SEMIOTIC ANALYSIS

OF THE POSTER OF
THREE HORROR MOVIES
BY
JAMES WAN
MOVIES:
•DEATH SILENCE
•INSIDIOUS
•SINISTER
POSTERS:
 TOP LINE:
• From the writers and directors • Cathy line
and producers of SAW • Attraction
• From the makers of SAW and • Famous
PARANORMAL ACTIVITY
• From the producers of
PARANORMAL ACTIVITY
and INSIDIOUS
Colour scheme
Death silence
• Black
• Red
• White

Insidious

• Black
• White
• Red

Sinister

• Grey
• White
• Black
• Red
Colour black means no power, sophistication,
formality, elegance, wealth, mystery, fear, unhappiness,
depth, evil, sadness, anger.
Colour white means innocence, purity, simplicity,
some thing related to or close to pureness.
Colour red is often associated with blood, anger,
danger and some kind of malicious beings.
• The signifiers that are used in this poster are the
picture of a dummy, its gestures and facial
expression, colours, the title and the tagline of the
movie.
• The dummy has a green eye, with no eyelashes.
• A dummy is a doll that is usually shaped like a
human being and is usually controlled by a person.
• The hand placed in front of the lips of the dummy.
This hand showed a gesture as if she’s trying to
command the viewer to keep quiet and observe
silence.
• The hand looks like a hand of an old lady, since
her nail was long and has a black nail polish.
• We can notice that the letters leaves a shadow as if they are moving.
This means that the soul can’t rest in peace because she wants to
take revenge.
• “YOU SCREAM. YOU DIE.”
This tagline gives an idea to the audience that if they scream while
watching this movie, they might die. Human beings usually like horror
films because of the thrill it gives. This tagline will usually catch the
attention of the viewers.
• And lastly, on the most bottom part of the movie poster, there is a
line “COMING SOON”. This line are usually emphasised since the
viewers must know when the movie will be shown in cinemas.
• She also has a black nail polish. Colour black means no power,
mystery, fear, unhappiness, evil, sadness, anger. In this movie
poster, the nail polish is colour black which means evil and anger.
• Overall, the movie is about anger and evilness of Mary Shaw that is
why black background was used in this movie poster.
• Now, let’s talk about the symbols that are mostly
used in the horror movies. The one of those is
about dolls. The oddness of a child’s toy and
danger can make it scary, as dolls normally
represent happiness and innocence. Yet their
distorted human qualities, such as oversized
heads, unblinking eyes or exaggerated features,
can make them especially creepy. The doll in the
“Dead Silence” may represent different meanings.
• Next, let’s talk about the green eyes of dummy. Colour
green means healing, soothing and good luck. The colour of
the eyes of dummy was colour green, since he was
possessed by some soul.
• The open wounds shows the possibility that someone is
going to be or has been burned in this movie.
• The title INSIDIOUS is giving the connotation of evil
being having the intention of harming other.
• The GENRE of the movie is horror as it is obvious from
the word “haunted” which they have used in their
poster. Moreover the colour scheme is also giving the
idea of the movie being horror.
• The boy is standing, seems pale, having no facial
expressions. Facial expressions of the boy shows that
he is possessed by some other soul. As we can see in
his eyes, something is written over there. It shows that
he has something else inside it. Even the paleness of
his face and lips are portraying the same thing that the
happiness has been drained out from him. The boy is
having the direst eye contact with the audience shows
that he is of prime importance.
•
• Greenery and the house behind the boy is representing
that he has left everything behind him. Green colour is
often taken as a symbol of happiness and joy. As the
boy is the entity whose possessed so there is no
happiness and joy in the house. Everything is dusted
under the dark spell. The image of boy is bigger than
the house shows that the boy is of prime importance
not the house.
• The house is looking fine. There is no sign of blood or
devastation shows that there is nothing wrong with the
house. Even the tag line IT’S NOT THE HOUSE
THTAT’S HAUNTED shows that it’s not the house that
is haunted it must be the young boy and infers the
concept of possessions.
• The dark clouds behind the house gives the
connotation of the evil and danger that is going to be
dominant on this house. The clouds on the right is
darker than the left one representing the possibility of a
fight between good v/s evil. We could also interpret it
as due to the brighter side it can be infer that there is a
ray of hope.
• The colour scheme is mainly pale as if the colour have
been drained out. There is excessive use of darkness
and shadows. The colour red is used to make the night
wear of the boy and for the names of the actors. Red
colour represent blood and danger. This is the signal
for the audience that the movie will deal with darker
and evil issues.
• Lastly, at the bottom we can see many blurred words.
Among them MAY 12 is clearly visible. It is the trick of
seeking attention that this movie is going to be on air
on May 12th. The date is of great importance that’s why
they have intentionally blurred every letter beside date.