Prom night analysis

The horror, mystery and thriller movie Prom Night was directed by Nelson McCormick and wrote by J.S. Cardone.

Donna Keppel (Brittany Snow – main character) has a dark past which she was originally safe from, until her supposed best night of her life, prom, commenced that was supposed to be full of love, happiness and enjoyment with her best friends. But a merciless and obsessed killer had different plans for her; turning her magical night into a murder scene.

The use of a female victim is theoretically called the ‘male gaze theory’ where woman are stereotypically seen as being the weaker gender, as well as showcased for a males attraction, and therefore be a much easier target to the antagonist.

Focusing on the poster, it encloses a womanly figure, only her nose and mouth, with a tiara fallen onto her nose. Converging my views to Donna’s mouth, she happens to be screaming and with her mouth being constructed central within the frame, it emphasizes her distress and therefore portrays the thriller aspects. The fact that her tiara has fell disproportionate to how it should be, covering her eyes and nose, it connotes a sense of isolation; portraying Donna to be blinded by the beauty of prom but later on secluded by the terror of horrific murders due to her daunting past.

Moving on to the image itself which contains a blue coloration with low key lighting. When I consider the cold coloring, it represents that of an insensitive and careless being, perceptibly referring to the murderer. The low key lighting accentuates the contours of the subject, Donna, by throwing areas into shade while a fill-light/reflector may brighten the shadowed areas to create a balance in extremes of dark to lights; generating an intense contrast. As a result of this, it works extremely effectively since the darker areas connote the mystery aspects of the film – possibly that of Donnas past - and the brighter areas portray the distress that the cold-being has caused for Donna.

The type face of the main text contains similarities to what may be used on a gravestone, connoting the film genre which surrounds death. The coloring is red portraying menace, blood and evil all of which have a possibility to be inflicted on the characters. Due to the cool coloring of the poster itself, the red sets apart from that, emphasizing its importance. The poster includes a ‘teaser’ element, with the unspecific release date; this text is also a red font, like the film title, which engages the audience, leaving them curious to what the film entails – this further links to the mystery of the film.

Below the film title is where the tagline is placed which constantly gives this text importance.

The tagline reads ‘A NIGHT TO DIE FOR’ which is written in white capitals setting apart from the darkened background. The context of the tagline plays on words; usually that phrase will be considered on a positive note implying a great night. However, the word ‘die’ unwaveringly connotes the possibilities that may occur in the film – further representing the genre. The post-processing includes a worn look with scratches and grain, I consider this to reflect the struggle that the main character experiences in this film, as well as enhancing the fact that her night ended up opposed to her assumed joyful night.

The target audience, due to the film title itself, targets teenagers and young adults, for they are of a similar age who may experience a prom, which makes them relate to this movie.