Sleepy Hollow Poster Analysis

The title of the poster is positioned at the top of the page, and is therefore is one of the first things which catches the audience’s eye. The text font is representative of an old fashioned letter, which adds to the setting of the film itself. The text itself is not bold, and is imperfect, which adds ro the mystery of the film which is initially created by the title. By colouring the title in red, this connotes to the stereotypes of blood, death and danger, all of which are particularly relevant within the horror genre. Though, since there is a close companionship of the male and female displayed in the centre of the poster, the colour may also symbolise their love and perhaps lust also.

The colour scheme includes black, red and white, all of which are very basic yet cold colours. This represents, through the black, the dark and evil essence of the horror nature within the film, yet the white is seemingly used to enhance the two protagonists, and highlights their faces. The colour white is seemingly the opposite of evil, and represents virginity aspects, hence related to the ‘good’ within the film, and on the poster. The red however is used to add minor details of fear, danger, love and possibly blood. These colours are all commonly used within horror movie posters since they successfully portray fear, anxiety and danger.

Since giving a subjective gaze, it is easiest to relate to the two central characters, which are perceived as the protagonists. The female is sporting a particularly stereotypical innocence, since she has large eyes, blonde long hair and a youthful look, which makes her a vulnerable target for the villain within the film. In addition to this, it could be argued that these features make her a possible final girl within the film, since these features could show her as virginal and pure. The second character, however, has more of a harsh expression on his face, which suggests to the audience that he shall be the main protagonist in the piece. This character also gives an insight into the era of the film since his high neck scarf and jacket suggests that this film is not set within the 21^st century. The third and final character is the headless man on a black horse, who we can assume to be the antagonist of the film. The audience is only able to see his silhouette, which adds to the further fear of the unknown. He is seemingly surrounded by fog and a graveyard which creates the assumption that he will be killing people. This is very effective horror movie iconography.