil and dangerous on the inside.  White is also used to contrast against the main image, allowing us the clearly see the information on the poster.

Conclusion

Overall the poster for "Insidious" is very effective in drawing in the audience, giving them key information about the film but also entices them to see the full film.  Key conventions are used and some are broken (such as the tagline) to create a very powerful poster that persuades the audience to see the whole movie.