Magazine Analysis 3

This is a cover for the film magazine Empire. This cover is about the horror/thriller film Hannibal. My first impression of this cover is that it is quite dark and very simplistic. The tones and colours used for this cover are quite sinister and make the overall cover stand out. The element of this cover that drew my eye to it was the photograph. The low key lighting used for this photograph hides one side of his identify and face. This create a mysterious and scary effect to the cover. The tone used for this photograph infers that someone is shining a light on his face- obscuring part of his face. Throughout this cover I can see that red is a predominant colour that has been used throughout the cover. The colour red connotes death and evil. It could also represent Satan/the devil. In order to follow the red theme shown in this magazine- a red filter has been used onto his eye. The red tone on his eye, insinuating that he is pure evil. The theme of evil and horror is further supported with the dark background which connotes death and horror.
In order to further support the narrative and the themes included in this narrative, puns and a tagline have been included. The pun "What's cooking?" hints at the narrative and adds a comical tone to the cover and insinuates a key trait of his personality. The magazine also informs and hints to the audience that the film will be gory and would follow the horror conventions of a lot of blood. For example the pun "Gore Blimey".

The layout of the title which has been overlaid on top of the image insinuates that he is hiding and concealing himself from the audience. It also creates mystery for the character. In order to persuade the reader to buy the magazine and watch the film the magazine has included sentences and tag lines in order to entrance the audience. They have said things like "The most shocking scenes ever" and "exclusive interviews and a whole lot more". These tag lines convince and make the reader think that they are getting and reading exclusive content. The use of alliteration on the front cover connotes an exciting and fun atmosphere which contrasts