Insidious - Poster analysis

From the makers of Paranormal Activity and Saw, the makers created Insidious. From looking at the poster, the poster looks to draw the target audience as there is a lot of detail to it, meaning that the audience would think that it would be a good film, this could be because of the people who made this film, previously created two successful horror films.

As we can see from the poster, the audience automatically can see the title; this is because it stands out from the poster, with the conventional white writing with the “SI” in the title being in red. These colours are used, not only that it stands out from the dark background, but to go back to the stereotypical horror conventions, with red meaning blood and gore and white meaning light and safety, the audience can automatically think that because of these two colours, that there might be some gore/blood. It can also suggest to its target audience that there is a dark and dangerous side to the film. From my research into this film, the title “Insidious” has a meaning, the meaning of the word is “Intended to Entrap”, giving the suggestion what the film may or may not be about, but it gives the audience suspicion.

The sinister looking boy standing in front of the old, run down house is the main image in the poster. In a conventional horror, an old, run down house is stereotypical, and this raises awareness in the audience as it gives the feeling of the house being haunted or dangerous. Going against the average codes of the horror genre, the sinister young boy are normally perceived as being good, as it normally is the young girls in horror films that get possessed. We can see that the child looks sinister and possessed by his eyes, as they look like there is someone inside, controlling him and it gives the audience an eerie feeling. Linking this to Claude’s theory of oppositions, we can say that the young boy in the poster is opposite to the average young boy. Giving the impression on the audience that he is different, this wants to make the target audience watch the film and find out what happens to the young boy, who from the poster, may have the most prevalence in the film.

There is more of a focus on the young boy and less focus on the old house in the background, meaning that the images are short in depth. This only gives out short ideas and clue about what the film is about. From the impressions I get from the poster is that the film is set in an old, run down house and the main character is a possessed, sinister looking young boy. With this poster, would bring in a wider range of audiences as they would feel like it is different to the other conventional horror films in the past.

Colours of the images in the poster look drained; this is to give the poster an older look to it, and also an eerie and dark feeling.  The red of the young boys pyjamas, give the impression that he is dangerous and unpredictable, which draws us in more, as we have the thought of wanting to know more about the film. This would raise questions also to the audience, making them ask themselves “Why is he in pyjamas?”, “What happens to him?”, “Is there something wrong with this boy?” Having a dull image, make the audience raise questions and want them to find out more.

The word “Insidious” is written in the young boys left eye, going back to the boy being possessed, this can have the impression on the audience that he is, as well as the young boy can be the protagonist, he is the antagonist as well. Personally, I think that this would bring in an audience as children being possessed are scary and dangerous, and this is the opposite to what the young boy is perceived to be.

From the teaser trailer, the quote “It’s not the house that’s haunted” encourages the target audience to find out more about why the film is haunted or scary, as it goes against the conventional horror films having the house being possessed or haunted. Linking this to Barthes Enigma Theory, making the audience to solve the mystery on what is haunted and the mystery of the film, forcing them to watch it and find the answers.

On the film poster, there has the actors and actresses names, this is to promote the film and widen the range of audience and attract them to the film, this is because if there is a recognisable/well known actor or actress in the film, the audience who like them would more than likely go and see the film, increasing the net profit of the film. At the bottom of the poster, we see a billing block, which is a block of writing that will contain the companies, directors and other members of the cast and crew that are included in the film. The billing block may attract an audience, this is because at they might read the block and recognise their favourite director or actor that is included in the film and this encourages them to go and watch the movie, due to their interest in their work.

Also, at the bottom, there is also the film institutions, as these are the company’s logos that have helped provide the budget and create Insidious. The film industries can also help us recognise what type of genre the film would be as most of the companies stick to one specific genre, an example of this would be Warner Bro’s create a whole range of films from Action to Cartoons and also Horrors.