Henry Portrait of a Serial Killer: Film and DVD Cover Analysis

This cover conveys the thriller/chiller genre well as well as the identity of the film. The black and red are very important in conveying this. The red connotes blood and violence and so reflects the theme of serial killers, which is prominent in the film. The black contrasts with the red (making it stand out), and adds and makes the film appear to have a dark theme.

The tagline, 'He's not Freddy. He's not Jason. He's real', shows the film's uniqueness by putting an emphasis on it's similarity to other films of the genre. It also makes the film appaer like some twisted kind of documentary because of the emphasis on 'He's Real'. As well as this the title of the film makes it sound as if it is a documentary as it is describes exactly what the film is about. This is opposed to most film titles that set to be short and catchy, such as 'Disturbia', 'Alien' and 'Outlaw'. The name itself, 'Henry' is a very common one and so it reflects how realistic the film is.

The type at the top, 'The Full Uncut Version' also adds to the film's identity, building the audience's interest in exactly why it was cut in the first place. It also plays on the exploitation factor, that people will want to watch the film in order to be shocked or scared. i think the '18' certificate also reflects this.

The image itself, of Henry looking into the mirror is a very important one in trying to understand what the film is about. Here we see Henry gazing into his reflection, as if he is contemplating and looking into himself. It is also as if the reflection represents Henry's dual personalities; the side of him that kills and the charade he presnts to the rest of the world. His face is non-expressive at this point making it even creepier, as if he doesn't feel emotion.

I think is important to note that the director's name doesn't feature prominently on the cover, as it shows that he is clearly not very known, and is so a factor that can't be used to sell thet film.