Horror Films: Conventions of the genre

Anisah Shoaib Shah

How does a recent horror poster display the conventions of the genre?
Final Destination 5 is an American supernatural
horror film about a group of people trying to run
away from death to save themselves. It was
released in the year 2011.
The image is a close-up shot and is very effective
as we can see clearly what kind of images are put
together for us, and can identify the facial
expressions. It's very different as it's not a typical
close-up shot because we see fragments of a very
frightened face with broken glass. The face looks
like it is in a lot of pain and this can be linked to
the iconography of the horror film as it is about
death, pain and revenge. The poster does not
feature much textual information, thus putting
emphasis on the text there is. The font used is
simple and white; the use of white allows the text
to contrast against the dark background and the
red colour of the coming soon showing its
importance as it indicates death and horror.
The phrase "Rest in pieces" is placed at the top
centre of the poster, the phrase itself is a play on
the phrase "rest in peace" this suggests that there
will be death involved but the character that dies
will not die peacefully and instead will be forced into an unexpected and brutal death.
The lighting is low-key lighting and is created by using only the key and back lights. There are extreme
shadows in the background, allowing the audience to gaze at the contrast of the character. It makes it a
mystery which would make the audience watch it, because they'd want to know if the person or people
survived death or not. The monochrome picture also suggests mystery and danger. The use of a shatter
mirror effect, showing half of the alive face against the other half which is a skull shows that there will be
conflict between life and death. The shattered glass also indicates that the usual way of life will be
broken; meaning the events that will take place in the film will be far from the everyday norm. This
confirms the conventions in a horror film as life and death is very unexpected in horror films.
The womans eyes in the poster have been blacked out by shadow this suggests a lack of soul, control - It
is made obvious that there will be a death and tragedy in the film. So by having this type of shot and a
mysterious image inclines the audience and draws them further into finding out what the outcome is
going to be and if death is going to outshine them. It raises enigmas amongst the audience. We can also
see that it is a female target and this shows the representation of women in horror films and how women
are victimized and plead for help.
Overall, this poster of The Final Destination clearly suggests the genre of the movie. The shatters glass,
bullet through the glass, skull, frightened expression of the girl and titles emphasise that it is a horror film
and suggests death, trauma and torture.