Deconstruction of Titles in Possession Film Titles

Deconstruction of Titles in Possession Film Titles

• The title of 'The Exorcism of Emily Rose' shows a woman in a misty background walking towards an old, dead, crooked tree in the distance which gives the impression that the film is a possession because the mist creates an enigma and the tree is an iconic piece of iconography that emphasises the genre. The woman in the foreground is wearing a sleeping robe which exploits the stereotype of possession films as a large majority portray the evil spirit as a woman dressed in a night gown. The title itself stands out as it is of a dark red colour, a sign of blood and the main words that are highlighted are "Exorcism", "Emily" and "Rose" which suggests that film is a possession because of the use of "Exorcism".

• The 'Exorcist: The Beginning' title shows a black background indicating that the film has an element of evil. In the foreground there is s white text which stands out. The font od the text is done to give an impression that the film was based in times when Christ was born, conforming to the common representations of possession as it has a religious aspect to it as it shows in the opening a battle field full of crucifixions. We see that the 'T' in 'Exorcist' is made of a Holy Cross, the 'X' is of two swords, and the 'O' is made of a shield, all from a time of the birth of Christ, maintain the religious allusion. 'The Beginning' can also be seen as an extension of the times of Christ metaphor.

• 'The Conjuring' title is very basic as it only has a black background and a yellow coloured text in the foreground. Yellow is the colour of joy and cheerfulness which is ironic because it subverts the common representation of a possession film as they are stereotypically depressing and horrifying. Although the colour is very bold and stands out well. The font of the text gives an impression of horror/possession because it's old fashioned, perhaps what you would see in a Bible giving the impression of religion, conforming to the common representation of possession films.