Reviews and Star Ratings in Horror Film Trailers and Posters

In lots of the trailers, and on many of the posters, for the horror films I have looked at as part of my research and planning, I noticed that reviews and star ratings are frequently used to help 'sell' the films to audiences.

I have decided that I want to add some reviews to my trailers, particularly my TV spot, and include reviews on my poster. I have looked at a number of posters for horror films which contain reviews to look at the way they encourage viewers to see the film, but also the way that they indicate the genre of the film.

The reviews above and below almost always indicate genre through language related to fear or death, and the reviews frequently come from publications or media that specialises in horror.

These reviews are often accompanied with star ratings, with the marketing company picking the highest ones to help promote the film.

I am going to include reviews on my poster and in my TV spots, as I think it is an effective way to help promote a relatively low budget film that doesn't have A-list stars.