Film Poster Analysis: Gothika

The film which is promoted by this poster is Gothika, a psychological horror which features Halle Berry as the main character. This is a general release film poster, and I chose to analyse this poster because of various different reasons. Firstly, the promotional package that my group and I will be creating will be to promote a psychological horror, which is the same sub-genre as Gothika. As well as this, I feel that Halle Berry’s character, Dr Miranda Grey, has striking similarities with the main character in our narrative – throughout the movie, Miranda is constantly told that she is mentally disturbed yet she refuses to believe that she is, much like the main female within our narrative.

This poster fulfils the general and layout conventions of film posters as the title of the film is placed within the middle, with institutional information placed at the bottom of the image. The poster also contains an image which fills the frame and also presents the audience with an idea of the narrative that the film uses. Although it follows general conventions of film posters by featuring the name of actors and actresses who star within the film, it breaks horror film poster conventions by doing this, as horror movies tend to use lesser known actors in order to create a sense of realism for the audience and scare them even further. However, it is likely that this has been done because Halle Berry, Penelope Cruz and Robert Downey JR are very well known and successful actors, and therefore are likely to have a big fan base which will attract more audience members to come and watch the movie. Another convention within this poster is that there is also a tagline which features, and gives the audience some insight into the narrative which is in the film.

The image presented within this movie poster is of Miranda peering through a window of some sort, whilst she is in an outdoor environment where it is raining. The rainy night-time setting which Miranda is presented in is typical of a horror movie; it is dark and desolate. The rain also helps link the audience to the pivotal moment in the film in which Miranda crashes her car, as it has exactly the same weather conditions. The setting helps to make the audience feel fear, as when it is raining, it is harder to see things clearly – what lurks in the darkness behind Miranda? The fact she is outside when it is raining will also seem unusual to the audience; why is she pressed against a window? This could be representative of the fact that she is cast out of society when she is accused of killing her husband and being mentally ill, as the window also links to her cell within the mental hospital, which has a giant window as opposed to bars. The image doesn’t suggest the narrative as clearly as other posters, however, this is conventional of psychological horrors, as shown by posters promoting both The Silence of The Lambs and The Uninvited, although, once the person has watched the movie trailer they would be able to make more sense of it. The sub-genre, however, is clearly signalled, as it features a helpless looking individual for the main image; it is obvious that the problem is to do with her mind, as opposed to a supernatural force or a masked killer.

The light source which is used to illuminate Miranda is artificial lighting – although she is stood outside, it is made clear that she is staring into a window which has a blue-ish light coming from inside. The lighting appears to set the mood for the image, and reflects the mood for the entire film – gloomy, mysterious and depressing, due to the blue colour the lighting gives off. Miranda’s facial expression, of  shock/sadness compliments this, and the blue lighting also gives it a really cold feel.

Adding to this, her costume, body language and the environment in which she is presented make it look as if she herself would be cold; she’s outside in just a vest when it is raining, and she’s peering into somewhere via the window (which is probably warmer than where she is stood) which could be reflective of her bleak mental state. Her extremely puzzled facial expression also adds to the gloominess of the whole image and hints to the narrative – she doesn’t appear to understand what is happening to her. Her body language is also a significant factor within the image – the audience see her leaning against a window, as if she wants to be on the other side, whilst her left hand is above her head, displaying the cuts on her arm. This pose demonstrates clearly to the audience just how vulnerable she is at the moment; her arms are not by her side, therefore if someone comes to attack her she would be less able to defend herself. The body language is also very open – the audience can clearly see the cuts on her arm, and her chest is open for the audience due to the placement of her arms. The placement of the arm above her head also makes her seem desperate; it mimics the pose of a person who is army crawling, and when somebody crawls, it is usually as they are desperate to get out of somewhere, thus adding to her vulnerability. She is also positioned at an unusual angle adding to the eeriness and showing there’s something wrong with her; she’s not mentally stable. The night-time/rainy environment she is presented in could also be said to be classic horror iconography, as it is unlikely we would see this particular setting in film of another genre.

The title of the film, Gothika, is a very unusual word/name, whilst the actual word is considered to mean a “horrifying nightmare”. This is reflective of the narrative within the film; Miranda wakes up to find herself in a living nightmare. The situation she is in is extremely unusual too, just like the name of the film. It can also be said that the name of the film also follows conventions of psychological horrors, since it is rather ambiguous. Gothika isn’t a very typical name for the psychological horror sub-genre – the ‘goth’ in Gothika  could make the audience think the movie has something to do with gothic horror, when it infact does not. Therefore the image on the poster helps to provide anchorage when it comes to the title, as it doesn’t feature conventions of gothic horror, or gothic horror iconography. The font used for the title is a script font, which looks etched/scratched onto the image and is very squiggly – it looks as if the person/thing who scratched it onto the image was shaking (was it Miranda? She is a very vulnerable character after all, and when someone is shaking it makes them appear more vulnerable – we also see Miranda shake in the trailer). The shakiness of the title could also signify the fact it is a psychological horror – it looks like the person who wrote it wasn’t in a good mental state. The title is the largest piece of text on the page, which is conventional and significant; it stands out the most therefore it is clear to the audience that Gothika is the title. The white colour also helps it stand out; it is white but with a blue shadow, complimenting the blueish colour scheme within the image. The whiteness could also be said to represent the vulnerability of Miranda’s character, whilst the colours used for the title make it look as if could be a source of light. The placement of the title is also conventional it is on the bottom right hand side – a place the audience’s eyes will glance last and therefore remember the title, and will be more likely to go and see the film.

The tagline is “BECAUSE SOMEONE IS DEAD DOESN’T MEAN THEY’RE GONE.” This tagline also provides anchorage for the image, making it clear the film the poster is promoting is a horror, whilst also suggesting that, although it’s a psychological horror, there is an element of supernatural to it. The tagline combined with ‘NOT ALONE’ etched into Miranda’s arm also signals the narrative of the film – the ghost girl that Miranda sees when she crashes her car is a key element of the narrative. The tagline still however adds a sense of mystery and intrigue for the audience; who is the ‘someone’ that is dead but not gone? And why/how does Miranda have ‘NOT ALONE’ carved into her arm? These factors combined will pose questions in the audience’s head, encouraging them to come and see the film for themselves, in order to discover the answers. 'NOT ALONE' could also be said to hint at psychosis - when an individual is psychologically ill, it is common to hallucinate that somebody is there or hear voices, and therefore the writing carved into Miranda's arm also signals the storyline for the audience. The tagline is a small piece of text which is illuminated in blue and is of an off-white colour, written in a sans-serif font. The plainness of the tagline makes sure that the audience’s main focus is the title placed at the bottom. The block capitals and fairly plain font work together in order to create a serious feel for the poster, scaring the audience and giving the poster a much more eerie feel. The placement of the tagline, however, is not conventional – rather than being placed near the film title, it is placed on the upper right hand side. This is in order to intrigue the audience as it is one of the first things they will see on the poster – if they are intrigued by the tagline, which is suggestive of the narrative, then they will look at other elements of the poster. They will piece together the tagline, the image and the title - it all comes together in the right order and the audience will be enticed into watching the film by the time they see the title. Therefore in a sense, the layout is typical, as it is used in order to encourage the audience to go and see the film.

The poster also features institutional information, conventionally placed at the bottom of the poster, in order to make sure the audience’s attention is focused on the main poster. The institutional information is again, like other text on the page, is white, but is very thin and small – as stated before, this is to make sure the audience focus on the main part of the film poster.

In conclusion the Gothika poster is effective in luring in it’s target audience; by piecing together each element of the poster, they will be able to have an idea of the narrative and will also be attracted to watch it, as it seems like a much more intelligent horror movie. The poster does suggest the films narrative but only very slightly – this is to make sure that not too much is given away, so audiences are curious about the film and still want to come and see it after looking at the poster.