Posters in relation to their film - The Strangers

I think it is important to understand the conventions of horror posters and to understand how much information they give away (or don't). I have found that they don't give away a lot of obvious information but if I were to look at a few posters now from the view of knowing the story having seen the film, I will hopefully be able to identify the reasons for including certain features.
First I will look at the Strangers. The Strangers is a film in which a couple are in a cabin in the forest and 'strange' men and women in masks get into their house and torture them while they try to escape. There is a lot of suspense, blood and murders at the end. The masks are the main feature of the film. So now I have made a synopsis of the film, I will look at the poster and see how much of these details are given away or how many themes are conveyed.

On of the masked killers are standing in the background while the main character has no idea they are there. Audience is aware, character is not. This portrays the typical mood of the film; an unknown, eerie and suspenseful series of events. Dark colours are used, as are they in the film which helps the audience interpret a dark atmosphere within the film. The title is centred and blurred which, along with the lighting, fits in with the typical conventions of a horror film. The main character is standing in the light with dark closing in around her. The dark represents fear and death. The killer is hiding in that closing in darkness which is scary; it tells us he is going to do something to her. He looks intimidating and evil next to the woman who looks frightened and vulnerable.



So, in relation to my synopsis, does it fit in? There is not a couple in the picture but there is the woman of the couple; a typical protaganist situation, the poor damsel in distress. Women are more vulnerable. I will focus on my main character, a woman, in my picture. Suspense is definately portrayed, as are the masks. What is not given away is that, as i've said, there is not a man involved, there are not two other killers as there are in the film, there is no murder or blood but there is darkness which denotes death. What it gives away is half and half really.