Film Poster Analysis 2

“The Hills Have Eyes 2”

Immediately from looking at this poster for “The hills have eyes 2,” you can see that it’s set the scene effectively in the background which links very clearly to the title.

The setting of this poster is significant in conveying an opinion about the slasher movie with what seems to be a desert setting in what appears to be sunset. This impression is given off through the colours used in the poster with the sky being portrayed in what appears to be different shades of orange. This gives off a clear representation of the setting which appears mysterious and links very well with the title. The two characters featured in this poster appear very dark and it’s difficult to get a representation of them through this poster.  They must however appear dark for a reason which is most likely so that they appear more sinister, dangerous and so there character is hidden to some extent so that you cant unravel too much about the film from the poster. You can clearly see that the figure at the back of the poster is pulling what appears to be an innocent person away into the hills. The audience can understand that the creature in the background is a killer and the way in which it is dragging what appears to be innocent human shows how brutal and harsh this creature is. You can also see that there is no face displayed which gives off the impression that the corpse has lost its identity. The apparent killer appears to be dragging what looks like a corpse being lifeless and hopeless which immediately adds to the elements of danger about the killer. From the setting in the background you get the representation of a isolated place, situated far away from society and appears to be the wilderness in which is unknown. This is a common convention of slasher movies where the setting is isolated from society. This will intrigue the target audience as they will want to discover what lurks in this mysterious place and what goes on whereas as it is the second episode of “The Hills Have Eyes” fans from the first episode can clearly relate the poster with the previous film with the setting and the brutality of the killers. The killer in the poster uses what appears to be a rope attached to the victim who is covered in a material and just brutally dragged across the rocky, sandy floor. The way in which you cannot clearly identify the killer other than from its costume being what appears to be navy clothing indicating something of the creatures past indicates to the target audience that the creature is reserved and would rather remain unidentified. Killers’ identities conventionally remain hidden which adds elements of mystery and fear. The fact that both characters are unrecognisable adds more intrigue to the film, and it makes the film all the more attractive for the target audience wanting to find out more.

The film title is traditionally positioned at the bottom or more centrally on the page, significant for slasher movies so that the main image is very clear and gives off the predominant message about the film However in this poster the title is somewhat significant how it is illuminated and bursts out at the target audience in white font. Often in Slasher film movie poster the image over powers the poster more than usual to provoke fear. This is unusual because from first impressions of most slasher movies you hardly recognise the title whereas in this one it strikes out as one of the most significant parts of the poster. The two words “Hills” and “Eyes” appear to be emphasised and are clearly represented in the poster giving the audience the impression that ferocious figures are lurking in the hills looking down upon innocent victims who are simply at the wrong place at the wrong time. Also in the title, the “2” is prominent as it shows that it is the second instalment of the movie which is going to appeal to fans of the first episode.

The design of the poster is very effective in setting the mood for the film in the way it appears to be dusk when these creatures appear and target their victims. Also the way in which the scene is set in an environment with the mysterious hills in which the killer in the poster appears to be taking its prey. This is very effective in giving the target audience a clear representation of where the film takes places and gives a brief insight into the nature of these evil creatures. The slasher conventions are referred to very effectively in this poster with the killer seemingly dragging an innocent victim away through the use of a rope which will obviously cause pain and it indicates that the killer is heartless and brutal in its approach to people. This kind of representation can clearly be related to slasher movies. Attention is maintained through the main visual image with the disturbing nature of a victim being dragged away into the unknown with no insight to what might occur in these hills which will further intrigue the target audience into wanting to watch this film. The setting is used very effectively in this poster as it really does set the scene for the film and also reminds viewers from the first episode very clearly of the setting which will further entice them into what will happen in this film.

In this poster you could argue that the messages are mainly portrayed both visually and verbally as the main image itself is significant as it takes up the large majority of the page however the title is prominent in how it is portrayed to the target audience through the use of the white font which strikes out at the target audience. The way in which the message for this film is portrayed in a verbal way might be to remind views of the first film of the series very clearly so they can identify the film immediately and subsequently draw them into this new film. Nevertheless the visual image in this poster is very powerful in the way it is presented through incorporating the setting with two characters very effectively whilst not giving much away about the film. It just provides small insights to the film which are exactly what are going to persuade the target audience to want to watch this film through displaying correct and powerful conventions of the slasher film type movie. From the brutal nature that the film poster is displayed you can identify that the target audience will consist of thrill seekers over the age of 18 because of the nature of a slasher movie. They will seemingly have a passion for graphic violence and a “cat and mouse” type of film where the killers pick of their victims one by one until there is normally one left which is a conventional method of slasher movies implemented.

Overall the poster is effective in persuading the target audience into wanting to watch the film through implementing very effective conventions of slasher films that will immediately appeal to slasher movie lovers. The way in which the poster is portrayed not giving too much away is a key factor as it raises questions for the target audience that they will want to know and therefore want to watch the film. Because it is the second episode of the sequence in the “The Hills Have Eyes” series, fans from the first episode can immediately relate to the setting of the film as well as the title which is featured prominently so you can conclude that the film poster does fulfil its purpose of enticing the target audience to want to watch the film effectively.