Above is the poster for "Se7en" (1995), which similarly to our film, is a psychological thriller. Hence, it seemed like a sensible idea to analyse such a poster in order to gather a clearer understanding of what is likely to be seen in a poster for this genre. Thus, I will be able to incorporate these ideas when designing a poster of my own.
The above pieces of text are both situated in the centre of the poster, as well as being white (meaning that they directly juxtapose with their eerie black background). This would imply that this (aside from the title) is what the poster's designers wanted to draw attention to in particular. Moreover, most people would immediately identify the above words as being the 7 deadly sins. If not, then the poster uses the sentence below to act as anchorage in order to clarify their significance to the viewer. In addition, it would appear that each of the sins has been crossed through with a red mark; reminiscent of that of a checklist. This, coupled with the aforementioned anchorage, would immediately connote to the viewer that some kind of 7-deadly-sins-themed serial killer is on the loose (as is the case in the film). It is also interesting that the strikes through the words are written in red; the colour that is often used as an index to signify danger or violence (as would be the case with a serial killer). It may also signify that the strikes were written in blood, which would further augment the unsettling nature of the poster.
When observing the film's title, we see another appearance of the index of red to signify danger and to connote the colour of blood. However, what is particularly interesting about this title is that if the viewer observes it closely, it appears that the first 'e' is written slightly differently that the second, rather than in a consistent font-like fashion. This creates the impression that the title was written by hand (and in blood). Not only this, but a tally of 7 can be seen slightly below the title, which marks the number's fourth appearance in the poster. This, and the fact that the title seems handwritten, forms a syntagm that implies the text we see in the poster is in fact written by the killer, and that it gives insight into their obsessive and violent tendencies.
As is often the case with film posters, the poster utilises star-power to attract a larger audience. Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman play the film's two protagonists, and (being A-list celebrities) will therefore attract those who are fans of their previous work. Similarly to the white text, they are brightly coloured in order to juxtapose with the dark background. Their golden colour may have been specifically used to signify the two actors' statuses as glamorous actors, and again, to attract an audience familiar with their work.
As is often seen in films, a lighting effect seen here is that the faces of Pitt and Freeman are mostly only illuminated one side of their faces, creating an almost schizophrenic impression. It would also seem that they are the only parts of the entire poster that is illuminated, while the rest is obscured by darkness. This could be an index to reflect their role as the protagonists, as they are attempting to bring a notorious serial killer to justice, thus bringing hope into a dark world.
Almost all film posters will incorporate some kind of quotation from a reviewer. The reasons for this are fairly obvious: to compel the viewer to see the film. I suspect that this quotation was chosen in particular, in that it incorporates most of what an audience would expect from a psychological thriller; thus attracting fans of said genre.
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