The Mist© 2007 MGM
"Nothing is original. Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination."
- Jim Jarmusch, director of Broken Flowers and Only Lovers Left Alive
There is an art to making film posters. But that art is not always creative or even original. Action movie posters tend to be orange and blue, comedy posters may have two actors standing back-to-back, and movies about sex might feature a between-the-legs shot. So there are clichés to posters.
What about horror movies? One of the most common tropes is using environment or scenery to form a "hidden" face, skull, or something else entirely. Some viewers will catch this immediately, and then others will need a few seconds.
So here is a collection of posters from the horror and suspense genre that partook in the optical illusion trend. As you can see, not every graphic designer can pull it off.
Eli Roth's directorial debut is a memorable one because of the visceral imagery it contains. It may be responsible for the wave of gore and torture porn that inundated the horror genre in the 2000s. Cabin Fever was inspired by Roth's real-life experience of contracting a skin infection while vacationing overseas in Iceland. The poster has the modern staple of trees forming a skull's eyes and nose, and the house forming the mouth. The movie's sequel and prequel both have posters with similar yet less efffective designs.
The designer of this silly slasher's poster didn't break any molds by using mushrooms and open space to form a skull-like visage, but they did it creatively at least. The movie itself is a trip yet not nearly psychedlic enough considering.
This beloved British horror boasts one poster design that plays homage to Salvador Dali's famous skull portrait. Most people didn't realize the connection, though.
This Italian exploitation flick was deemed a "video nasty" in the UK at one point for good reason. Content aside, this movie has one of the most stunning painted posters, which has paved the way for homogeneous designs today.
Despite popular belief among cinephiles, this Sandra Bullock movie is not a remake of the Japanese movie Yogen, which translates to "premonition." The Bullock flick isn't horror by any means nor is it exactly thrilling. It's a fantasy drama that was panned by critics. The poster sports tree branches that eerily form Bullock's facial features.
This movie isn't exactly memorable, but the poster is. The 2002 movie poster for Ghost Ship ripped off Death Ship's poster. Or rather, it tried to.
And here is the poster that tried to copy Death Ship's, but there's nothing subtle about this at all. That being said, Ghost Ship is the better of the two movies, if not only for the amazing opening sequence.
This meta slasher about the original Town movie is well-made and full of some beautiful cinematography. It's rare to see a movie of this subgenre of horror to have such artful camera work and editing. The poster, on the other hand, is drab. The backdrop of the skull formed by trees was an odd touch.
THE WINDMILL 2016 Directed by Nick Jongerius
An Australian woman and other tourists in Amsterdam get stranded at an abandoned shed next to a notorious windmill. Soon, members of the group start to disappear one-by-one. |
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You might think this is going to be a run-of-the-mill (pun unintended) slasher. Wrong. There's much more going on in this Dutch movie. Maybe too much. But at least the filmmakers tried. The poster has a cloud resembling a skull in the background. Although really, it looks more like a panda.
The poster for this clever mystery has a hand composed of a face and several bodies posing as fingers.
The doctors skillfully form the features of a skull on the poster of this obscure Indonesian horror movie.
This horror anthology doesn't quite measure up thanks to inconsistency, but the poster is welcomingly festive.
This movie is an example of a really poor remake that came out during the boom of horror reimaginings circa 2000s. Even if you don't like the original, don't subejct yourself to the 2005 version. However, the face formed in the fog on the poster is nicely done.
This lukewarm horror movie about the Chernobyl disaster has a lot of glaring problems. One of which is the poster. There's supposed to be a giant radiation hazard symbol formed by dark clouds in the sky, but it looks more like fan blades.
The first entry in this franchise of incoherent anthologies makes proper use of its concept by forming a Punisher-like skull on the poster with the VHS tape spines.
The busy poster for this thriller is understated at first, but once you see the skull design, you'l be in awe.
THE DINOSAUR PROJECT 2012 Directed by Sid Bennett
While searching for a cryptid in the Congo, a British expedition team is transported to another world where dinosaurs still exist. |
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This British sci-fi movie utilizes the found-footage filming style, which works for the most part. With good special effects and earnest acting, The Dinosaur Project is fun. And the artwork on one of the posters is downright gorgeous. There's a fanart poster for Jurassic World that poorly emulates it, too.
This movie was shot in an experimental, improvised fashion. That makes it worth one watch, even if there is no payoff in Murder in the Dark. The poster isn't too exciting, but at least they didn't use trees to make the skull, right?
This Syfy TV-movie will never come close to the underrated brilliance of the original Lake Placid, but the home video art is striking.
This religious horror movie is preachy and should be avoided, but the poster is pretty slick.
CHILL 2007 Directed by Serge Rodnunsky
A man suspects his new landlord, who keeps the building very cold, has been dead for ages and he is harvesting bodies to keep himself alive. |
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This low-budget horror movie looks unwatchable, but at least the poster is crafty.
Kevin Smith's dive into body horror, Tusk, has a delightful poster that is so simple yet effective.
Wish Upon is more or less a combination of the "The Monkey Paw" story and Final Destination. The ending is also mean-spirited if you like tha. The poster takes the inner workings of the movie's music box and creates a skull.
SILENCE OF THE LAMBS 1991 Directed by Jonathan Demme
To catch another serial killer still on the loose, an F.B.I. cadet enlists the help of an incarcerated serial killer. |
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The moth on the poster looks like a Death's-head hawkmoth, but if you look closely enough, you'll see how the graphic designer incorporated a prominent Dali inspired skull image.
CLOVERFIELD 2008 Directed by Matt Reeves
A group of friends film their escape as a mysterious monster attacks New York City. |
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The main poster for the hit 2008 sci-fi movie has a few Easter eggs. One: in the sky, a cloud looking like the head of the film's monster can be seen. Here is an edited image that highlights this better. And two: if one mirrors the smoke on the lower right side of the poster, you'll see the Cloverfield monster again. Here is the mirrored image to better illustrate this.
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