research- the sixth sense magazine analysis

I chose to analyse the movie poster for ‘The Sixth Sense 1999 becase it says on the IMDB it is the highest grossing horror film of all time, liked this poster because it is simple yet effective and is full of the typical codes and conventions of the horror genre.

The black background uses the colour black this connotes death, mystery, suspense, horror and danger, it is also a colour that fits the convention of the horror genre and is used in all movies in some way to create fear within the target audience. The background also allows for the characters on the poster to stand out and for the eye to be drawn to them, this works especially well for the  image of the boy on the right hand side that is emerging from a glow, by using a dark background it helps to emphasise certain parts on the poster.

The actors name (Bruce Willis) has been placed at the head of the poster, it is singled out and although there are other actors in this film the production company have chosen to only have his name present within the marketing product. The effect of this is to draw attention to him as an actor; he is a very successful and has starred in many other popular film titles, this will encourage people to watch ‘The Sixth Sense’. The colour used for this particular text is in white which works well to contrast against the black background making it stand out for the intended audience.

The title ‘The Sixth Sense’ situated towards the bottom of the poster stands out however does not draw your attention away from the main image. It  uses a font which looks like handwriting, maybe of a child’s level of writing as it is spaced out and the lettering is uneven, this infers the context behind the storyline. The font is also very eerie as it looks as though it has been scratched in the poster or written on a white board, this very idea creates images of horror in the audience. Again, the font is white which makes it stand out against the black background.

The dominating image used on the poster is a close up head shot of Bruce Willis, using his image will encourage people to watch this film as again, he is a successful actor which will influence people’s decisions into watching this film. Bruce Willis also has a shadow cast over his face, this is an enigma code (Barthes) which evokes mystery for the audience which works successfully for the horror audience as creating mystery is a typical convention for the genre. Using a close up shot is effective as is captures the emotions expressed by Bruce Willis, he is looking serious and has his head turned away from the image on the right, this infers how the image on the right is something of a serious nature and something to be worried about, this again creates mystery (enigma code).

The image on the right is a silhouette of a boy who is walking from a light. The use of a silhouette disguises the identity of this boy which creates mystery as to who he is and what he potentially has to hide – another enigma code. The light which shines behind him could connote the light of death or some body coming back from the dead, it could also represent life. The light/glow also reminds me of a spirit which could infer the context of the plot.