"Orphan" Film Poster Analysis

This film poster is for the film 'Orphan'

First glances at this poster made me feel quite uneasy, which I suppose was the desired effect.

They have broken the stereotype of not seeing the face of the 'bad guy' (or girl) on the poster. Somehow, I think this has worked out very well.

A common image used to creep people out is the Little Girl.

This little girl has a piercing stare which looks straight at you. I think this is why I felt uneasy at first.

We assume this girl is the main character, and probably the villan within the plot. The name 'Orphan' fits well with this main image, as the girl appears to be alone. Another common 'little girl' feature is the use of 'old fashioned' appearance. For example, a frock with collars and ribbons around her pigtails. This image is used alot to give the idea of strange goings on. This trait was most commonly shown in the original 'Nightmare on Elm Street' films, where young girls dressed similarly to this one would play hopscotch just before Freddy appeared.

The font of the title also works well, as they have purposely made it look like the handwriting of a small child.

There are an unusual 2 taglines on this poster.

'THERE'S SOMETHING WRONG WITH ESTHER'

and

'CAN YOU KEEP A SECRET?'

This creates a code of enigma for the film, 'what IS wrong with Esther?'

The billing block is also kept to a minimum as not to distract you from the eyes of the girl.