In the 2010 movie “Insidious”, the Lambert family experiences paranormal activities in which they believe the house is haunted until they come to the realization that it is their son who has been possessed by a demon and has traveled to another realm. In hopes of saving their son the family explores the paranormal, from which they uncover the truth of the past and find the key to saving him. The writers of Insidious believe that when being possessed the farther a person travels to the other realm, the darker the realm gets.
The movie’s recurring theme of possession becomes apparent in the movie’s poster by apturing the physical appearance of the young boy through the usage of various techniques, that work together to illustrate the control of the demon’s possession that haunts the young boy along with his family. The composition of the placement of features throughout the poster illustrate the story that is going to be told within the movie, presenting danger. The placement of the house in the background in relation to the foreground of the boy in the center go hand in hand with demonstrating the evil within them.
The low angle in which the house is placed makes the audience become disoriented with the feeling of the house. In the center of the poster we have the little boy who the demon has possessed; as the main character, the movie will revolve around the events of the boy. The boy’s attire consists of pajamas, giving off that the boy travels in his sleep. It also presents the idea of innocence because when sleeping it is unknown what occurs. The eleven-year-old boy gives the audience a sense of sympathy for him, being concerned for his well-being.
In the background, there seems to be a house that sheds some light in the entire poster, coming across that there is some hope, but is slowly diming away. The tagline hangs above the boy because it aptures the attention from it is not the house but it really is the boy who is haunted. The placement of the tagline grabs attention after first coming to the conclusion that it is the house that’s possessed then realizing it is the boy when reading it, “It’s not the house that’s haunted”. In the bottom center the title is placed underneath the boy in bold capital red letter, allowing it to stand out from the background.
The word insidious means, proceeding in a gradual, subtle way, but with harmful effects foreshadowing there will be dark consequences the boy will go through. On the top and on bottom of the title the makers of wo well respected movies are presented in order to illustrate the genre being presented. At the very bottom of the poster the production company and directors are written in order to present the producer which will give the audience a feel of their previous movies. The illustration of evil is not only presented through the placement, but also through the lighting that is peeking through the sky by the formation of clouds.
The atmosphere that poster presents to the audience is as if a series of dangerous events are approaching the young boy. The weather, which is typically over looked, can be a key idea to a icture, story, movie, etc. , as Thomas C. Foster acknowledges in How to Read Literature Like a Professor, “weather is never just weather. ” The dark grey heavy cloud surrounding the house present a sense of evil that is approaching or has approached. The clouds have shades of grey, implying danger that has formed.
There is still hope through the lighting because not all color is completely gone, some white almost turning to grey colors is still present on the house and in the sky. The weather and light play a key role of giving an atmosphere of what to foreshadow from the movie. The dark sky and the low lighting bove the house imply the danger happening within the house. The lighting of the house gives hope that there is hope for the young boy and the family even though it may seem difficult. The dull color scheme of the poster illustrates the movie’s focus on darkness, coming from both the character and the house.
The colors come across as if the life has been drained out of the whole poster, but more specifically, from the young boy, evident by his pale skin and washed out pajamas seem as if they have been washed out of color. The house in the background has an old vintage look with no vibrant colors catching the audience’s ye; this color scheme is typically used in scary movies which portray the creepiness that lies within. Usage of darkness and shadows portrays the heaviness of evil that surround the young boy and house setting, from the harsh use of grey tones throughout.
By seeing little to no color the audience gets a mysterious and unknown vibe. The only eye catching element of the poster is the vibrant use of red from the title, ‘Insidious”. As Raetta Parker sates in her interpretation of color, “red is widely used to indicate danger;” from the title the audience can predict that danger will occur throughout the movie. Having the only olor in the entire poster within the title shows the importance of it. Since in the movie, the demon who is trying to possess the young boy, has a vibrant red face which in relation to the title represents the evil of the usage of the color red.
The title is the first thing the eye focuses on with the dark background coming into focus last. This leaves the viewer with the notion that the creepier aspects of the movie are just beneath the surface, leaving the viewer unsettled. Through the young boy’s eye, he holds a direct gaze to the audience allowing them to foreshadow the possession that is within his body. His eyes give ff a connection between the character and audience. The direction of his tired eyes come across as if he is slowly dying and the demon is taking over.
One of the eyes seem to be misshaped and uneven, implying his features are changing due to the demon. Although the other eye is normal which implies there is still some good left in him, he has not been completely taken into the other side just yet. From the direct gaze, the audience can imply the intimidation that the demon is trying to get across, as if he is in control now making it seem terrifying. His gaze is strong and dominant while the rest of his physical eatures are weak and rotting away. The word “insidious” is reflected off his left eye, once again indicating possession.
The presence of evil can come across in various way. From the usage of colors, the movie foreshadows the heavy, dull, and dark theme that is peeking through the poster. Through the color red the audience gets the alert of danger and evil. While from gaze, the young boy’s heavy yet controlling dominant eyes, due to the demon’s possession portray the harsh condition he is in. The house in the background presents the audience with a distraction, to believe the possessing is occurring because of the ouse when in reality the little boy is causing the haunting that occurs in the house.
From the gloomy clouds, portraying harsh weather conditions are approaching which symbolizes chaos and disaster will happen in the isolated house. All components work together in order to portray the possession of the young boy while capturing the dark evil atmosphere surrounding him as he travels through the other realm. When acknowledging the farther you travel the darker the realm gets, implies the young boy must get out before he is fully possessed by the demon and the dark has completely taken over.
