Analysis of font

When looking a titles for films, font is often key to portray the nature of the film as a horror trailer. Some use simple, or plain fonts to lure the viewer into the false sense of security, such as the original Halloween film (1987) and other use far more dark and foreboding text to make clear that the film is designed to scare the audience or give them a sense of unrest, such as the title of Se7en (1995).

Horror film titles were mainly written in a plain, relatively normal font up until the 1950s when the titles start to become far more varied and and sinister. The type of horror film also influences the font used for the title greatly.

A slasher film, which generally focuses on a psychopathic killer stalking and killing a number of victims in a particularly violent and graphic nature. The term slasher is characterized due to the frequent use of weapons used to cut/slash the victim including, but not limited to; Knives, Axes, Chainsaws, Scythes and Saws. Famous examples include the Halloween films (1987-2009), The Texas Chain saw Massacre (1974-2013), Scream(1996), A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), The Final destination franchise (2000-2011) and even Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho (1960). These films generally have twisted titles which make the audience feel uneasy. Modern day interpretations rely heavily upon distorted titles, which in some way reference the content of the film- Blood, an X-Ray or a Chainsaw.

Splatter films are films which rely heavily upon gore and violence to shock the audience into being scared. These films are often criticized for their use of violence above all else, using the plot as a framing device for the violence rather than try to engage the audience on any level. Notable examples include Hostel (2005-2011), Saw (2004-2010), My Bloody Valentine (2009), The Crazies (2009), The Hills have eyes (2006) and Dawn of the Dead (2004). The fonts used for these titles are very plain, choosing to utilize more distorted text, than a form of text which reflects a particular aspect of the film, such as blood. The texts are generally dark in nature and are normally a strong, stark contrast to the background.

The last kind of horror film which could be realistically used is a supernatural horror film. Supernatural horror films have a strong link to the occult and spirits of those who have passed away. Examples of these include; The Amityvale horror (2005), The Exorcist (1973), Grave Encounters
(2011-2012), The Blair Witch Project (1999), Paranormal Activity (2007-2014) and Drag me to Hell (2009). These titles are often simple, or plain text overlayed upon a single colour background, normally dark in nature. These texts are the simplest, as they rely the least on effects and seem to just create tension by being something ordinary, that isn't quite right.

Clearly, there is a great contrast between modern day Horror film titles and horror film trailers of the past. Modern day titles use darker fonts in an attempt to make the audience feel a sense of unrest, which can be seen across all genres of horror film. These often use dark backgrounds to reflect the nature of the films. From this, our title will have to utilize a fairly plain text, with a dark foreboding background.