(Dracula, art by Bill Wiggins)
This illustration by Bill Wiggins is for the Hammer Horror film
Dracula (1958) closely based on the book of the same name by Bram Stoker. This
poster immediately denotes that this is indeed a horror film.
There is a simple narrative on display in this piece; to the right
of the poster we can see a man leaning over a female. Her features connote to
the audience that she is relaxed, possibly even asleep whilst he leans over her
with an unsavoury look upon his face and sharp teeth protruding from his mouth.
This signifies that he is most likely the villain of the piece, Dracula. The
female meanwhile is showing a bit of flesh suggesting a sense of vulnerability,
which was quite stereotypical, especially in films of this nature at the point
in time when this film was made. Her white clothing implies a virginal
innocence, a goodness strongly contrasted by Dracula’s black garments suggesting
power, mystery and an overall negative vibe. Their well-tailored clothes
signify that this film involves people of a certain class, which is further
conveyed by the female’s well-kept appearance and groomed hair. Meanwhile the
villain himself has greased back hair, which despite signifying a potentially
different cultural background still suggests some sort of social standing.
Meanwhile the black thematic continues with the background, not
only serving to connote the dark nature of the film but allowing for the
illusion of Dracula appearing out of the darkness also.
A bold red typeface is at the forefront of the image with the
title of the film, Dracula, which starkly contrasts the surrounding darkness of
the poster. This helps grab the audience attention and signifies that the male
in the poster is indeed Dracula, the villain of the piece. Note that the
typeface is red, which is the same colour of blood, a strong theme within the
narrative of the film. It is also written in large capital letters, transforming
the title somewhat and suggesting that it shouldn’t just be read, but shouted aloud.
Around the poster there is additional yellow text, which is
written in an informative manner. It tells the audience that the story is about
‘The TERRIFYING Lover – who died – yet lived!’ The word terrifying is in a
capitalized harsh typeface to add a sense of dread to the word, whilst the word
lover has a capital ‘L’ to give the word more power. With an advisory message
at the bottom of the piece that states ‘Don’t dare see it alone!’ it is clear
that a target audience for this film is couples. This would also explain why
there is also a connotative romanticism in the posture of Dracula and the
female.
Finally the acting credits above and below the title are in a dull
green typeface to separate them from the black background whilst also making
them less apparent than the title of the film or the informative surrounding
text. This sans serif typeface is somewhat serious compared to the
aforementioned text; this signifies a sense of professionalism on the actor’s
part. After all, despites its outlandish premise the film is well crafted and
brilliantly acted, changing the typeface, perhaps making it friendlier or
softer, would detract from the skilled attitude of the actors themselves.
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