The Omen (1976 and 2006 posters)

The Omen is a 2006 remake of Richard Donner's The Omen of 1976. The fact that the film is a remake of a 1976 film shows that they are trying to re-create the old version of the film and targeting it at a new generation.

When you look at the original poster for the film you can see that the newer version(2006) looks more sinister and fits more with our perception of horror in the 21st generation. 

The Omen (1976 and 2006)

The first thing that attracts the audience attention is the red bold title, which has been purposely used to connote the genre - ‘horror’. The audience can relate the color to death and evil, and suggests the theme of ‘demonic’ elements within the film. The use of black is significant as it also suggests ‘evil’ and clearly shows the audience that it is a horror film. Additionally, the basic use of the two colours shows how strong these colours are and suggests how powerful the colours really are, especially when horror films were developing. The second significant colour that’s being used is ‘white’ which makes the red colour stand out more. This could of purposely been used to make the red colour more significant. 

The 2006 poster of ‘The omen’ uses more  of a blue colour. It doesn’t stick to the convention ‘red and black’ but uses dark colours in a different way. The majority colour used in the poster is a blue/grey colour. As a modern generation, the audience know that these colours suggest ‘horror’ and that we can tell that the film is a horror genre, by just looking at the main picture. Unlike the older version were you rely on the colours to outline the genre. 

The title is in black bold writing, again showing the targeted audience that it is a horror, however the audience are focused on the picture which takes up the majority of the poster. Unlike the original poster where the picture sits on top left of the poster and does not hold much significance. 

The main picture in the original poster shows that it is a horror genre, by the expressions on the “parents” faces and focuses on them, unlike the 2006 poster, where it focuses on the child. This could suggest something about the political context of the film and how horror was perceived then.

The tagline on the 1976 poster is at the top, which follows the conventions of film posters. However, the tagline (“You have been warned”)  makes the audience more involved with the poster, as it sounds as though it is aimed at the target audience. In contrast the tagline on the 2006 poster is more sinister and edgy making the audience want to watch the film as well. The facial expression of the mother and father on the 1976 poster shows that they are fearful of something that is dark and sinister. 

The layout on both of the posters are quite similar and follow the stereotypical conventions for example, as you have the titles both at the bottom of the posters. This could have been done to show that they are the same film, although its been remade for a newer generation and audience. Furthermore, this ties in with technology developing throughout the years and it shows what attracts the more modern generation.

Finally, I think that both of the posters do attract its target audience through the ways that they have presented the posters. Even though the older version of the film has different stars and settings it would still of attracted its target audience during the late 1970’s.