1. Film Poster Analysis - Gothika
The main image is very intriguing; the female character featured is using
direct address to lure in the audience. Her facial expression suggests that
she is scared or disturbed by something that has happened to her because
she is frowning, has knitted brows, her lips are parted, she has wide eyes,
and seems to be focused on something that is presumably scary, and
therefore it links to elements within the narrative. The character is pressed up
against glass this could link to the fact that she is imprisoned in a mental
institution and is desperate to escape and to rejoin the real world. It could
also be said that she is trapped inside her warped mind and wants to
escape, it is known that when psychologically disturbed you are on the
outside looking in. The way her hands are pressed against window suggests
desperation to escape.
The rain in the image creates a sense of misery and doom, coldness and
depression. The rain seems hard and relentless – again links to the fact that
psychological illness can seem as if it has no end. The rain and murkiness
can linked to the darkness and fogginess of a twisted mind. The rain can
also be linked to the part of the narrative where Halle Berry’s character sees
the spirit of a girl in the road while she is driving in the pouring rain. Overall,
there is a blue filter over the poster. This creates a cold, hostile feel and there
is a symbiotic link between this and the film itself, as a blue overlay is utilised
across the entire piece.