Analysing Horror Film Posters - 'The Girl Next Door'

 

The poster for 'The Girl Next Door' contains a number of conventions typical of the horror genre:

• Low-key lighting and side lighting, creating a sinister unsettling effect and creating mystery around the characters.
• The use of black (and red on the beginning of the title) as a dominant colour, which connote danger, blood, death and evil (common colours used in the horror genre). The white gives the poster a ghostly aesthetic.
• The poster shows isolated settings, removed from civilisation, such as the woods (a common setting in the genre) and the low angle shot of an imposing house (a very common setting in horror films).
• The font is bold, suggesting the seriousness of the narrative.
• The review uses language associated with the horror genre such as 'shocking' (reflecting one of the genre's intended effects on the audience) and references another film from the horror genre, 'Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer'. The quote comes from Stephen King, an author who writes almost exclusively horror fiction. 
• The tagline, 'Inspired by Actual Events', is commonly used on marketing materials for films from the genre, encouraging the audience to believe that events in the narrative actually took place.
• The 'R' rating is typical of films from the horror genre.
• The poster features children as characters - something which is common in the genre where children are either the victims or the sinister characters.