American Psycho Poster Analysis

The mise-en-scene tells the viewer a lot about the film. Firstly the use of the knife which is very close to the centre of the poster revealing its significance. Including a weapon instantly indicates to the viewer the type of themes will be used in the film and making it obvious as to what the genre of the film will be. The use of a knife has an ambiguous interpretation as the audience can see it as a weapon,, however the way the knife is positioned so it appears to be reflection of the characters face making the audience think and interpret it as a mirror portraying vanity and pride. Considering that, the tag-line for the movie is ‘Killer Looks’. This excites the curiosity of the viewer as they are uncertain of the role of the character.

The costume plays a significant role of identifying what type of character he is. It gives a vivid sense of professionalism and intelligence, suggesting that the character is a career focused, respected and business-like character. This character is played by Christian Bale, a well-known actor in the film industry. Using a well-known actor encourages people to watch the movie, and as the main character is viewed as attractive, it encourages females to watch the movie; this widens the target audience of the movie. The notion of glamour is indicated through the use of the sparkles that surround the knife. This ensures that the audience’s attention will be mostly on the knife, which suggests that the knife is of high importance, emphasising the glamourised approach to the object. 

The use of colour on this poster closely follows the conventions of the thriller genre. This is done by the use of dark colours, such as black, grey and red. This helps reveal to the audience that the film is a thriller as the colour suggests the type of narrative likely to be included. The use of red in the background and on his tie symbolises the idea of death, danger, blood etc. which hints towards the plot of the film. The use of low and high key lighting also creates an atmosphere surrounding by showing light areas on the key features of the poster such as the knife, there is also light on one side of his face, whereas the other side is dark, suggesting a mysterious and suspicious character.

Lastly, the font of the title and tag line matches and accentuates the themes portrayed in the poster. The tag line has used a simple, italic font making it appear fancy and glamorous. The colour makes it stand out against the black suit, which makes it more eye catching for the audience.