“Nightmare on Elm Street”
The 2010 remake of “Nightmare on Elm Street
The main colours that feature in this poster appear to be black and different shades of red which are both significant in enticing the target audience. The use of the shades of red across the poster is very effective in creating a sense of graphic violence and danger which are common links to the colour. Black is also featured in the poster effectively adding a dark element of mystery and evil to the equation further enticing the target audience. The colours are conventional for a slasher movie film poster. The film title is placed at the bottom of the page which is a common technique used in horror movie posters to emphasise the visual image further. The font is old fashioned in a red font which combined with the films name with “nightmare” in it creates a more dangerous effect. The term “Nightmare” seems to be emphasised in the title so that the audience can clearly see and understand the evil nature of the poster and the film. There is another common technique used above the title with the comment; “Welcome to your new nightmare” strategically placed in white above the main title to provide a contrast to the evil and dangerous nature of the red font. White is visually noticeable on black, but is also ghostly looking. The way in which it contrasts the main title with white font gives off the impression that the title is more important and the tag line is put in white to maintain the audiences focus on the main title however the tag line does strike the target audience very effectively and raises questions about the film. It brings up elements of mortality and a way out which are very contradictive compared to the strong black nature of the poster.
The main character, the killer of the film “Freddy Kruger” features as the main visual image in the centre of the film poster giving the audience a clear representation of the creature that lurks in the film. The representation of the killer to the target audience is evil and dangerous. The pose of the killer makes him seem more mysterious because of his head down with the hat being used to cover part of his face which is effective in not giving to much away to the target audience and maintaining the audience’s attention and intrigue. It immediately strikes you from this poster of the nature of the killers’ face which appears burnt and very bony which add to the suspense and chilling nature of the character. His faces’ appearance seems more monstrous and less human because of the scars on his face. There are prominent uses of dark, black lighting on both the characters face and jumper which also combines with the use of white on the side of the figures face and outlining the characters jumper which add an element of supreme power to the character through how he is emphasised in the poster. The lighting coming from behind, being the backlighting is sinister and maintains mystery, especially as it looks smoky. It gives different impressions to the audience about the character, almost as if the character is evil and cruel and a danger to all yet there is an element of mortality and humanness which adds more tension and meaning to the character, further enticing the target audience. The distinctive use of red is also evident with the characters jumper which appears ripped up and scruffy and gives off the impression that the killer does not care about its appearance and does not want to fit into society. The scruffy effect of the character used is a conventional technique for a killer to have ripped clothes as it makes them seem ugly, abnormal or destructive. Strategically placed in the centre of the page are the killers’ hands which are effectively the most effective part of this poster in conveying meaning about the character showing his danger with his weapon as a source of destruction. The way in which the characters hands are together adds the impression that the killer has an element of plotting and adds further elements of mystery. Very distinctively you can see the weapon in which is used throughout the film being what appears to be a very sharp claw. There is a large emphasis on this claw as it is displayed in the centre of the page with white lining around the side to add emphasis to the weapon as well as a tint or spark which gives off the impression to the audience how sharp the claw is and it also signifies its power. The use of back lighting on the character is very effective in bringing him to the front of the cover and it’s exposing his dark nature through the light and further making him stand out to the target audience. The use of the killers’ fedora hat is very significant as it features as the killers’ iconic symbol along with his claw throughout the film. It gives the audience the impression that the character is ashamed of his true identity and wants to remain distant from society and elude himself from being clearly identified. It is conventional how the killer is ashamed as it is an effective technique for the characters personality to be hidden. It maintains their identity being mysterious and scary. Most slasher movies don’t want to give away too much about the killers’ identity in the film poster and therefore use techniques such as props to hide part of the killers’ identify so that it raises questions about the killer and entices the audience into wanting to find out more and consequently watch the film.
The design of the poster is very effective and used in many slasher movie posters. It features the killer, prominent in the centre of the page and shows what appears to be the murder weapon very effectively. Its use of lighting is very common with different shades of red and common uses of black and white. The design gives a medium close up shot of the killer which really engages the character with the audience so they can start to appreciate the creatures’ evil nature. The poster is clearly trying to make the audience aware of the title with the word “nightmare” being portrayed in a very clear fashion and therefore it is trying to reflect this in the poster by displaying a form of nightmarish creature in a close up that. The evil mood and setting is portrayed in this film poster very effectively. The slasher genre conventions are referred to very effectively as it features a killer with a weapon which is used in the film very clearly giving the representation of a slasher movie to the target audience. The use of the sharp claw is a distinctive trait used within slasher movies which lovers of the sub-genre can refer to and this will further entice them into wanting to know more about the movie. In this poster attention is gained through a more shocking, image with the killer appearing as a disfigured monster that clearly will entice the target audience into the movie wanting to know more about this mysterious character. There is an element of surprise as well for the audience as the figure looks abnormal and will therefore terrify some members of the audience and interest others into thinking what this creature is capable of doing.
I think the poster is very effective in persuading the target audience to want to watch this film as it portrays distinctive conventions of slasher movies to a great extent and is very persuasive in enticing the target audience. Straight away, from a first glance at the poster, you can identify the killer in a graphic, evil fashion that gives off a clear representation of the killers’ evil nature. The colours used in the poster are very traditional when analysing slasher movie poster as red, black and white are possibly the most common colours used. When slasher movie lovers see this front cover they can understand what they are getting from this movie and can relate to it as an interest as well as some others can relate back to the 80’s classic and see this remake as a very powerful piece and therefore are going to want to find out more and because of the chilling nature of this movie poster, it’s going to entice the target audience.
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