1. Empire magazine
Here is an example of a horror film
magazine, Fangoria, front cover, I am going to analyse the
important features of the magazine that would appeal to
the target audience.

2. Masthead
This masthead is very strong and would appeal to the audience because of the colours
and effects used. It has fire coming off it and is an orange/red colour matching the
image and the mood of the cover. The writing is very bold and clear but is behind the
image, suggesting that the character in the image is very dominant and more important
than the text. Also, because ‘Empire magazine’ is well known, it wouldn’t matter that
the text is behind the image as the audience would still be able to recognise the font
and style and know what they are reading. The bright colours on the writing and the
fire coming off it contrast very well with the black background making it even more
clear and bright so the audience would be able to notice this cover standing out from
any other and be drawn to it.

3. Image
This is the only image present on this magazine cover, I think that if other images were
on the front cover it would take away the attention from this very strong and appealing
images. The character in the image looks very dominant and aggressive which would
appeal to horror film viewers. The character on this image is bright red so the audience
would be able to notice it on top of the bright, appealing writing on the masthead. The
character on the front looks as though he is the antagonist in the horror film and he
looks as though he would be very threatening which would appeal to an audience that
enjoy very scary and intense horror films. The character is very stereotypical for an
antagonist as he is a big chunky man, the audience would see this image and want to
find out more about this character and the film he stars in.

4. Sell lines
These sell lines include names of famous actors such as
‘Natalie Portman’ and ‘Scarlett Johansson’ which would
appeal to an audience if they like these actors and are
interested in films they have previously starred in. These sell
lines are written mainly in white, bold, capital letters which
contrast with the black background so the audience can see it
more clearly. They also use language such as ‘blood’ and
‘hobbit’ which are features of a horror movie that would
appeal to the intended audience.
This writing at the bottom of the magazine cover
would attract the audience as it states the name
of the film the character on the front stars in. It
also says ‘First look!’ in a gold box which would
make the audience feel important and excited as
they are getting a first look at something new and
fresh. This section of the cover also includes a
rhetorical question which interests a reader and
makes them want to find out more.