The Silence of the lambs; Film poster review

The silence of the lambs: horror poster review

Colour: the colour scheme used on the design of this poster is dull with shades of brown and red, blood is red and dries/stains different shades of red and brown, this is associated with the horror genre, as well as this the colours also featured such as black, orange and white are all colours that are closely connected to ‘all hallows eve (Halloween) this day is a celebration observed in a number of countries on 31 October.

Theme: The main feature on the poster is a moth covering a woman’s mouth, this moth has a white skull on it, the fact that there is something covering her mouth on the poster supports the use of the title name as it appears she is being silenced. It doesn’t reveal anything to do with the plot as it doesn’t leave any clues as to whether it will be a thriller, slasher, psychological and or teen horror.

Typography: The silence of the lambs is the biggest piece of text on the poster, it is in a similar font to that of Microsoft offices “Impact”,

Props: The only prop used on the poster is the large moth we can see on the ladies face, this has then been edited to make it appear duller and more realistic.

Iconography: Jodie Foster’s face is showing that her mouth is covered by a moth on the silence of the lamb’s poster, but this is not just any kind of moth. The “Death’s-head Hawkmoth” is the one on the posters as well as in the movie, which is known for its vaguely human skull-shaped pattern of markings on the thorax. at you see is actually 7 naked woman’s bodies that are shaping a human skull together, this art work is actually done by Salvador Dali. Some say that the 7 women symbolize the victim’s in the movie.

Location/background: This would have been shot in a studio, more than likely up against a sheet, to help the blackened background effect, it would have then been further edited.

Technical codes: the moth that covers the woman’s mouth on the poster increases the mystery about the character, furthermore the skull shape on the back of the moth suggests danger as skulls are often associated with death, it brings a sense of eeriness to the poster, the heightened sense of danger and horror that this poster creates is a conventions of the thriller genre.