The Ring Poster Analysis

The Ring Poster Analysis

The poster for The Ring is fairly simple and non-complex. The focus lies solely on the main image and title, which is centered in the middle of the poster.
The only colours used are black and white. Using black in a horror poster is conventional as it has obvious connotations with darkness and the unknown. This emphasises the mystery, what is the ring? Why do you see it "before you die?" The black background also makes the light circle of the ring stand out. Using white text is the most effective to then stand out against the black background. The colours of black and white also represent the key theme in the film, which is the videotape. The videotape in the film is old and shows film in entirely black and white, so after the watching the film, the audience will make links between this and the poster.
There also appear to be blurred lines across the main image and text, these are the same fuzzy lines which appear on a television screen, for example before the tape begins playing. So the poster uses the same symbolic imagery as is used in the real film. It is likely that the audience will have a vague idea that the film is about a videotape , so they will probably have made this connection prior to viewing the film.
The title of the film uses quite a child-like font. Most film posters use a text which is bold, often in capital letters , but this font is rounded, in lower case and appears to be hand-written. Many horror films use symbols linked to children as it becomes more haunting when someone who we expect to be innocent becomes involved in something scary. This font makes us question whether a child is behind the story, or is even the killer.
The tagline of the film is "Before you die, you see the ring." This is obviously for effect, scaring the audience. It reveals that people in the film are obviously going to die, but also makes them question what the "ring" is. The text is shadowed in bigger , yet fainter font behind it. This creates the effect that the words are being echoed.
The billing block for the poster is unusually small, though it is placed at the bottom of the poster following conventions. There seem to be a small number of names on the block, but the standard format is used.
Though this poster is simple, and there are no highlighted actors surrounding the main image, it's ambiguity is what makes it effective, making the audience want to see the film.