Website homepage research

The other of the two ancillary products I am doing is a film website homepage. I need to analyse the homepage of a website of a film (not a website for films like Empire). I am preferably going to analyse a website for a horror film, to see what they contain and what I can, again, 'steal' from them. I am going to look at two horror film websites: The Cabin in the Woods and The Devil Inside.

The image above shows the main menu of The Cabin in the Woods, which is simply the image of the poster, complete with the film's logo, a positive review, credits, a message to say that it's in the cinemas with the tagline underneath. There are also advertisements relating to the film in the bottom-right, Twitter messages in the top-left complimenting the film. There is also a box in the top-right that allows people to look at show times and for them to buy tickets.

Uniquely, when the user clicks 'menu', they're taken to the actual homepage, showing six links, taking allowing the user access to the film; what it's about; cast and crew; showing who's in it e.g. Chris Hemsworth and works on it e.g. Joss Whedon; video; showing 6 TV spots and 1 cinema trailer; news and reviews; showing news on the film, like what might've happened on set, as well as showing what critics thought of the film and finally, gallery; showing screenshots from the actual motion picture and when it was filmed. When the user is taken to the homepage, everything that was on the menu shifts to the left, e.g. the cabin, the 'menu' button, the film's logo and 'now playing' message. The Twitter messages and advertisements disappear. The only things that stay where they are are the brief credits at the top and the box in the top-right.

Overall, the website is structured like this to provoke fear, especially the scary, misty, tree-filled background. The background looks like this because the film is, stereotypically, a horror film set in a forest and also because the antagonist would most likely be concealed in the mist. Another thing that does this is when the website occasionally glitches, like when a TV is on the verge of failing. It's akin to when electric equipment in a horror film's setting, e.g. lights or a TV, conk out.

The image above is the homepage for the The Devil Inside. At the top of the page is some review's of the film. Below is the film's logo, with a small tagline saying that it was 'inspired by true events'. It shows the large image of a nun who looks like she got cataracts. There are also 6 links to take the user to the trailer, what the film's about, a gallery of screenshots from the film and images from filming, as well as downloading an app, getting the latest updates and something about the Paramount (who distribute the film) Premiere Pass. There is also an advertisement for the DVD of the film. Unlike The Cabin in the Woods, the website doesn't open to a button that says 'menu', instead it takes the user to the homepage. The background is black with a dark-red centre and has various chalk-like etchings. At the bottom is the logo of the distributor (Paramount Pictures) and the producer (Insurge Pictures), as well as a link to the film's Twitter and to follow it on Twitter and the film's USA rating (R).

The design of the website will scare people because of the dark and ominous background. But the close-up shot of the nun with the blurry eyes will especially get at people because of the way her face looks. The way she looks, she could be possessed by the film's antagonist.