Ancillary Product Research: Poster Analysis (Genre Specific Dark Fantasy 2)

I have decided to look at multiple posters for this film to enable me to see the different techniques employed to convey similar messages, and communicate the essence of the film. All images retrieved from IMDB.

Institutional Information
Horns (2013) is a dark fantasy horror film directed by Alexandre Aja, loosely based on a novel written by Joe Hill. The production companies involved were Red Granite Pictures and Mandalay Pictures. It is distributed by Dimension Films and RADiUS-TWC. It was first released on 6 September 2013 as part of the  2013 Toronto International Film Festival, before being released theatrically in the United States on 31st October 2013. The film made $3.9 million.

Synopsis
Following the death of his girlfriend, a young man awakens to find that he has devil horns sprouting from his temples.

Poster 1

This first poster uses softer tones to make the red stand out more, emphasising the devilish qualities of the main character. Green connotes nature and jealousy, linking to the rage the main character experiences after finding out he is being blamed for the untimely death of his girlfriend. The image also has religious connotations. The green links to the Garden of Eden. This association is substantiated by the snake, who in the Bible tempts Adam and Eve to eat the fruit they have been told not to consume them. Therefore it connects to the wider theme of good and evil.
The character's prominence in the narrative is shown by the close up of his face, as it immediately engages the audience. This strength and prominence is contrasted by the girl, who looks lifeless and weak, but innocent and peaceful. One character being positioned above the titles and the other below could be a reference to heaven and hell.
This links to the strap line, "love hurts like hell". Red also signifies love, as well as the danger that their relationship encounters. The colour of the typography (off white) could refer to how the protagonist's innocence and reputation has been stained, constructing him to be an anti hero.
With regards to the star system, Daniel Radcliffe's name is included as he is a well-renowned actor, best known for the titular role in the Harry Potter franchise. Hence he could influence whether the public go to see the film. However the promoting of him is softer, with his name in typography only slightly larger than the strap line, in keeping with the rest of the poster.

Poster 2

Poster 3

Posters 2 and 3 are predominantly grey. This is more conventional of horror and dark fantasy than the
first; it has connotations of unhappiness, ambiguity and darkness. The grey also emphasises the brighter colours, such as red (in both) and white (in Poster 2). The mix of white and red could refer to how a man who insists he is innocent has been labelled as guilty.
The typography in these posters are also what you'd expect from a horror film, especially the title. This is because the the font is more hectic; there is nothing neat about it. Stereotypically it is the type of writing that evil and extra terrestrial forces have. There is something other worldly about it which links to how fantasy films merge together aspects of reality and the imaginary. The second poster is the only one of the three to allow us to see the female character (presumably his girlfriend) properly. She is holding on to him. This could communicate both the tender nature of their love, and the fact that she is dominant in his life, almost pulling him backwards and pushing him over the edge (as does the blame he receives for her death).

All of the posters use direct address to hook the audience in and make the poster more eye catching and display the protagonist's powerful stature. The third poster definitely gives a more magnified view of his face, allowing us to see the anger in his eyes (usually red eyes are associated with possession). The monochrome colour of the rest of the poster makes this stand out further.
Religious references are furthered in this poster (Garden of Eden is mentioned in Poster 1) by the positioning of the text to make a crucifix shape. The text about "the devil" both subverts and substantiates the idea of religion. In folklore, devils have possessed "bad" people. However, a lot of the time (but not always) religions emphasise being morally aware and innocent. 
The last two posters also promote Daniel Radcliffe more strikingly, it may be directed at a more targeted group of people and possibly be promoting the film in different countries. The last two also advertise the film as being based on the book by Joe Hill whereas the first one doesn't. The decision to omit this from the first poster could be fuelled by it being a teaser poster (inferred by "coming soon" - they usually have less information) or the fact that the shared frame of reference is missing from the first poster's audience.