Sci-Fi Film Poster Research

Before creating my very own film poster and logo for 'Folie à deux' (my short film), I thought it would be a good idea to look at some famous & successful film posters of the genres (sci-fi/horror) for inspiration seeing as my film encompasses both.

The Terminator (1984)

Many people know of the hit sci-fi franchise 'The Terminator' featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger. I chose to look at this 1984 film's cover in particular as it falls into the broad category of sci-fi/horror films, and is quite recognisable. It is a simple shot of a picture of the Terminator itself holding a pistol up in the air and looking away from the camera in an unnatural way as the cyborg he is. The background is simply dark with red lights. Most of the detail in the poster is from the text; 'Schwarzenegger' in red bold - a recognisable name - a known actor and well known person (which is probably the first thing to catch someone's eye), and a brief description of the film itself; which gives a backstory (to get viewers interesting in what happens in the film) and follows onto the title of the film - The Terminator.

Inception (2010)

This film is a sci-fi also featuring a known actor which is one of the selling points of the film - Leonardo DiCaprio. There is also a caption in it that makes you think about the film; 'Your mind is the scene of the crime' which makes the viewer curious about the film. It is also personal and makes you contemplate as it is very direct; 'YOUR mind is the scene of the crime'. In my opinion adding a caption like this is quite effective. The image itself is very powerful - obviously not taken in real llife but edited - of DiCaprio wearing a suit, holding a pistol, standing in deep water looking onto some skyscapers. This is a very powerful image that can stick in someone's mind as a notable scene from the film; as it is not clear what is happening here.

This may make someone looking at the poster curious about what happens in the film. I quite like the title too as 'Inception' is not a common word used in spoken language; and most people probably do not know what inception means. For people who know what it means it is quite powerful, as it gives the basic idea of the beginning, or the isdea that something has begun - and doesn't give too much away about the film itself. Other films such as the 'Divergent' series are quite similar in terms of the title.

The Thing Inside Us (2021)

This film is one I haven't seen but it seems to me like a sci-fi/psychological horror type of film which is rather similar to the film that I've directed and produced with the help of friends here. There is not much text on this cover, just the tagline that reads; 'the darkest threat comes from within' and the title. I think it looks rather bleak without all the text and there is not enough to get you interesting in the film, as a shot of characters standing together in front of a spaceship is rather cliche in my opinion. I like, however the way that there is a combination of two prolific genres - sci-fi and horror, however I feel that isn't represented enough through the use of imagery. It looks to me that the text suggests a psychological thriller, but the imagery suggests sci-fi. My friend notably described it looking like a 'rip-off/knockoff Independence Day'.

The Zero Theorem (2013)

This film poster is also of a film I have not watched but it is my favourite one I have looked at so far. The background is simply of a starry sky in the night, and there is a human face in the centre appearing from the darkness, shining bright like the red nebula behind it. It even looks like the nebula is part of his head, and I think that the image itself is very artistic. The text is distributed well across the page, drawing your eye to notable names of actors and the director of the film, and of course the name 'The Zero Theorem'. The font looks very clean and futuristic. As a sci-fi fan myself, this is a film I would definitely be interested in seeing. In my film poster I aim to make a poster as effective as this, however more suited to the horror genre.

Reference list Cameron, J., Cameron, J., Hurd, G.A., Wisher, W., Schwarzenegger, A., Hamilton, L. and Biehn, M. (1984). The Terminator. [online] IMDb. Available at: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088247/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0 [Accessed 27 Oct. 2021]. Catalanotto, P., Catalanotto, P., Tonry, C., Graham, C. and Juarbe, R. (2021). The Thing Inside Us. [online] IMDb. Available at: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15033924/ [Accessed 27 Oct. 2021]. Gilliam, T., Rushin, P., Gilliam, T., Waltz, C., Hedges, L. and Thierry, M. (2014). The Zero Theorem. [online] IMDb. Available at: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2333804/?ref_=tt_urv [Accessed 27 Oct. 2021]. Lawson, C. (n.d.). 10 Things Parents Should Know About Inception. [online] Wired. Available at: https://www.wired.com/2010/07/10-things-parents-should-know-about-inception/ [Accessed 27 Oct. 2021].