Magazine Cover Analysis: Horror Hound

This magazine cover is strongly stereotypical of the horror genre. Even without any text, the image alone would strongly connote terror as the image would be too inappropriate to publish on any magazine other than one dedicated to this genre and style of film.

The dull and neutral colours found within the photograph have links to earth which fits in well with the fact that it’s a skeleton. Skeletons are stereotypical of the horror genre because of the fact that they only exist in this format once death has taken place; this scares people because of the way the skeleton shouldn’t be personified without a living person to complete the figure. The image is unclear as to whether this is a whole skeleton or a deteriorating human. The hair and the deformed jaw suggest that there is still skin and flesh on this skeleton but this is being eaten away at. Nothing about this figure is in good condition and the fact that what’s left of the eyes is staring at ‘us’ means that we as viewers feel threatened and scared for our lives in the off chance than this awful-looking thing is going to inflict it’s state upon us.

The grey background to the image has references to the effect that pathetic fallacy has  - the grey background is similar to the dark / foggy / rainy / thunder-filled nights that horror films usually spread themselves out across. Like almost every horror poster and magazine or film cover, the colour red is used to lift the dark greys and blacks included in the pallet.

The use of the colour red reminds us that it is more than likely that death is going to be included someone amongst this horror production. When paired with the picture we can question whether this figure is actually still living because blood only exists in living creatures. This adds a further element of horror because we are unsure of (what we can assume is a villain’s) state.

Using words such as ‘dead’, ‘horror’ and ‘gore’ stimulate thoughts of the horror genre. Death can effectively be peaceful but the word itself triggers ideas of things that scare us such as the concept of ‘the end’. These words wouldn’t be found in other magazines unless it was to describe the ‘horror’ a celebrity felt over a petty situation.

Even if these words weren’t mentioned and the image wasn’t clear, the colour red and the layout of the front cover would lead to suggestions of this magazine being one for a certain subculture; the images and language specify the genre.