Film Poster Analysis- Paranormal Activity Theatrical Poster

Paranormal Activity is a 2007 American found footage supernatural film. It is the first out of six in the franchise.

The image used in this poster introduces the audience to the two main characters and the setting. The female character is pointing to a mysterious figure at the door and this highlights that the supernatural will play a role int he film. From first impressions, a sense of normality is created as the setting appears very ordinary and therefore this is more relatable to the audience. The bedroom would usually be associated with comfort and safety however the darkness and mysterious figure creates a sense of fear and danger. The image appears quite grainy and this reflects how the events are being filmed on a video camera the time in the corner adds to this. Using the time in the corner reflects how the events are happening at night and his is a convention of horror as events often happen in the darkness to add to the unknown and eerie atmosphere. The blue tint emphasises that the main horror happens during the night. By having the main image smaller it gets the whole frame of a video camera and further shows us it is a found footage film. It also allows the poster to be unique as most film posers have an image over the whole of the poster.

The poster has a simplistic colour scheme which includes the colours black , white, blue and red. All the colours are dark and gloomy and represent the horror genre. The red and black could signalise danger or death. The use of the black back ground and because the whole poster and main image is really dark it could suggest that the film is mainly set at night. This adds to the fear factor because people think of the night as the scariest time as you don’t know what can happen to you when your in the dark. The white text creates a 'ghostly' feel which is relevant to the demon/possession theme. The colour blue in the text and the blue shade across the image not only highlights the night vision of the camera but also suggests a cold and chilling atmosphere which is often associated with the supernatural and ghosts.

The title is written in a text that is larger and in a different colour compared to the other text on the poster, this enables the title of the film to stand out. Also, the blurriness and glow of the red title reminds the audience that the film is based on video footage. Similarly, most of the text uses capitals suggesting an intimidating tone which again is fitting to the horror genre.

The slogan “what happens when you sleep” directly talks to the audience as it makes them question what happen during the night. This slogan may encourage audiences to view the film because they are intrigued to find out happens to these characters. Similarly, through the line “Don’t see it alone” it tells the consumer that this film is of the horror genre and that watching it alone will be frightening.

This poster breaks a few conventions as the main image only takes up a fraction of the poster, it fails to include the production block and release date. But it does follow the conventions of the colour schemes, slightly revealing images, hints to the genre and film content.