The Shining poster analysis

The first thing you notice when looking at the poster is the crazed face of the character on the left of the poster. His face seems to be brightened and bold red which draws the viewers attention towards him, suggesting he is a pivotal character in the film. He looks very angry and quite demented which connotes fear and worry for the character on the right of the poster.

The female character in the poster would be the next thing to catch the viewers attention and the fact she looks very distressed and frightened by the character on the left would enhance the idea of fear into the viewers mind. The girl is holding a knife which is only just visible in the image suggesting she is in great danger from the main character, however she is very incapable of defending herself from the main character.

 Only after paying close attention to the image will the viewer be able to notice the man has used an axe to break into the room in which the woman is hiding, adding to the idea of fear. The fact that the man is wielding a large axe and the woman only has a respectively small weapon would fortify the idea that he is the domineering figure in the battle. 

The door that has been smashed seems to the like a divide in emotions with the two characters, with the woman being very frightened, and the man being very aggressive angry. The door also represents the security of the woman, which the male character breaches with anger. This is a common theme in a lot of horror films, with the male being the more powerful character with the woman usually in danger and needing saving.

Finally the text at the top of the image “The tide of terror that swept America IS HERE” gives the impression that the film is incredibly scary and is very popular. This would encourage the audience to see the film.

The title of the film is situated at the bottom of the poster, because when someone looks at a piece of publishing they normally read from top to bottom, so by having the name of the film at the bottom, people are more likely to remember the name of the film, therefore more likely to watch it at the cinema.

Kieran Browne