I chose to base my third poster analysis on thriller “The Silence of the Lambs” (released January 1991) as I found it interesting how conventional these horror posters are trending to be with the stereotypical use of shades white and black and a third bright colour connoting danger and death.

This is interesting however, as instead of the use of red which I have found is used in the vast majority of horror film posters, the producers of this poster have opted for orange. Orange is seen as a slightly less aggressive colour in comparison to red, therefore they may have used it to symbolize the vulnerability of the woman on the poster, further stereotypically portraying the female as the victim.

It is clear that this is the main poster for the advertisement of the film as it presents the protagonist actor names and the film distributors.

The use of well defined eyes with the subject gazing straight forward into the eyes of the audience makes it more direct and causes an engagement with the audience. It could give the target audience a feeling of victimization and intimidation because of the sharp orange/red colour of the subjects eyes. Her eyes are so serious, making you aware it’s a horror film advertisement.

The title portrays a great deal of significance on this horror poster as it is the only writing on the page which is actually in colour. Immediately the audience will be drawn to this title as it stands out and follows the same colour as the subjects eyes and the butterfly. The three things in proper colour could be symbolic of a link to nature with the text ‘lambs’, the butterfly and the eyes of a human in colour- it could be representing lives being in danger. The fact that the title is in lower case letters stereotypically challenges the conventional trend of a horror poster as normally the title is upper case to highlight its significance. This could have been done to work with the naming of the title- ‘silence’ and ‘lamb’ gives a sense of vulnerability and peace as lambs are seen as completely defenceless. It could symbolise backing down and inferiority of victims.

The fact that the background character has a white face, with a shadowy effect of blue around one edge of her face gives very cold and still connotations. It links to the theme of death as she literally appears lifeless. The white could be symbolic of purity and innocence on her person; further demonstrating a sense of vulnerability which follows the stereotypical conventions of the woman being the victim in horror. This women links in with the title as she completely demonstrates ‘silence’. The black on the poster’s right hand corner could be connoting death. The use of extremely low key lighting gives it a dark, eerie image. It follows conventions of a horror piece as it stereotypically uses the colours of white and black and one proper colour, which in this case is a shade of orange.

From the image, the audience will immediately be drawn into assuming the woman to be the subject of victimisation in the horror movie. We can tell it is a woman from her facial shape and features. The fact that a close up has been used for this poster makes the audience reach it at more of a personal level and feel more involved with it.

The use of the moth covering the woman’s face also links in with the wording of the title ‘silence’- the fact that she is being prevented from talking further highlights her vulnerability and inferiority. The moth is a ‘death’s head moth’ showing that this film is going to highlight the theme of death. The face used for this moth plays a high level of significance in the poster as it is of women forming a skull face. It is possibly a hidden meaning in the poster as it isn’t directly visible to the naked eye unless zoomed in. This was created by the Dali and it could be placing further emphasis on the victimization of women in the horror film.

The actors who will be starring in a film plays a great deal of significance when it is being advertised; therefore the protagonist names have conventionally been displayed on this poster. If the actors are well known and also respected for previous works then it will draw in more audience attention and they will want to go and see it.

This makes the audience aware that a book was produced before the movie itself. People who found the book appealing may therefore be interested in seeing the screen adaptation. It will also help vice versa for the production of the book if people are impressed with the film. The fact that the book was a ‘best seller’ also helps towards the production of the film as it may be viewed as a ‘must see’.

The credits always stereotypically go at the bottom of a poster to give an attributed mention to everyone who had an important role towards the film’s production. It presents the name of the production company which would also draw in audience attention if it is well-known.