Film Poster Analysis: Orphan

Orphan is a psychological horror, in which, a couple adopt a mysterious orphan named Esther who turns out to be a psychologically disturbed adult woman. This is a main poster, and I chose to analyse it as I found that when the movie came out, I kept seeing this poster everywhere and found it extremely creepy, even though it was a very simplistic poster! It also focuses on an individual who is mentally disturbed, much like our horror narrative does. The use of shadow in this poster is also really subtle yet effective, and I think it’s what gives the poster such an edge.

This poster fulfils both layout and general conventions of a film poster as the main image dominates the frame and the name of the movie is at the lower middle of the poster. It also features institutional information, located at the bottom, as well as having a tagline featured on the poster. The image also gives a visual clue as to the movies narrative – it is clear she is the orphan that the movie is based around.

The image within the poster is a plain, simple image of the antagonist within the film. The setting of the poster is a simple, green coloured wall. The setting is really simple but effective as, due to the wall which is painted, the audience may be reminded of a home environment – the antagonist can get inside their home, making her even more scary; it also links back to the narrative, as the couple who adopt Esther give her a loving home. The green colour of the wall is also similar to the shade of green that the army generally wear, which signals the aggressiveness of Esther whilst also making the poster feel cold and desolate. The fact she’s stood in a room alone also signals to the audience immediately that she is the orphan implied within the title. The top left hand and right hand corners are also slightly blacked out which will add to the eerie feel – what is behind those corners that the audience can’t see? The fact they gradually fade into dark could also signify the fact that at the start of the movie Esther is seen as a sweet, innocent little girl yet by the end we know she is a crazed murderer.

In the poster it appears that artificial lighting has been used, and it is coming from above Esther. This creates an effect in which the audience can only see black holes where her eyes are supposed to be, suggesting she’s sinister – the eyes are said to be a ‘window to the soul’ and as we can’t see her soul, it is suggested that she has no soul and is therefore evil. This also conventional of the horror genre as in many movies, the eyes are the way the audience can tell if something is wrong with the character. The contrast in lighting throughout the whole poster is really effective, as it could be said to lull the audience into a flase sense of security; the middle is low key, but normal looking lighting, yet the edges and parts of her face are dark – the audience is put on edge by the fact that the image is not as innocent as it may have looked at first glance, making the audience feel unnerved and more likely to go and watch the film.

The only character which features on this poster is the antagonist and orphan of the movie, Esther. Mise-en-scene elements which would usually be seen as innocent are made to look sinister within the poster such as her costume; a checkered, collared dress which looks as if it could be school uniform. However the colour of it is really dark and dowdy. Her facial expression looks extremely serious and stern; as if she’s angry or bitter about something. When it comes to costume, she also has a tight, maroon red, material band around her neck; it looks extremely restrictive, and will therefore put the audience on edge as they will not want to see a child being strangled, even if that child looks evil. As well as this, the material is a red which is the same shade as dried blood – this subtly reflects her older age and the fact she is/has been a mentally disturbed killer. As it is a medium close up, we only see the top half of her body without including arms, as they are blacked out, and this matches her facial expression, as well as this, the medium shot allows the audience to see she’s stood upright as opposed to slouching. This could be said to signify the fact she’s actually an adult as it is a much more grown up stance – another suggestion to the fact that she’s actually an adult, is that she’s placed perfectly within the middle, with her hair in perfectly symmetrical bunches; everything within the image is extremely symmetrical, which isn’t common when looking at a normal child, as they are typically messy and energetic. However, there is no horror iconography within the image, which is breaking conventions, however, this is necessary as it is a psychological horror being promoted; it doesn’t tend to use weapons and blood to scare its audience, focusing more on the mental abnormalities of the antagonist. Therefore this image signals its genre, and is able to attract the intellectual audience it is aimed at.

The title of the film, Orphan, is very indicative of the narrative that is presented to the audience; it is clear that the girl being featured within the image on the poster is the orphan that that film is named after. The name could be said to be typical of a psychological horror as it features extremely different storylines within the sub-genre, however, it is conventional of horror in general as demonic, possessed and abandoned children are common features within most sub-genres.  The typography of the title is a script font, which looks etched/scratched onto the poster, and is of a medium to large size. The title’s appearance is very conventional as it features at the lower middle of the poster and is the largest piece of text on the poster. It is also typical of psychological horrors which often feature script font for their title. The etched effect on the text also gives it a sinister effect, as the audience is likely to image it being etched onto the poster – an aggressive image. A white colour is used for the title; white connotes innocence, much like Esther at the beginning of the film, and therefore it suggests that, as she is meant to be an young orphan, she should stereotypically be a fragile, vulnerable and innocent character. Therefore the white being used for the title is extremely ironic; the white colour and the aggressive looking font is oxymoronic as they both connote two different ideas – the orphan Esther, and the mentally disturbed adult she actually is. The placement of the title is, as stated earlier, extremely conventional, as it is the last place the audience’s eyes are likely to look and therefore they are likely to remember the name, and be more likely to go and see the film. The image reels the audience in, and at the last moment, the name of the film is revealed, creating anticipation and enticing them to see the film.

The tagline for this film is located at the top of the poster, and is “THERE’S SOMETHING WRONG WITH ESTHER.” The tagline is the first hint that the girl in the image is actually evil and sinister; the audience see the tagline, and assume that maybe ‘Esther’ is just ill or upset, however, when they gaze their eyes down after reading the tagline, they notice her facial expression and the shadowy effect on her face – it is clear that there is something more complex going on. The fact the tagline is in capitals also creates a sense of urgency and danger, making the audience feel as if whatever is wrong with her needs to be dealt with immediately, and the full stop at the end also adds to the serious tone of it. The fact it only tells the audience there is something wrong with her, as opposed to telling them directly what is wrong with her will make the audience extremely curious and therefore they are more likely to go and see the movie as they will want to know what exactly is ‘wrong’ with her. The sans serif font and white colour are also significant; the sans serif font adds to the urgency of the danger – if what was wrong with Esther wasn’t really dangerous, then the font would probably be much more aesthetically pleasing.  The white colour also makes sure it stands out, so the audience can get a hint of what the narrative will be like, providing anchorage to the image. The positioning of the tagline is also conventional of a horror movie poster, as it as the top, the first place the audience’s eyes will gaze and so it acts as an introduction to the poster; the layout in general is extremely conventional.

The poster also features institutional information within it, which is again, conventionally placed at the bottom. The information is introduced by blending into the dull colour of Esther’s dress so as to make sure that it doesn’t distract from the main parts of the poster. It is also in a typical font and typography style of film posters in general.

The colours which dominate this poster is dark green, blue and black creating an extremely cold effect for the audience; usually horror posters feature red, black and white, with the red creating a warmer feel (possibly to represent hell or blood) however this poster breaks conventions in order to represent just how cold and real Esther is as an antagonist. It also represents the fact it is a psychological horror, as it doesn’t focus on blood and gore to scare the viewer,  using colours to signify Esther’s mentally disturbed state and personality.

Overall this poster is extremely effective; it lures the audience in and hints towards the narrative without giving too much away. The simpleness of the image helps to lure in the perfect target audience; only more intellectual individuals will look deeper into the image and see the signs that Esther is evil. The tagline and image being presented together also ensures that something bad will happen through the course of the movie, and it will be to do with the girl on the poster - therefore the audience can decide whether they would like the narrative or not.