Orphan analysis

ORPHAN film poster analysis

This is a film poster of "Orphan" it's a horror movie, it came out in the year 2009.The image is of Esther, the ‘Orphan’ who has been adopted by a married couple, who already have two other children. She had mental problems and had nightmares about being haunted by the demons from her past.

Firstly, the use of the colours on this poster is a contrast of black and a glowing green. The green used in the background makes the Orphan Esther's face stand out. The use of colours may connote evil as they are gloomy colours. The type of greenish blue dress Esther's wearing shows she has an old fashion posh dress sense, but this is also a stereotype as people who wear clothes like her are usually posh. Around her eyes and jaw there is a black shadow, this gives her a more skeletal look. The muddy light greenish effect shows envy around her face Esther is highlighted in many places to make her look more sinister. Esther's pale face gives the sense of horror which contrasts the difference between her and the other characters. It is a close up camera shot, shows very little background and it mainly concentrates on the face and the detail of mise en scene. The medium angle which enables us to be able to see her facial expressions clearly, but also allowing us to see some of her clothing, and this provides space for institutional information, date, website and the tag line. 

There are two tag lines on this poster which are in capital. so stand out more, there is one big bold one at the top saying 'THERE'S SOMETHING WRONG WITH ESTHER' this instantly tells the audience that Esther is the one on the poster and she is the main character. The font being white on a black background makes it stand out more. Moreover the thing that's wrong with Esther isn't revealed, so its a mystery, which would get the audience thinking and wanting to know. The second tag line is at the bottom is a blood red colour which is slightly smaller and it says 'CAN YOU KEEP A SECRET?' it is in a red font which could connote danger, on the other hand the colour red reinforces stereotypes of something being in red is dangerous. They haven't told us what the secret is which intrigues the viewer and makes them wanting to know the plot of the film, which would also encourage them to watch the film. This embarks people to watch the film who are into horror films and 16-20 year olds.

The font used in the title 'Orphan' seems to be in the style of a kid's writing, this links in with the story line, as its centred around a young girl. The title stands out as it is highlighted with a small amount of glow and the scratchy effect which could indicate violence and horror. In addition the title is on top of her clothing, so it is clear that she is the 'Orphan'. The title contrasts with the tag line as the title says Orphan and within the tag line it says Esther which is the girls name, so it is very clear the Orphan is the girl called Esther.

By Rashmi Sharma  12M