Poster Deconstruction- The Strangers

The Strangers (2008)

- This poster contains five different characters. One of the first things we notice is the use of masks on the three characters standing up. This conforms to the common conventions of slasher horror films having masked killers.
- The two people sitting in front of the masked people are the victims and look as if though they have been tied to the chair. The female looks as if though she is looking at the killers whereas the male looks like he is looking towards the ground.
- The main killer is shown in the middle of the other two women wearing masks. He is looking down at the lady. In addition to this having the killers higher than the victims on the poster shows their power.
- The tagline is placed at the top of the poster and reads ‘because you were home’ which gives an indication that the film is set in a house. The tagline is also placed on a backdrop of bricks showing that the film is set inside a house. This conforms to the common conventions of the horror genre. Normally the house is in an isolated location where there is nowhere to run or hide.
- The poster also has the two main actor’s names just above the title. This means that if people have liked these actors in other films they are more likely to go and see the movie.

• The colour scheme of red white and black is conforming to conventions in the horror genre.
• The text on the poster is all serif however the tag line is in lower case whereas the main title is all in lower case. The title is on a black background which contrasts with the white letters to make it easy to read. The text also has a slight glow it which is similar to fire which may give some clues to the audience about the plot of the film. The large black gap beneath the film poster may signify the unknown and the audience need to watch the film to see what happens.
• This film poster subverts the common representations that males are often the killers in horror films as there are also two females. Subverting the common representations allows the poster and film to attract more people.